spending time on the boat

[skylark]

an excellent breakfast:

2 Tbs raisins
2Tbs roasted salted sunflower seeds
2 Tbs rolled oats (oatmeal)
splash of Nido milk (dried milk mixed with water)

Note to self, always wash dishes in bowl and pour overboard, sink stops up too easy.

[CharlieJ]

The obvious answer of course is dorade boxes. Those can be left open in any rain.

Failiing that, the next answer is canvas. We have several in various sizes, ranging from our full cockpit awning with spreader poles, down to a small 3 x 3 1/2 sunbrella rectangle with grommets on the corners. Four in all in fact. We have a large sunbrella awning that covers the entire foredeck, which Laura uses to catch rain water. Then one in between.

At the moment we are watching a large rain shower heading our way. We have up a slightly larger canvas square over the fore hatch and the large cockpit awning up aft. We've had the cockpit awning up in 30-40 mph winds no problem.All are held in place with bungees. Ropes tend to yank in winds and tear out grommets.

Usually we can leave the drop boards out even in winds if we have the largest awning up. If that's not in use, we rig one of the smaller ones over  the companionway, with the sliding hatch pulled closed. Sometimes some water comes in- we just wipe it up- better than roasting.

This is all based on being at anchor or on a mooring where the boat can swing to the wind. In a slip is very different.

So there simply is no one easy answer. We like the various sunbrella covers, but I'd like dorades too-unfortunatelyly no room on the cabin top.

[skylark]

I have the Bebi Owl anchor light running.

This thing is very bright.

It has automatic light sensor, so I will let it 0run every day.

About 2 amp hours a day.

I started to design - build my own but found that it would cost as much or more, and experiments don't always work the first time.

I have the light hanging from the boom, wth a cigarettte lighter connector, and an outlet installed in a cockpit locker.

The light gives a nice glow in the cockpit with no glare when lounging in the cockpit. However if you look at it from the side it is blindingly bright.