There are so many lists and guides on the internet of things you just have to have on a cruising boat that I didn’t want to make yet another list, but I have found some things that I have not seen listed elsewhere which we use almost daily.
Spotlight
The rechargeable variety and the smaller the better. Not only useful for the obvious reasons like finding your way into a harbor at night but also for finding your boat in a dark anchorage. We have reflective tape at the top of our mast that guides us back to our boat when we scan the tops of masts (especially useful when we forget to turn on the anchor light). We never anticipated other uses for the spotlight but found that it really lights up a dark space much better than a regular flashlight. Shine it into the bilge or engine room and they light up like daylight. We have this one.
Hooks
We like to hang things all over but hate making holes into our boat. These removable hooks are perfect and don’t have that cheap look at lot of plastic hook have. I can put a hook where I think it will be useful and if it ends up being in the wrong spot I can move it anytime without damage or residual stickiness. These hooks can hold a lot of weight but I have found that the glue needs to “set” for a while. I usually wait overnight before adding any weight. I use the plastic ones inside cabinet doors to hang our fire blankets.
Wine Bags
Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods carry these 6-pack wine bags for about a dollar (sometimes free with purchase of six bottles of wine). They are great for storing glass jars (and of course wine and liquor bottles). I have about a dozen of them all over the boat. While plastic jars don’t break as easily I hate using plastic. Ever hear of the great pacific garbage patch?
Green Bins and Bags
These handy bins keep fruits and vegetables alive! I have kept strawberries crisp for over four days in the bins (in the green bag they went mushy overnight). While the bins work better than the bags I use green bags for things like carrots, lettuce, limes and chard. Just be sure the wipe out the moisture every couple of days and keep a paper towel inside to soak up moisture. It also helps to keep them open. In Mexico’s heat the avocados will ripen in less than a day and I end up having to make a lot of guacamole. If I store them in an open green bag in the fridge they don’t ripen until I take them out. Check your local dollar store for the bags!
Glass Bottom Bucket
We don’t have one and I can’t remember where I read about these but I want one! Would be great for checking on the anchor and “snorkeling” from the dinghy or SUP. Currently we are anchored in 15 feet of crystal clear water and I like to sit on the swimstep and watch the bottom and the fish go by.
Dingy Dinghy Life-vests
On passages we always wear our safety harnesses and are clipped into jack-lines that run the length of the boat. When it gets rough we wear our hydrostatic life-vests with harness. We also have some old life-vests that I just couldn’t bring myself to get rid of when we moved aboard. They are now our dinghy life-vests. If the dinghy flips and everything goes into the drink they won’t inflate suddenly like the hydrostatic vests would. We also don’t have to worry about them being stolen. They make excellent seat cushions and work as a spray shield to keep our butts somewhat dry.
Cordless Screwdriver
Mike made fun of me when I put this into the cart and said we have a real drill for that. He now uses it nearly every day. It’s so much faster than a regular screw driver and much easier to get to than the drill which is buried somewhere.
What are some things you use everyday? Leave a comment to share!
Thanks Verena & Michael, some of this stuff is very useful for us too, as we are still moving around with no fixed address, I sometime do feel like being on a boot.
Thanks for the tips and have lots of fun on your adventures.