Recycling on Nine of Cups

Yesterday's post described donating our old genoa to ReSails and their efforts to turn old sails into useful items. Truth be told, I hate clutter, so I always have the urge to throw things away if I can't see an immediate use for them. David likes to keep things aboard in case we need them in the future. Experience and David's insistence have taught me that many common items have multiple uses and by saving them, we can recycle and put them to work again and, perhaps, save a few shekels along the way. recycling on nine of cups

Here's a list of our most commonly recycled items on Nine of Cups and their uses:

Plastic grocery bags are kept and used as small waste basket liners.

Net veggie bags (like the ones onions come in) are used for shell and shellfish collecting.

using net bag for gathering mussels

Wine and champagne corks are used for storing needles, as well as fishing hooks and lures.

We rinse and re-use hardly used Zip-loc bags … we never know where/when we'll find them again and they really can survive several uses. We might not reuse them for food, but once rinsed, they can certainly be used for boat parts and bits.

Empty plastic laundry soap jugs with handles can be cut and used as dinghy bailers.

bailing the dinghy with old laundry soap container

Plastic 1 ltr water/soda bottles w/caps  can be used as beer bottles if you're into homebrew or other liquid storage. We use just the screw caps for roach cookie containers.

roach cookies

Glass jars and screw top lids can be re-used for canning/preserving and other food storage.

Old t-shirts become rags and polishing cloths. Never too many rags aboard! Since most of our t-shirts and clothes are purchased from thrift shops anyway, this is double and triple recycling at its best.

Old sails can be cut up and useable chunks are saved for sail repairs plus I make canvas buckets, canvas covers, etc.

make a useful canvas bucket

Old wire from lifelines can be used  as snakes for cleaning thru-hulls. I also reinforce the rim on canvas buckets with old lifeline and David makes security cables for locking things up … like the dinghy and dinghy engine. We also use them as a theft deterrent when securing fuel cans on deck in dodgy ports or ashore in the dinghy.

Old sink sponges may not good enough for the galley, but they're certainly good enough for some other parts of the boat. We have a pail under the galley sink and old sponges go there to be recycled for cleaning the heads, the floors, or maybe the bilge.

Old bimini and dodger material (e.g. used Sunbrella) can be used for patching, but also for making handy ditty bags and totes.

make a ditty bag

Odd bits of line and small-stuff (a real nautical term) can be used for securing items en route, keeping things together, tying off noisy halyards, etc.

Old jacklines can be used as hoists when making courtesy flags, as reinforcement for the handles on canvas buckets and as hoist straps for dinghies.

courtesy flags

Old plastic bowls or cups make great epoxy containers and empty, washed tuna cans are good for varnishing.

Catsup and similar squeeze bottles work well for dispensing epoxy or other chemicals.

Empty spray bottles can be used for concentrated cleaners/chemicals that need to be diluted or just for spraying fresh water on the stainless before cleaning.

Old dock lines are turned into ocean plait mats and used aboard or given as gifts.

ocean plait rug

Toothbrushes are like gold. We use them for cleaning and polishing the stainless, as well as cleaning other hard to reach spots, like parts of the tea kettle, for instance.

I save cardboard egg cartons because many fresh markets sell eggs by the “each” and do not provide containers. Taking home a “bag” of loose eggs poses its own set of challenges.

Old water hoses are recycled as chafe guards on mooring lines and engine hoses.

chafe gaurds

Old bits of chain and shackles can be used for securing to rocks when tying ashore or to wharves/piers that have rusty old tie points.

I'm sure there are hundreds more ideas for recycling used items to new uses on board. Can you add to the list? We'd be happy to share your ideas.

Re-Sails Recycles

Typically, when we buy a new sail, I cut up the old sail and save big chunks of it for use in future repairs or perhaps to make canvas buckets. We've purchased several new sails lately, however, and we can only use so much extra sail cloth before it becomes a bit overwhelming. With my sail cloth supply sufficient, I was looking for something else to do with the old genoa. I spotted a sign in yacht club soliciting sailors to donate their old sails to Re-Sails in Cape Town. I gave them a call to see what they were all about. mike with resails logo

Though they offered to come pick up the sail, we decided we'd rather bring it to them to see how this cottage industry had grown into a viable business. Come to find out, a South African sailor started Re-Sails in San Diego, California. According to their website, “Re-Sails started breathing new life into old sails in 1994 by South African waterman, Christian Schlebach. Re-Sails is the first company in the world to commercially make products from old yacht sails. Having worked on sailing yachts for years as a deckhand, Christian was always intrigued at the huge amount of old sails the industry discarded each season. Something had to be done. Re-Sails was born out of a small room in San Diego, California, but soon after relocated to Newport, Rhode Island, home of the America’s Cup and prestigious New York Yacht Club.” In 2011, Christian and his brother, Mike, set up a new production facility in nearby Woodstock.

mike with sail

We headed on over one morning with the old genoa. Mike met us at the door, grabbed our sail and offered a tour.

The old genoa was delivered to Richie, who was busy at work cutting up old sails into material to be used for new “sail-able” products. Re-Sails employs 13 people total between this production facility and their retail store at the V&A Waterfront.

richie

Upstairs, we met the production staff, sewing away at new creations. Everybody smiled and stopped working to say hello as Mike introduced us to his crew.

resails crew

joseph

joelle

We were impressed with the range of products produced … everything from multi-sized duffels and totes to jackets and even beach chairs. Melinda, formerly from the fashion industry, makes the patterns for new product development. It's quite the enterprise and we were impressed.

product collage

We left feeling like our old genoa had found a good home and a new life as part of several new products. As a parting gift, Mike gave David a great new duffel and I received an outstanding tote that I've already used twice. Good trade.

resails duffel and tote

The Blue View: Recycling Old Line into Ocean Plait Mats

Ocean_Plat9  

On Nine of Cups, there is not a single piece of rope that is actually called rope. We have halyards, sheets, outhauls, vangs, preventers, reefing pendants, dock lines, snubbers, anchor rode, painters and lanyards, but no rope. Even a coiled, spare section of rope is called “line” and not rope.

Some mariners will say rope becomes line as soon as it is brought aboard a boat. Others say it is rope until it is cut from the spool. I've also seen a definition that states that it is only called rope if it is greater than a given diameter, otherwise it is generically called line. By any of these definitions, we have no rope aboard Cups. I couldn't always make this claim. A few years ago we had an outhaul made of stainless wire that is called wire rope. So we did have some “rope” aboard, even though it was made of stainless, but even this “rope” has now been replaced with synthetic line.

While we may not have any rope aboard, we do have many hundreds of feet of line on Cups, and all this line is constantly wearing out, due to chafe, UV, fatigue and old age. We probably replace two hundred feet of line a year. So what do we do with all the old line that is no longer usable? It seems a shame to just throw it away.

One of the uses for old lines is to make Ocean Plait mats or rugs. Traditionally these mats were used aboard ships as chafing gear. We sometimes use them for the same purpose, to protect the deck from being damaged when setting a propane tank on it, for example. They also make nice welcome mats on the dock to wipe our feet before coming aboard and they're are easy on the feet when we have to stand at the helm for long periods. They are very nautical and quite attractive, and make great gifts. You can use small line, 1/8” diameter or so to make coaster sized mats, or large line, 3/4” or so to make rugs.

My old friend, The Ashley Book of Knots, describes how to make the Ocean Plait mat (“Ocean Plat” knot #2243). I started with his directions to make the pattern shown below.

 

Ocean_Plat1

 

I make so many, I drew the pattern onto plywood, and drove finishing nails into the plywood to help hold the line in place. You could also put nails or tacks into a piece of cardboard, or just print out the pattern on paper.

 

Ocean_Plat2

 

You will need about 45 feet of line for a reasonable sized mat made of 1/2” to 3/4” line. Find the middle of the line and start on the left side of the pattern as shown.

 

Ocean_Plat3

 

Follow the pattern, paying close attention at each intersection as to whether the line passes over or under itself.

 

Ocean_Plat4

 

After you complete the first pass of the pattern, check to make sure your mat is correct. It's much easier to undo it and correct a mistake at this stage than it will be later.

 

Ocean_Plat5

 

When you are happy with the first pass, take the end of line A and follow line B as shown in Figure 5, doubling the knot.

 

Ocean_Plat6

 

Depending on the line size, you will make 3-5 passes to complete the mat. You want the ends to meet in the middle of the mat.

 

Ocean_Plat8

 

You will have to tighten and loosen some of the loops until the rug looks even and symmetrical, then cut and whip the ends. Stitch the ends to the adjoining line segments and you are done.

 

Ocean_Plat7

 

Patience is key. My first mat took hours and I pulled it back apart several times because of mistakes. Now I can make a mat in about 30 minutes.

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