Winters seem to drag on in Seattle.  January was warmer and drier than average, but February was one of the coldest and snowiest on record in Seattle.  I still have a few more winter projects that I want to complete before May, like servicing all 8 winches, replacing the canvas along the foot of the Genoa, and replacing some of the parts that are glued onto the main body of the dinghy.  But sometimes when I have only a few hours to spend on boat things, I try to pick one thing that improves one aspect of the boat.  Today that one thing had to do with storage. 

I like an uncluttered boat, but it’s sometimes hard for me to remove something that has been on the boat for a while.  When cruising full time, we filled every available nook and cranny with something–gear, spare parts, food, clothing, books, etc.  But since we returned, I have to decide what should stay on the boat vs what can be stored in the garage or even thrown away.  Things that remain on the boat should have a well thought-out place to live in order to keep the boat organized. 

The cockpit surround panels are big and bulky.  Most of the time they are not being used, but they are good to keep on the boat for when they are needed.  They add an “enclosed porch” to the boat.  They consist of 6 mesh panels that zipper onto the bimini when more sun protection and/or privacy is wanted.  They also came in handy in a few anchorages in Mexico to keep the mosquitoes out.  There are 6 snap-on vinyl panels that can be used to keep rain and wind out of the cockpit.  These come in handy at the dock especially in the spring and fall when it rains and the full boat cover is off.  But storing them has been a problem.  During the trip, when not being used, they were folded up and put in a sail bag.  This led to creases in the vinyl because they sat that way for a long time (all passages and during the 6 months the boat sat in Fiji).  So today I decided to find a better way to store them.  I bought a 5′ length of 3″ pvc pipe and rolled the individual panels around the pipe, using long lengths of velcro to hold them in place.  Rolling them this way should keep the vinyl from developing creases. I had a red canvas bag that came with the boat and wasn’t being used and it was the perfect size to store the rolled up panels in. 

This bag can be stored in either the pilot berth or in one of the aft cabin berths, and easily be carried up to the cockpit when needed.