Practical Things on Board: CABIN.
A list of practical things onboard for the cabin
Carbon Monoxide Detector – detects the non-smelling fatal gas. Must Have Safety Item! link here
Fleece Blankets – can’t have enough: for night watches, warms even when moist, absorb moisture. We cover all our bunks and put them on the mattresses under the sheets.
Thermal Blanket – adjusts to the temperature and keeps us either warm or cool. link here
Bamboo Sheets – cooling and adjust to body temperature, moisture absorbent, mildew resistant, antiseptic and super soft and silky. link here
Bamboo Towels – silky, moisture absorbent, mildew resistant and take little space. link here
Note: a longer article on fleece and bamboo fiber link here.
Luci Lights – charge with built-in solar panels, work for about 6 hours on one full charge, light, float, easy to use, nearly indestructible just don’t puncture them. Small lights link here large clear lights link here large frosted lights link here
LED Lights Retrofit – most cabin lights and bulbs can be retrofit by LEDs with the same socket. We bought these to match the classic look of our boat and brought replacement LED-boards with us. link here
Fans – can’t have enough 12 Volt fans! Mount in strategic places, make sure that they are well out of the way or have a safety grill. A guy in Canada made lovely wood frame fans with stainless brakes for computer fans, but recently unfortunately stopped. Good article on cabin fans by Practical Sailor link here. After trying a bunch, we love this fan: ‘Ultima’ by Caframo, a small, frameless fan with 2 speeds with fingersafe blades, which is mighty powerful, quiet and draws only 0.28/0.41 amps. We have the lighter plugin version with a suction cup, but there is also a direct wiring version with a mount. Fan clamps come only in white. link here
DISCLAIMER
This list of practical things onboard is of things we found that work for us. We researched, listened to hot tips from other cruisers and tried them out the last two years while cruising in Southern California and Pacific Mexico.
We have not received sponsoring by these companies, nor do we suggest these particular items. We don’t suggest buying them from the links, they are meant solely as a reference.
We will be updating this list as we go along.
Written May 2017/ Latest update November 2017