Scary Stuff Under the Bed

I finally decided how to start a thorough stern to bow inventory of our sailboat contents.  Sounds simple enough, but if you are living aboard while trying to do the inventory, you have to find a place to put the stuff that is in the way of getting to the stuff you want to identify, count and maybe even photograph.  I decided today was the day.  I removed all of the bedding, including mattresses and memory foam pads on top of the mattresses.  This is an opportunity to vacuum and clean the berth (bed) platform which houses storage lockers.  There are three storage lockers under our bed in the aft cabin–starboard, center and port.

Our starboard locker houses one of our batteries, old life lines, and scraps of teak wood for repairs or leftovers from previous owner alterations.

Central locker: holding tank and rudder mechanism.

The center compartment holds a fairly new plastic black water holding tanks (yes a holding tank for poo), the depth sounder and steering mechanism for the rudder.)

Port locker sans contents

.The starboard locker holds more old life lines, and something that appears to be our knotmeter (boat speedometer.)

I take photographs as well, because I may have misidentified an item that my husband is looking for and there are just too many mystery items on a boat to identify them as thingies. The port locker has items that may not respond well to shifting heavy objects, so I have opted to store our winter blankets there along with dry bags and duffles.

So, along with a list and a map of areas and the names I have given each locker, the inventory continues.

Spice Storage on SV Tumbleweed

We love spicy food, but when storage space for spices in a tiny galley is a big issue, so how do you keep those spices on hand?  

I scoured the internet.  I questioned other boaters. And then I started experimenting.  Maybe a small container with multiple spices would do.  So when I saw this at one of y favorite stores and used it onboard.  It is good for a short camping trip, but an unsatifactory solution, but it fits in a very small space.  

Next I tried a wee little multi-spice cabinet box--cute, but just not enough for our purposes.

I tried a solution this great solution proffered by a boater that worked well for her.  She used clear bead storage jar units with boxes. I had to stack the units in my cabinet, which required putting silicone on the bottom of one unit so that it didn't slide around. I was constantly refilling the jars and needed to take both units out every time I cooked taking up valuable counter space.  The jars also were not as airtight as the jars you purchase spices in, so my spices began clumping.  So, I began searching for anothe solution on the internet.  My criteria: 1) easy access, 2) uses jars available anywhere, 3) room for lots of variey, 4) fits in my cabinet, and 5) doesn't rust.

Voila!

Manufacturers photo

I scoured the internet again.  I found a product that seemed to fit my criteria, but it seemed too good to be true.  It wasn't cheap, but if it would work, I was willing to pay.  I found a store in town where I could look at the cabinet,and if my measurements were off, I could return it.  It worked!  I can access my spices while I am cooking without taking up valuable counterspace.  I have been using this for more than 6 monts, and I love it! 

My spice cabinet aboard SV Tumbleweed.

Florida Summers--Trying to Stay Cool

Living in Florida, on a sailboat, in a marina, in summer makes having air conditioning close to a necessity.  Our current unit has stopped removing humidity from the boat interior and is only cooling the boat a few degrees.  When our interior temperature 86 degrees inside, and it was about 90 outside.  We have successfully employed multiple strategies to keep the interior cooler than the exterior, even though our air conditioner was failing:

• Boom tent
• Bow tent
• Fans, strategically placed to move air through the interior
• Insulation
• Retro fit car window shades
• Portable air conditioning unit
• Shade hatches

We have recently purchased a newer, more powerful airconditioner that keeps the indoor temperatures comfortable during the day despite the temperature and humidity--oh, what a few more thousand BTUs can do.

A Random Bit of Knowledge: Zinc Fish

After living aboard for a little over a year and a half, we have learned that we need to have sacraficial zinc anodes hanging over the side of our boat to keep the electrolysis from erroding our propellor. Not only do you need the anode, you need to know which one to buy, and how to attach it to your boat properly.  
So what is electrolytic corrosion?

According to Defender: "What is Electrolytic Corrosion? If you've noticed corrosion on the metal parts of your boat located below the waterline, you are the victim of "galvanic corrosion". The scientific term "electrolytic" or "galvanic" corrosion describes the type of corrosion that anodes are intended to absorb. This corrosion is normally caused by different metals being near each other in salt water. Galvanic corrosion, an electromechanical action, causes metal parts to decompose. This destructive process is caused by electrolysis, an electric current set up between the metal parts of your boat, with salt water as the electrolyte. The effect is like a flashlight battery -- an electrical current is created and continues until one of the metals is eaten up -- the battery goes 'dead'." 

There are three types of sacraficial anodes, and you cannot use two different type anodes on the same vessel at the same time. The anodes are categorized by water type:
                Salt water: use a zinc alloy anode
                Salt water and brackish water: use an aluminum alloy anode
                Fresh water:use a magnesium alloy annode
These anodes need to be attached to a ground. 

We are currently living in a marina in salt/brackish waters where conditions for electrolysis are optimal, so--our sacrificial "zinc" will arrive in the mail next week.

More information can be found at: http://www.boatus.com/boattech/casey/sacrificial-zincs.asp