Gadgets - Hot and Not

A few weeks ago I bought these suction cup items. The first one, a shower nozzle holder works great. It sticks well to the bulkhead or the head's mirror.

The second item is "not so hot" this hand hold with dual suction cups doesn't hold a suction even on fiberglass. That seems like an accident waiting to happen. 

Coffee!

Can't start my day without Joe, and a couple months ago I got this 1 liter electric kettle off Amazon. Works great when at the Marina and really saves time, effort, and propane. 

It's hard to believe, but I have been caught without coffee. Arrrrggggg. So I bought a package with 8 pouches of Starbucks instant coffee. Ok in a pinch. 

Snowshoe trials

It's Groundhog's Day and still a little too chilly for boat projects involving glue or coatings. 

During winter in Oregon, I lean toward Snow sports over sailing and, this being an El Niño year, we've had plenty of snow. Lisa and I decided to try out snowshoes and our neighbor loaned us two pair. MSR Lightnings and Tubbs Sojourn 25s. Both pair were purchased used but in good condition.

The Lightnings were an older model, with no heel lift and two toe/instep straps 25"x8" (retail new $219). 

Underneath the foot pad are two lateral static crampons extending the full 8" of width. There is also a toe crampon attached to the binding. Adding to all this gripping power are serrated sides to the aluminum frame. I never once felt like the shoes would slip, uphill, downhill, sidehill, climbing over logs. 

The bindings attached snugly over my Sorels giving me good control. 
Lisa however was wearing hiking boots and the shoes seemed sloppy in the binding.


She had some difficulty getting her foot positioned properly fore and aft in the binding. The result, she tripped twice in these shoes and fell down.  She also said her right foot, which seemed to be too far forward, hurt. 

The Tubbs Sojourns are no longer made. They seem to be a beginner model which probably retailed around $150-$200.  Note the tag end of the straps are not secured and flopped loose on my left boot.

The bindings have a molded plastic toe pocket that really holds your boots in place with straps that cross over the instep.

Current year models seem to have improved on the already good binding design.

Traction comes from the toe crampon and a V shaped crampon under the heel. The 25"x8" frame is aluminum tubing. 

After using the MSRs with the long serrated side rails, I felt unsure when walking downhill or side hill. The snowshoes slipped and our conditions were not icy. 

Bottom line: Tubbs have a nice toe pocket and binding, but the shoes lack traction. The MSR Lightnings have great traction, but it is harder to get your boot placed correctly in the binding.  If these were the only two models of snowshoes in the world, I would choose the MSRs and Lisa would choose the Tubbs. I felt like the 25" long shoes gave plenty of buoyancy for day hiking with me at 5'8" and 180 lbs and a fanny pack.  With a full backpack, I might want some extra length.

Next we'll try renting MSR Evos and something else so, I'll be back.







So I just bought the MSR EVOs.  We used them one day at Timberline Lodge in 24" of fresh snow and they were great.

A 3rd Hand to Loosen Nuts

I frequently work alone on the boat, and almost as frequently run into a problem where I need a 3rd hand, 6 foot long arms, or the ability to pass through solid objects...

Today I was removing a bracket from a bulkhead. The bolts passed through the bulkhead with nuts on one side. So I taped the wrench holding the nut to the bulkhead. Then I unscrewed from the other side. 

11/2016 I got an email with a picture from Heinz Zerbes with tape holding his spanners to the transome of his boat. Note the lanyards to prevent loss of the wrenches in the deep blue sea...

Cutting Board Counter Space

Yay Tap Plastics!  By replacing Sedna's Formica sink and stove covers I was able to simplify cooking and increase my counter space.

I drilled a couple 1" holes to easily pick up and slide the cutting board over the nav station chart table. 

The cut out for the faucet also ensure water goes down the drain. 

Pooper Mulch

Reading my posts, one might get the impression that I am obsessed with poop... Well half right. I'm obsessed with disposing of our boat sewage in an environmentally responsible way. As I've said before, storing a tank of urine and poop together on the boat is neither clean, easy, nor pleasant smelling. 

I've used peat moss and coconut coir.  Odor has been minimal in both cases. 

Both materials develop a somewhat musty smell... So, in search of the perfect solution however, I am trying some new material.

I bought some long fiber cellulose critter care pet bedding for $3.49 /6 liter (which expands to 16 liters) and "Reclaimed Natural Wood" Kitty Litter for $7.50 for 12.4 lbs / 5.6kg. 

The kitty litter claims to be naturally antibacterial and to absorb 500% its weight. The bedding claims to absorb 2.5 times its weight. 

To begin my experiment I added the natural wood fiber kitty litter to an equal amount of coconut coir. We'll see how this works. 

Next I will try straight kitty litter. 

Then 100% bedding

Then 50% kitty litter and 50% bedding.

I'll add to this post over the next few weeks/months to report my impressions and conclusions...

 JK 5/26/15

6/11/15 I just emptied my pooper bucket and switched to 100% bedding. I didn't really like the smell of the wood fiber kitty litter, it could be the pine. It absorbed the poop smell and dried the poop, it just has a funky smell even with no poop in it.  I'm going to try using it to absorb diesel or oil spills... or give it to someone with cats.

10/20/15  I've been using the Critter Care for a few months now.  This stuff is made from shredded (recycled) paper and natural fiber and doesn't have any noticeable odor of it's own.  It is so good at absorbing moisture, that after a while it absorbs moisture and odors in the air and puts off a funky smell.  Not a problem if I empty the bucket often enough.  It doesn't really desiccate the poo like I would have expected either.

 I've been looking for a small bag of cedar chips, but having trouble finding it.  I thought it was commonly used for landscaping? :-(  

UPDATE ---  8/12/2016

I've settled into a routine and found the most convenient, easy to find, environmentally responsible (ie. made from recycled material) and relatively inexpensive material to be wood fiber kitty litter. Not necessarily endorsing it, but I use Okocat... I keep a 1.5 gal jug of Okocat on a shelf next to the head.  After I poop, I pour a little litter in to cover the fresh deposit.  We throw our TP in the head too. Once every week or two I empty the bucket into the secondary composing bucket described in an earlier post...

8/20/2019

I modified the 2016 formula slightly over a year ago... I mix a 1/2 brick of Coconut Coir with the wood kitty litter.  Have to slightly dampen both and mix thoroughly before use.  Works great, desiccates the poop and seems to minimize  odors.  We stopped dropping TP in the head... we now toss it in a waste can then burn the paper in the wood-stove.

Soap those Sticky Drawers

Last night I remembered a trick for making drawers slide easier. This is especially helpful with wood on wood or wood on bronze, like a sliding hatch.  Just rub a dry bar of soap on the bottom of the sliding rails. I think bees wax is another option, so you could also try a candle.