Cool stuff for cruisers

A big part of preparing for a big trip such as ours is acquiring all the STUFF we need to help us be safe and comfortable.  Most of things we must buy are boring necessities, such as anchors, rope, spare engine parts, electrical supplies, shackles, plumbing parts, and such.  Lots of it is terribly expensive because it includes the adjective "boat".  (It's amazing how more expensive "boat" hardware such as nuts and bolts and screws are compared to the non-boat variety.)  But every now and then we find a real gem that is absolutely worth it!

Our most recent acquisition is the Sirius XM satellite radio.  Hundreds of channels of commercial-free music of every genre imaginable, plus sports, news, comedy, talk, and lots of other goodies.  Now I have all the music in the world, and don't have to endure the monotony of commercial radio.

Fresh batch of ice pellets

Another cool acquisition is a portable electric ice maker from a company called Crownful.  To keep your food and drinks cold, real-live built-in refrigeration is best.  But boat refrigeration expensive to buy, complicated to install, and you must have a way to power it.  Dragonfly has a nice, big, heavily-insulated built-in ice box.  It's pretty good for an ice box, but you gotta feed it ice every day.   Portable refrigerators are out there, but they're bulky, have very limited capacity, and as I said, eat a lot of electricity.  Well - this cool little ice-maker is only about 12 x 10 x 8, and it spits out a handful of ice pellets in just ten minutes!  Let it run all day, and it will produce a serious pile of fresh ice.

(Side note:  the documentation on the ice-maker says it only consumes 125 watts.  I am learning that that is not accurate.  The actual draw is MUCH higher; too much, in fact, for my 200-watt inverter.  Will keep you all informed how this pans out.)

Another gem we found is the Ryobi portable vacuum.  Boats get really dirty on the inside, and a clean boat is a happy boat.  Well, this cool device really SUCKS big-time!  You can use it for either wet or dry vacuuming.  Is portable and compact, and has a 3-gallon bucket.  And best of all: it uses the same 18-volt battery pack that all my other Ryobi tools use.  Afterwards, you just pop that battery pack on the recharger, which really IS energy-stingy enough to run from my inverter.  Thus we can clean up our mess anywhere, anytime.

Then we have a pair of folding bikes.  (I bought these second-hand from a friend.)  They only have fourteen-inch wheels, so they don't go super-fast, but they sure are faster than walking!  I just sold my Honda Civic.  (Side note:  Craigslist is awesome for buying and selling a car!)  But today I had to get to the local marine retailer for some parts, about two or three miles from here.  So I hopped on the bike and easily made the trip!  These bikes will come in super-handy when we're on our trip and need to acquire provisions.

Another really useful item are these Heat-Pak foot warmers.  I bought a whole CASE of them. My toes tend to get really cold when the temperature drops.  Pop a pair of these puppies in your shoes and you're good to go!

Counting down the days now till we cast off the dock lines and head down the "Ditch".  Stay tuned!