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If you read our "Underway: Shipyard" column regularly, you've seen our Reader's Tip of the Month, where you can win a Garmin Oregon 400c handheld GPS. Rather than have you e-mail your tips for now on, we'd like you to post them here.

So, what's your best quick-fix tip? How about a cleaning short cut? All ideas welcome!

 The Power & Motoryacht staff

All boats have deck chairs, ladders, etc. with tubular legs with little soft plastic tips on the end.  The ends of the tube/legs are usually unfinished and are quite sharp.  Over time, the tubes wear through the tips and can damage the deck surface. A quick and inexpensive cure is to insert a metal washer with the same diameter as the tube into the bottom of the plastic tip.  If the tip ever does wear away, the sharp tube won't touch the deck.  Use a non-ferrous washer if possible to deter corrosion.

Restores soft enclosures curtains.

1. Remove curtain and lay on clean surface. 

2. Remove surface dirt with warm water and soft cloth.

3. Use a low power buffer (I use the cheapest, a $19.95 purchased at Walmart) to avoid "burning."

4. Buff both sides of the enclosure with the cleaner/polish.

Cleans, shines and takes much of the cloudiness out. Adds life to the plastic.. 

Quick, Easy, Disposable Funnel.

You can make a funnel out of Aluminum foil by simply taking a peice, folding it in half (or more--see below) and wrapping it in a conical shape.... 

Depending on the viscosity of the liquid you are pouring--- You can modify the thickness of the walls of the funnel by increasing or decreasing the amount of folds--- just make sure the top of the funnel has no folds exposed so that liquid will not accidentally gather.

If your pouring into a small hole use your finger as a guage when making the cone shapped.

You can modify the length of the funnel by starting with longer sheets of foil.

When your all done, no need to store a dirty funnel just ball it up and throw it out (or better recycle)

Small disclainer-- make sure what ever substance your pouring will not have any adverse to or from the alluminum foil.

What I have found that works the best and the easiest, is to use a disposable lint roller, the kind where you just tear off the sheets. Just roll the screen with the roller to take off built up dust, pollen, and hair.

How To Clean and Make Your Old Vinyl Cushions Look New...

Instead of using Armorall which leaves a temporary shine and little protection, use Wesley's Bleach White Tire Cleaner.  Spray on the cushions and leave them in the sunlight for a few minutes and then hose off.  The cushions will be whiter and the solution that dries and makes the tires shiny, makes the cushions shiny.  The solution dries completely and does not leave an oily residue.  It also seems to offer better protection than other protectants that seem to disappear after you spray them on.  Also works great for cleaning decks and hulls.

Neccesity is often the spark of a good idea in the world of dyi. I had to replace the sanitation hoses on my boat that went behind blind bulkheads and around corners. One or two of the holes thru the bulkhead were not much larger than the hose. Using the old hose to pull a line as a fishtape, I used a tapered plug of the same diameter on the end of the new hose attached with duct tape, then tied the line back on the hose a foot or so and added several half hitches all the way to the pointed end of the plug and secured with duct tape. With one person pulling and one pushing the hose never caught on the edge of the hole in the bulkhead or on a corner it went around. I've used this same method many times and found it to work every time.

we were experiencing heavy rain and wind all day when i noticed water coming in from a window frame. closer examination revealed a small gap where the two pieces join together. i tried to apply silicone but the rain washed it away in minutes. i used gorilla glue to fill the gap. its water proof and it expanded when it dried. it totally stopped the leak.

ken strum

Problem: Often times, you're lying on your back inside a hot, cramped, compartment trying to unscrew a filter, or its housing.   Sometimes the filter or housing is even mounted at an odd angle.  It's easy to get confused as to which way to turn the filter or housing to lossen it. You may even be accidentally tightening the fitting when you mean to loosen it.

 

Solution: Using a magic marker you can mark the housing, or an area near it, with an arrow and the word "lossen" to tell you which way to twist the housing.

 

Rob Linehan

If you are having a hard time getting a hose to fit over a tight fitting, put the end of the hose in a pot of hot water for about 20 seconds. This will soften the hose and make it much easier to push over the fitting. The hose will cool off in a short period of time, and, with a stainless steel hose clamp, you will have a good connection. Rob Linehan

 Here's an old idea, but it's worth repeating.  When you change an oil or fuel filter, write on it, with a permanent marker, the date you changed it, as well as the engine hours.  Then, several months later, you won't be wondering when it was changed.

 

Rob Linehan 

Capt. Ron Schaper

Coral Springs, FL 33067

Ronschaper@Yahoo.com

 

Maintenance Forum @ www.powerandmotoryacht.com

   

Those pistol grip hose nozzles are handy but the water pressure makes it necessary to hold it in place when filling water tanks. Simply attach a short (7”) hose to the end of the nozzle and it stays in place to fill the tanks while you do other things.

 

  Keep a few wooden golf tees in your toolbox. if a wood screw strips out,just push the tee in snugly and break off flush. then re-insert the screw for a tight fit.