USEFUL STUFFS

[Andrew]

Interesting Rope info. Nylon's stretch properties good for docklines. Polyester good for halyards etc. Polyprop floats.

Countdown about to begin for Aldi Townsville (23rd Nov opening)..

[Ozzie]

RTM has its Black Friday cattle dog sale online with lots of stuff . I had a quick look at the lithium batteries out of curiosity and for a lark scrolled down to the most expensive one

I don’t think I’ll be building my own electric yacht any time soon. Still VCRs cost that once .

[Ozzie]

Aldi have their ropes on sale this Saturday the 27th. Seems good value for 20 plus metres depending on type. As I’ve mentioned before I’ve had several brands of knockoff coremantle rope out in the elements on the mooring and it is ok for non critical use. Check prices against the green shed to see if they are longer lengths for similar price.

Enough Rope

Also have various tools on sale, check cattle dog.

[Ozzie]

This Saturday 27/2 the Aldi conglomerate have tools on again. You can check the site for details. I recommend again their Workzone tape which is a woven/duct tape more really the gaffer tape I used on my music days. I’ve found it quite strong for emergency repairs etc. Only thing I note is the descriptions are getting shorter and, by the picture, so is the length. ( no length quoted) You used to score 20 km for $4 , now the roll looks less than 20km . Maybe my glasses need an upgrade .

All the descriptions are getting less detailed no drill sizes etc. I know this is effective marketing to get you in the store to see, but it is also a subtle reason Supermarkets are under scrutiny and rightly so. Anyway they have much that is useful to sailing, plastic ties etc.

Tape

[Andrew]

Always keep a roll of cloth tape onboard Ozzie, it's amazing what it can repair when out. Patch a hole, hold something in place, wrap some wires together..

Another useful thing. Black Polyethylene pipe.

It also has many potential uses (apart from irrigation) .

Gunwale rubrail.
Anchor locker protective edge strips (stop chain chipping fibreglass)
Car to trailer backing-up guide.
Plumbing on board.

20m of 19mm low density poly costs about $25 at B's, (thin walled flexible pipe) It's low cost. Inject silone sealant under it to hold in place. Often there are leftovers in the garden shed. It also comes in 12mm or 25mm. It's properties are it wont leave black marks on other things, flexible, ultra UV resistant, is slippery to run things over it without chafe..

High density (HD) poly pipe, is thick walled (2-3mm). I made a tempoary rudder lock-on tang for my dinghy for free (after nothing available in shops up here. Update may 2024 finally found one!). It might be possible to use it for rubrailing (but much harder to work than low density poly)

[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 !

On again next week. Still no retro reflective strips but they are probably on you PFD. My Aldi jacket is still good after 9 years use.

Good call on PPE tube Andrew. I have split black rubber tube as the fender strips on the nose of my tender but it puts ugly black marks on the Investigator. Might sheath it with PPE.

[Ozzie]

Just throwing a post on “Prep”. This is an adhesive recommended to me by a staff member at the green shed although they don’t sell it. It’s like PVA but seems much better, even better than the more so called “waterproof” PVA glues. It’s only marked as water resistant on the bottle but Ive stuck a large outside pot back together which 6 months later is still fine. It’s stated on the bottle that it will stick anything to anything.

I’ve tried it on wood, metal, plastic and I’m fairly impressed. As a test I stuck an ice cream stick to an old rusty shortened hammer I use to get into tight spots with minimal cleanup first , let it set for 24 hours and I was able to hold the full weight as shown. It stays slightly flexible and dries clear. I’m going to see if it with stick my plastic curtain hooks to the inside of the painted walls in Spritzig. All else has failed. So it will be a test. A word of caution. If you get it on your fingers it will not completely wash off. There is some part of it that will remain till it wears off . Not bad just annoying tried a few solvents but it seems resistant. Must be the magic ingredient.

You may get different results at home but I’m recommending it. Got mine at M10.

[Ozzie]

Bumping this again as Aldi had ski gear on Saturday. The $49 jacket in bright red would be a good sailing jacket by the look of it. Certainly cheaper than anything with “sailing “ sold in marine outlets. Once again you need to add reflective tape if it’s not on your PFD. I bought a few caps and a balaclava. My Aldi tradie jacket is still my goto for winter sails in cold weather. And speaking of, its b freezing here already. Someone should tell the BOM who were talking of unseasonably warm

[Ozzie]

While picking up my mixed nuts at Aldi the other day. I noticed these outdoor bench cushions at $34. These at 160x45 would make cheap replacement cushions for the quarter berths in the Investigator if your current ones are shot . They are rectangular, not curved obviously like the originals and not long enough to sleep on at 160cm …unless you are 160cm… but you could bung a small cushion up in the under cockpit end to make up the dif. Then again how many of us actually do overnights. Outdoor material. At that length I think that would fit nicely in the cockpit too the standard ones are too long.

I don’t need much from aldi anymore. Other than food. I think I’ve reached “peak junk” . It’s nice to walk down rows of designer shoe polish dispensers and plastic meerkat solar lights and reminisce about rocking up at 8am to get a nesting pot set for Spritzig a decade ago.I recommend their stir fried veg packet $2.99. stick that Cokesworths.

These were a few weeks back now. My local had plenty left.