Board tricks, here are your geniuses!

We have asked you to send us photos of your “clever” work on board, and we are continuing to receive your emails accompanied by ingenious solutions. We thank you and continue to publish them (you will find the first “best of” in the December/January issue): it is indeed true that Italians know well the art of making do. Show us that you love your boat, send us photos of your creative work on board (what you see in the picture is a great example) combined with a small explanation and we will reward you with the legendary “I Love You” B-shirt signed by Davide Besana!

THE BAG FOR WASHING THE ENGINE
This is the classic “but how did I not think of this before?” solution. It was proposed by Adolfo Mellone, who says, “Here is my idea for rinsing the tender’s outboard without even removing it from the stern balcony: a bag that I had my upholsterer make using PVC (but it can easily be made of olona canvas or similar, as it doesn’t have to be totally watertight and waterproof anyway) with a few eyelets on the top edge. You hang the bag with two silhouettes from the engine itself after having your foot fished into it, slip in the freshwater hose, and as soon as it has filled up you start the engine. You let it run “ad libitum,” taking care to let the water run and overflow, which otherwise does not wear out but overheats, and the engine is ready to spend the winter without salt inside. Simple, inexpensive, practical.”

THE AUTOMATIC BOW-TIE
Fabio Scaccianoce, aboard his Isola 21, has developed a system that allows him to lower the genoa directly from the cockpit: “I used the furler circuit that runs from the stern to the base of the forestay, tying a line to the genoa halyard shackle (that line that used to serve the furler roll that I decided not to use anymore). In this way, genoa hauls can be handled conveniently from the cockpit avoiding going to the bow, in short, just drop the halyard and retrieve the line and the halyard (and thus the genoa) comes down on deck quickly. In addition, another advantage is that you do not “lose” the halyard even if it is left free, and you can always have it ready to hoist the genoa; moreover, once the genoa is lowered and the batten is put hard, there is no risk that the genoa will end up swelling if it catches wind by staying down on deck.

THE MULTIPURPOSE WALKWAY
With this simple expedient, Sandro Gualierotti transforms a normal “multipurpose” gangway: “The gangway at rest,” he explains, “is attached to the stanchions by means of interlocking pipe stops for electrical installations. The same interlocking is used to stop it at the “u” at the base of the ladder, and in case of high piers it can be hooked to the stern pulpit. On the other side of the gangway, again interlocking and using the same system, the wheels are attached.”

THE COCKPIT CUP HOLDER
Here is Giancarlo Sorrentino’s idea: “I enclose,” he writes us, “two photos of the solution I devised and realized on a Bavaria Cruiser 46 to make the most of the compartment inside the cockpit table. Since balancing bottles and glasses has always been a problem in navigation, I thought of taking advantage of the step in this compartment to place a sheet of plexiglass on top of it, which, suitably drilled by me with a hand cutter, would allow convenient use and stowage of glasses and bottles.

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SEND US PHOTOS OF YOUR “CREATIVE” WORKS
ON BOARD AND REWARD YOU WITH THE LEGENDARY B-SHIRT
A simple, effective and low-cost idea. With a little inventiveness, there are plenty of places on board to intervene with jobs and chores to improve the situation or fix issues at almost no cost. Send us photos of your “customized” solutions accompanied by a small explanation: the authors of the works that we will publish on our site will be rewarded with the legendary B-shirt “I love you” signed by Davide Besana!

HOW TO PARTICIPATE
It is very easy to participate: just send an email with the subject line “Jobs on Board” to speciali@panamaeditore.it with one or more photos of your “custom” solution attached and a brief explanation of the work and why you decided to do it.

WHAT IS B-SHIRT?
Required, desired, sought after. The B-shirt is a white T-shirt with an amazing exclusive vignette printed in large format by the “master” of sailing illustration Davide Besana. A “I Love You” that expresses in two words all the passion and time that each owner devotes to their boat.