Wow, those are good ideas. My wife stored bottles of white wine and hard cider under the v-berth while we sailed the San Juans, and the temperature was perfect. We did not do much swimming, however. Tom Jenkins On Jun 22, 2011, at 1:00 PM, Tom Smith wrote:
I thought I'd fly some easy, cheap ideas out to the group. If anythings' been discussed before, my apologies, I've been off the list for a while.
I enjoy red wine. And it doesn't have to be expensive red wine, either. I've found that the hollow shoal keel of an M17 will keep red wine (probably white too, for that matter) at the perfect quaffing temperature. Get a box of wine, remove the plastic bag from the box, and simply drop the bag into the keel/wine cellar. In a couple hours (or less for those eager beavers out there) the wine arrives at the perfect sipping temperature. Very handy and no glass container to worry about either. My M17 is a '92, and I suspect most M17 shoal keels are configured this way but I don't know for sure.
Another simple thing I've discovered is the humble bath mat. You can usually find one that compliments your shear stripe color if that matters to you, and the rubber back keeps it from slipping. Comfy for bare feet in the cockpit, and an extra layer of carpet in the cabin if desired. It also serves as a pretty fair no-slip surface on the cockpit seat for stuff (like cups of red wine).
One more. I use a pretty hefty multi-purchase main sheet block combined with a windward sheeting car--most M17 sailors probably do. You can see it here at http://www.msogphotosite.com/MSOG/b17smith/b17smith20.jpg prior to installation of the windward car. I bring the block/cleat up off the cockpit floor with a climbing loop (a Blue Water 27kn about 8 or 10 inches long, if that matters to you) so the sheet control is up at a comfortable level for me. Sometimes, well often, when I tack or jybe, the block/cam mechanism whacks the cockpit seat. Noisy, destructive, and potentially painful. So, I've done some whitewater kayaking and have lots of gear laying around, including what are called pogies. Pogies are neoprene hand thingees paddlers use to keep their hands warm (go here to see one: http://kayak.nrsweb.com/boating/Pogies). It just so happens a pogie will slip right over my mainsheet control. The mainsheet comes out through where the paddler's wrist would be, and the larger part wraps the block/cleat and is secured with a velcro strip. Works for me. No more whacking. Pogies run 30-40 bucks a pair, but you only need one, so you can split the cost with another M sailor. And no doubt you could make one yourself for just a couple bucks.
Just some thoughts. tom
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