Not directly related to my FI Campaign, but it’s linked to the boat life and when you have your own blog you can share what you want!
In the beginning, there were useless shelves
For reasons unknown, boat builders everywhere put useless shelves on boats. Shelves with very little lip on them. You know: the kind of shelf that wouldn’t hold your stuff on it in the slightest wave or heel over.
My working theory is that these are the real reason a lot of live aboard boats don’t move much. People put plant pots and ornaments on these, then don’t want to either (a) break them during or (b) stash them away prior to sailing.
Friction is a killer of adventure.
So I took things into my own hands.
The cargo net in progress!
Things you need to build this
- Screw-in eyelets. I bought these from B&Q, but here is an Amazon link to a cheaper set. I used 5mm eyes because of the elastic I used. Screwed in directly into the wood.
- Elastic bungee. I threaded this through the screw eyes from the front and tied a figure-of-eight knot at the back. Forms the top part of the net, lets you stash things. I actually did buy this on Amazon! I used 5mm bungee cord and that’s about right for what I wanted.
- Paracord or nylon cord. Makes the netting, comes in cool colours, doesn’t rot. I used this one from Amazon, mainly because Lady SierraWhiskyMike liked the colour. It was OK, but if I did this again I’d probably use this cord that we’ve used on other boating applications. It’s thinner, easier to tie, and feels better made. However, I only found it in a chandlery in Southampton and didn’t have enough to make these nets. Any old (but suitably pretty) nylon or paracord will do.
You need a packet of this to do a stretch that’s 1.2m long and 15cm tall.
Yes, I know that I cut a lot off at the end, but the first time I did this I ran out of line – which you don’t know until you’re near the bottom. Lots of wastage and redoing knots. Save yourself the trouble, trust me.
Other cool uses
Obviously I’m using this to turn useless boat shelves into a usable stash/ storage location. This means that I don’t need to do too much packing to get the boat ready to sail, and when we’re underway it’s accessible for stashing unwanted items while the boat is bouncing around.
I actually learned to do this on a basic land survival course, where we used military paracord to make survival fishing nets. I’m not sure I trust the fashion-fit paracord I used for this, but I’m told that the military cord internal fibres will take something ridiculous amount of weight before they break, roughly a grown man’s weight, so we learned to make a fishing net from a 50cm strand of the cord by pulling out all the inner strands. Bit of an aside, but there you go!
Could also be adapted for cars, laundry bags (using a drawstring instead of elastic), sheds, camper vans, possibly even kids’ rooms if you wall plugged the eyelets and made little pockets.
Isn’t this just macrame with extra steps?
Shhh… it’s adventure prep…
But yes, basically the same concept, just more useful and easier. Now my stuff isn’t going to fly across the boat every tack or jibe, and I can actually stack stuff on the shelf without it looking too messy.
My financial independence campaign continues!
