USEFUL STUFFS

[Ozzie]

Tried Bennetts Green and Tuggerah too but guy did system wide check and said they were all out statewide…apologised that they had not updated their website yet. Sorry guys but as I thought at a $127 discount it was the quick or the swaged. keep an eye on the quarterly specials at WW, they may come up , lots of quite good stuff does. Usually about 20 items are heavily discounted on each new quarterly cattle dog.

If you see anything good that would be interesting to fellow sailors, even online, post it here. The cost of boating isn’t getting any cheaper that’s for sure.

[Andrew]

This LED bulb tent light is a handy backup aboard. Runs on a single AA size battery,

I'm using the tent light because the main battery is out of boat in the shed, where it's easier to keep topped up on the smart charger.

LED tent light

I bought 2. the first one was about $5 (BCF), the second one was $2 (Kmart). They look identical.

[Ozzie]

Hello all, now is the time to get your order in to the family for what you want for Xmas . Coincidentally WW have just released their new quarterly super specials on their site. Only thing I’d say is not a lot of special specials most of it seems to be getting dearer, maybe it’s the price of fuel and WW3 …had to start effecting things eventually.

There are fortunately some bargains to be had. The big yellow boat bags are now our sailing bags from last time they were on special. They are roomy, have a phone holder pouch tethered inside and a comfy shoulder strap. Good for mooring as we bring stuff to and from Spritzig II each trip. If anybody is interested I’ll do a “what’s in your sailing bag post” . Seems popular on many sailing sites. We can recommend the bags and they’re quite heavily discounted Anyway, as per last year what do you want for Xmas ……. I have my bag so need a boating suggestion or I’ll get socks ….actually I like socks.

[Ozzie]

F everyone’s I , Aldi have their camping sale on for young and old next Saturday the 25th March (where has the year gone already). There are lithium iron batteries for under $450 which I think may be good, plus various solar chargers. The blanket looks ok. All good boat friendly stuff although after the thread on lithium batteries I’m not sure they should not have fire extinguishers on sale as well. I digress.

For those into public ridicule there are the one-sie sleeping bag overalls. Do not stagger out onto the deck and fall overboard in one of these as I’m sure they would act as a reverse PFD if you got wet. I’m not sure how winter became camping season in this country. You would think with amazing summers and beaches, summer would be camping season, but the Retail Traders Association seem to disagree with me.

There is 40m of “camp rope” for $10. This appears to be knock-off coremantle rope or fake spectra. Much derided on other forums as “*unnings rope” I’m not suggesting you use it for rigging or halyards but I’ve had 8m of “*unnings rope” used to hold and retrieve my jib halyard on the mooring out in the elements 24/7 for years and it did not degrade at all other than a bit of fading. My friend with the court 750 used it for his spinnaker and said the stretch was negligible. As a general purpose non critical rope I think it’s cheap and acceptable if it’s 5 or 6 mm. The price of nearly everything is becoming nuts lately and boating is no exception. Just sayin’.

There are no lethal weapon triple D-cell torches, they were last month . Where’s Emrys when you need him ??

Edit.
Whitworths have rolled over their quarterly specials again although as I mentioned earlier not much is less than an arm or keg these days. Some of these will give you change of a toe or two.

[Andrew]

Non-skid mat

Fit this to the forepeak "storage shelves" (smooth fibreglass bunk tops and wooden shelf/locker floors). Tried the $5/roll Kmart rubbery mat (for kitchen or caravan drawer liners) it's about 2mm thick, with small holes and comes in 2 sized rolls. The reviews were good. bought one 30cmx2m and two 50cmx1.5m rolls.
Also put some under the portaloo base. It's easy to cut with a stanley knife or scissors.

So far my 2 plastic food storage boxes, 2 pvc tool boxes and the portaloo are not sliding around. Sailbags grip to it as well. Only a roadtrip and rough seas will prove if this works ok in practise though.



Still green with Aldi envy ozzie

[Ozzie]

Just a heads up, Aldi have the hi viz lined work jackets on this Saturday. These are quite passable as sailing wear and very reasonably priced by comparison. I’ve had one for years and have used it in cold weather when my thin Burke does not cut it. Be warned though they are hi viz but not night rated like my old one, so you need reflective strips from another source like your PFD. Or I guess you could add stick/sew on ones.

Another plus! You can jump off the boat at any point and fill a pothole without looking out of place

Andrew, sorry about posting Aldi stuff again. You must be getting close to getting them up your way soon. They are ten feet apart down here these days !

[Andrew]

Don't worry ozzie, Aldi is opening a store in Townsville at long last late 2023

usefull stuff: powertech 12v twin cig lighter adaptor with USBs and voltmeter. (Jaycar, $35) also has blue LED on/off switches and 10amp fuse. It tidied up the device recharging area, plugged into existing underdash 12v cig lighter.
The usb As : 3amp fast charge and a 2.4amp . Plus a usbC 2.4amp.


200/100 lumen Ironhorse rechargeable LED lamp (bunnings $21) compact and stows easy.

[Ozzie]

Glad to know you can now sample the fruits of Aldi Andrew .
Yesterday they had “Straps” advertised on special.

If,and I think I’m right,these are the Velcro closing hanging straps I have got from the green shed in the past they are very, very useful on a boat.I use them instead of sheet bags to keep the deck tidy.

These are cheaper than the ones I have. Not sure on size or quality from the pics in the catalogue. You may get different results at home

I also have one to hold the main halyard to the mast when the main is raised. Much tidier that dangling it into the cabin. They are quick to release. By now of course everyone knows Velcro was reverse engineered from the Roswell spaceship.

As was Barbie……

[Ozzie]

Should give credit where it’s due I guess. I was checking my safety gear in my sailing bag and on my little orange fishing catamaran for the summer and came across a bunch of chemical light sticks from Kathmandu. I had brandless light sticks before and they tend to have short shelf life and I replace them after a few years. These however are pre covid and as such I figured they were done. Only issue with chem light sticks is of course you have to use them to see if they are still viable.

Broke one of three of the Kathmandu brand (still sealed) and it was fine, bright enough to read reasonably sized type with and move safely around on say, a deck at night and signal. They are supposed to give off light for 12 hours, but as I’m writing this 24 hours later it still has a faint glow, possibly enough to mark the position of something although I don’t know how far away it could be seen.

For those not familiar with the technique, you can put a chem light stick on the end of a lanyard and swing it in a circle to create quite a large light spot to hopefully be seen if in an emergency situation. Plus of course if attached to a Pfd they can assist is rescue of a floating crewman, although electric lights are probably preferable. I have a chem stick on my kayak Pfd pocket. The actors in the Sea Patrol series on tv always had them attached to their person so I’m assuming that’s actually Navy issue.

I’ll keep the two unused ones suitably marked and buy new ones to supplement them in the boats. I also use Chem light “party rings “ in the tender. These are cheap throw away things but I stick a few on the back of the tender if I’m towing or floating with it at night so it can be distinguished by passing traffic . They last a few hours.

[Ozzie]

Tomorrow Aldi have their range of boating/fishing items coming up on their specials list. If you need rope they have PP anchor rope and dock lines. Note PP not PE which is 3 times the price at w2. You pays ya money ya takes ya chances. For an investigator it may be ok. For the W2 money you get 12mm (unspecified composition) at RTM . All are 30m lengths.

I had forgotten all this, so here’s a quick reminder about rope types .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAzJx5l4xWY

They also have clip on beverage holders which although made for cars could probably have the clip reshaped to go over taffrails or lifelines. They are PP. which I think can be reshaped with a heat gun? Let’s face it beverage holders are a vital piece of sailing equipment that should not be overlooked.

Adding : the inflatable PFD seems a very good price. I am not recommending inflatables just mentioning it here. I eschew inflatable anything as I’m scared Murphy may work in the factory. Last Christmas I bought my wife a new standard Pfd. I was thinking of covering that in another thread when Andrew mentioned it. I keep forgetting to take a pic.

I checked Andrew and your ALDI is indeed opening this month. Even if your not of Scottish descent like me the bargains are worth looking at. Enjoy