It’s that anxious time of year – spring may be just around
the corner but I recall two years ago when,after a mild winter, we had snow
through March to April. The boat has been somewhat neglected recently. It seems
as if all the effort to bring her back to life before the end of the summer
left me quite exhausted. There again maybe it wasn’t exhaustion. Maybe it had
something to do with the need to make progress in other areas of life – get
some things off the list. (See my other blog ‘Frugal Living in France)
So, the boat was launched looking good on the outside but
the interior was more like a floating slum. The cabin remains to be renovated
and it has to be done because this year we’re going to make a real voyage –
somewhere.
There is good news though – the paint systems and the wood
treatments I used have stood up to the winter really well so I can
wholeheartedly recommend International Paint Products – especially ‘WoodSkin’.
And here is another product I can recommend – it has a million
and one uses on a boat and I’m now a firm believer that every boat should carry
it. What is it? Well, it’s a product called ‘Sugru’ – a sort of self-setting
rubber, disguised as a kind of play-dough.
It comes in handy sized sachets in a variety of colours.
Open the packet and make whatever shape you want with your hands or by pressing
it into a mold – it is very pliable. Twenty four hours later it will have set
to a tough, flexible silicone rubber. Before it sets it
To date, I have used it to plug an above-water engine outlet
that was no longer required. I have used it to make washers for nuts and bolts
and I have created grommets to protect electric cable when passing through
bulkheads. I have also made pads behind equipment attached to bulkheads to
eradicate vibration noise. I have used it to cover bolts where they come into
the cabin – at least I’ll bang my head more softly now. Rings made of Sugru also stop my wine bottles rattling, and similar rings around my thermos flask
improve its chances of survival if it falls off the bench. In an emergency it
would make an idea temporary bung but best of all it can be used to protect
expensive objects with sharp corners – iPads, cameras etc.
I'm sure there are lots of other uses for the stuff and I’m
also sure that there is probably a different solution for each use of Sugru
that I have mentioned here – the point I am making though, is that Sugru is one
item with a million uses so I don’t have to think up new solutions. Take some
to the boat whenever you visit but keep the rest in the fridge at home. The
fridge extends its use-by date significantly.
UK Readers can get it here
Sugru Multi-Colour (Pack of 8)
USA Readers can get it here
Sugru SMLT8 Hardware Sealer, Multi Color, 8-Pack
Seaward
