My Cal 3-30 has a big cockpit but while underway I lose some of its comfort because of the tiller.  Because I use an autopilot most of the time, I can raise my main tiller and use a 20 inch extension that comes off the same rudder stock for my autopilot.  You have to make sure of two things.  First is that the new, shorter tiller can handle the stress that will be put on it from your autopilot (your auto pilot manual will tell you how many lbs. of pressure the pilot exhorts).  Second, you must be able to steer the boat with the extension attached if there is an emergency or your autopilot fails.

I didn't like my deck being cluttered by my spinnaker pole and dirt always seemed to collect around it.  My solution was to attach a lanyard over the top of my lifeline with a loop in the end for the pole's jaw to attach to.  I made sure that the lanyard passed over the lifeline at a stanchion so the pressure would be straight down.  The forward lanyard is tied to the bow pulpit.  Shock cord holds the pole from swinging.  My setup has survived many thousands of miles and big nasty waves.

I used to hunt for things buried inside my navigation table more often than I’d like to admit.  Now I have two strips of Velcro across the bulkhead and nearly everything I had inside the table is stuck to the bulkhead within arms reach.  I will never have to dig again.

SHELF OVER SHAFT

In order to conserve freshwater, I set up a saltwater pump to my galley sink.

I used the existing through hull for my engine cooling system to supply the water.  I cut the incoming hose and inserted a tee.  The new hose coming off the tee was fitted with a small check valve to prevent the engine from sucking air.  I found an electric water pump with a plastic case and impeller at boat US for around $25.  I installed it in line with the wires leading to galley.  West Marine had a retractable faucet for $14 and an on/off switch for around $10.  I had the hose, but, it can be had for about $.50 per foot.  I had to drill one whole in the galley counter for the faucet.  I placed the switch within reach while doing dishes but out of splash range.  The hose ran neatly around the engine compartment to the bottom of my sink. 

I have been using the same pump for over two years straight, while cruising, without a break down.  A small fish threatened to get stuck in the check valve once but, I think he was just baiting me.  I think a filter or strainer would be a nice addition as would a foot operated power switch like the ones used on windlasses.

Due to the wobbly environment I live in, I sometimes spill a little water around my sinks.  The water tends to run to one side or the other, but, never back to the sink.  I fixed the problem by drilling a small hole in the corner of the counter top and ran a 1/4 inch hose from the hole to my bilge.  The water that use to collect was allot for a counter top but child's play for a bilge.  The setup works great for me and is hardly noticeable.

PRESSURE ICE WATER(AND BETTER COOLING)

In the course of a typical tropical day, I found myself opening up that $2,000 ice maker we sailors love to call our refrigerator, far to often to allow its cold plate to be effective.  With power consumption an important subject to think about

Tender leaks

For patching a pin hole or abrasion try these tips:

1.  Inflate the boat and spray the entire boat with a mist of dish washing soap and water.  Watch for any bubbles.  Mark wherever bubbles come out with a marker.  these are your culprits to be dealt with.

2.  Deflate the boat until it has its shape but is soft.

3.  Tape off an area about two inches by two inches for a pin hole.

4. Try to get a matching color of 5200 so your dingy won't look like mine (red            with big white shapes stuck to it and a black stripe with white drips oozing out).

5.  Sand the area so that any oxidation is lifted and there is a roughened surface for the 5200 to hold on to and if you destroy the tapes edges, replace the tape.

6.  Use acetone to clean off all dust and dirt on the area.  Acetone dries fast and clean while some other cleaners may leave a residue.

7.  Spread another coat of 5200 over the entire patch area in about a one eighth inch thickness right out to the edge of the tape.

8.  After a day or more you can peal off the tape and you will have a

clean edge patch that in my experience holds up much better and longer than any conventional patch I've used.

You can patch your dink using the crazy glue method and cover it with 5200 later if you need to have use of the dink right now.

Please realize this is not the manufacturers preferred method and will probably lower the value of the bout but it fixes things fast and easy.

NON-SKID FOR TEAK STEPS

Instead of gluing ugly sandpaper on my teak companion-way steps, I added teak non-skid strips.  They look tremendous.  They work tremendous.  They don’t need special care and they don’t peal off.

I cut thin strips of teak to fit parallel to the steps in my companion way.  I sanded the tips, where I cut, to match the round of the steps ( molding comes pre-sanded).  I used five-minute epoxy and brass finishing nails to mount the strips about 3 inches apart. 

Sixteen strips on three steps took me two hours to complete, start to finish.  I paid $14 for the wood, $2.50 for the epoxy and about $.50 for the nails.  I have sailed over 7,000 miles on them through all kinds of weather and I have yet to slip once.

HOW TO GET MORE OUT OF AN OIL LAMP

Oil lamps are one of beating's' most traditional ornaments aboard but are often kept as just that.  There are, however, several things one can do to make these flickering smokers into beautiful, glowing, efficient, work horses.  In modern yachts, oil lamps tend to get used on special occasions and not as an everyday lighting source.  Aboard Makai, my two highly polished gimbal lamps stayed dormant on all but the rare occasion as well.  One day after playing chase to a small sailboat named "Draft Horse" ,( this is credit where credit is due), We anchored Makai in Card Sound and invited our new friends aboard for spaghetti.  That's when I became introduced to one of the nicest couples we've met in all of our adventures.  That's also when I was reintroduced to the theory of conservation.  With my 100 amp alternator and wind generator always grinding away, I was never forced to enjoy my glowing natural light.  I had forgotten just how nice it was.  Their non-use was actually a phobia started by what seemed to be a constant manufacturing of smoke, wick twisting and replacing, and filling of oil.  On top of that it appeared that every time the boat rocked, a blaze of glory shot up the stack being stopped from burning the whole place by only a three inch disk hovering over the lamp.  Larry, from Draft Horse, gave me this advise that really works.  He said, trim the wick so it matches the curve of the opening it comes out of.  Fill the reservoir three quarters high with packing cotton and then fill it with mineral spirits, not oil, and scroll the wick back down inside the opening past the point where the black smoke stops and until the flame gets big again. 

I never realized that the wick doesn't really burn that much.  What I found out is that the fumes get heated and rise and that's the part you're supposed to burn.  Also by adding the cotton packing to the reservoir you pretty much make the whole thing stable by creating one giant wick.  This keeps the oil from sloshing when the boat rocks and its those sloshes that make those dangerous flare ups.  Trimming the wick shapes the flame.  A square wick makes a flame that resembles the shape of a snakes tongue.  Rounding the wick make a softly rounded flame that burns the gasses more evenly and leaves the wick for another day.  If for some reason if you can not round the wick to the shape of the opening, than you should cut it in an up-side-down "V" shape with as much round as possible.  To the old salts these tips may seem dull but they where valuable to me.  Mineral spirits is a cleaner burning refinement than kerosene and will leave your bout smelling better than even the best of the expensive colored oils available.

One last note I have to share on this is one Idea I actually had on my own.  I took solid brass kick plates for the foot push of a door that I bought in a California hardware store for Around seven dollars each and places two each behind each of my oil lamps as a backing plate.  What a difference in light!  It nearly doubled the output in light from the lamp by reflection.  After a few years I had cause to remove the plates and I noticed that I had another benefit as well.  The plates helped to protect the wood behind them from the oil lamps heat. 

Resurrection of a Dead Flashlight

After spending a kings ransom on the flashlight replacement fund, I discovered the simplest trick fixes a corroded light for about a fraction of a penny.  I just take a two inch wide, seven or eight inch long piece of tin foil and slide it into to battery chamber.  I put the batteries in and squeeze the top part of the foil around the upper contact strip of the light and twist the cap back on.  It works great and it couldn’t be any closer to free.