The “not so good”
Yesterday I posted a huge list of items/projects that we had previously written about and that we continue to be pleased with. What follows today are the things that didn’t quite make the cut.
We thought we would use this on a regular basis but haven’t in ages. It sort of cooks the pasta but not all that well really.
While better looking than the rusty old Force 10 bar-b-q that was on our boat when we purchased it, this is still only a so-so product in my opinion. It has only two heat settings: hot and INFERNO. The push-button igniter also stopped working shortly after we purchased the unit. The bar-b-q still functions though and we continue to use it in spite of its shortcomings.
We just had a conversation about this with our neighbors at anchor here as they have a Wonderwash on board. If we had a larger boat, I’m sure we would have held onto ours. Considering how small our boat is, we couldn’t justify the space that it took up.
When I first installed this it worked perfectly. After some time though, one of the pieces developed a bit of an air leak that I never tracked down (an O-ring perhaps). Because of this, I was forced to revert to using the original caps on two of the batteries. Unfortunately, now that we’ve replaced our Exide batteries with Dekas, the Flow-rite system that we purchased no longer fits. Given the difficulty in accessing a few of our batteries, we really wish it did!
This seems like such a cool little tool but in truth, I’ve never really used it. We keep a bunch of stainless steel hose clamps on board and it’s just way easier to use one of them than it is to bust out the Clamptite.
While in the US the Tracfone served us fairly well even though it did stop functioning when in Florida for some strange reason. Unfortunately that was when we really could have used it! It did resume functioning in Puerto Rico though.
Tomorrow, the stuff we really don’t like!
And now, as promised, balancing out this “text-heavy” post…
Bikini courtesy of Conch Republic Bikinis.
You’ve out done yourself! Just when I was wondering where in your brain could you continue to find new things to write about – here you go!!!! Great and helpful info. After seeing Rebecca in a bikini – guess I need to stop eating a carton of Starbucks ice cream everyday for lunch.
Mmmm… ice cream. Strangely Rebecca does not like ice cream. I think she may be from another planet.
Good to know what to save our money on! Looking forward to tomorrow’s post of what you really don’t like! Love the Conch Republic bikini … beautiful color!
The Conch Republic Bikinis rock!
Dude? Are you kidding me?
Wait. “Text-heavy”? You wrote something? 😉
🙂
You have exceptionally nice balance Mike.
I try. 😉
The score so far: 50 “good”, 6 “not so good”.
Unless the “ugly” post turns out to be a real whopper, I’d say all that reading and research before you left has paid off. The typical ratio among cruisers seems to be about half the ship’s gear crapping out or proving unsuitable in the first year of hard use. Granted, ZTC saw some hard use under her previous owner, so you had a head start there.
I agree… we have made comparatively few mistakes of this nature. Research pays.
These last two posts have been hugely useful. Can’t wait to see the bad.
Thanks. Probably will save me more than a few bucks. With a very limited budgety, that’s critical.
Today’s post contains the really crappy things (and crappy was not meant to be a pun on the composting toilet, which is on the list). 🙂
Sad to hear about your Magma Kettle not working out.
Maybe your heavier usage is part of it, but it’s been great for us. Halfway through the 3rd summer and the igniter is still working on the first push. (It was stored in the boat over winters, and I keep a cover on it during the summer.)
On the hot vs. inferno – I find the center runs cooler than the edges when the dome is in place, and can control things pretty well.
My favourite part is that it never seems to get blown out, even at the non-inferno settings.
I’ve never used it as stove or oven – just for barbecue-ing – but I am happy with everything from spider dogs to filets.
Ours does not blow out but it is a bear to light (with a lighter) in a breeze. I find it very hard to control the temperature and I have heard many others say the same.
Like the others, I’m happily having trouble keeping my eyes on what you wrote!
I have kept note of the WonderWash for some time. It says it is 12 x 12 x 16″. That doesn’t sound too big. So I am very interested that you did not keep it. Did your friends like theirs?
Mike
The Wonderwash is a weird shape and unlike many other boat things, it does not easily break down into a more store-able package. You would need to have a dedicated spot for it and we have no such place. If you DO have the room, I think it would be cool. The place that sells them also sells a little 120V spin dryer. Our boat neighbors here have one of those too. We tried it the other day and it rocks. Too big for us but hey, I guess we just need to buy a bigger boat.
Is this still a family web site or is this the new Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue….Come to think of it, I love sports illustrated!!!
LOL @ Sports Illustrated.
I’m having a tough time catching my breath!
Go sit on the trampoline and relax. It’ll help. 😉