I’ve seen some great ideas in the last year and prior so I thought I’d ask others to post what they considered a great idea. Just any idea for a Nonsuch you thought - great. I’ll start the post with this one, as it’s just past the holidays. Happy New Year , Gary Forster/ Aloki Oyster Bay NY.
Great idea about the trash bin and a well done installation!! However I don’t know who sent it.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
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[/details]Joe, it’s more about sharing the idea but if you look at the top, I’m the original poster and there is my name and contact info. Do you have any great ideas to share? Cheers, , Gary
Sorry, but not on the email I received. It just has the name of the boat and location.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
Guess that’s a ‘no’ to any great ideas.
Well it’s only been a couple of days. Plus, it’s hard to know what someone else is going to consider great. Take my microwave installation for example. (See attached photo.) I’ve spent my life doing much more difficult and/or creative things than installing a microwave. But seeing your mod, and sitting here a few feet from it, makes me think others could be interested in it.
I spend one night a week, average, on the boat so the microwave makes sense to me even though I have no generator or inverter.
Rather than take up most of the counter space with it I put it in the cupboard to the left of the sink and pantry. The frame for the sliding doors was too deep so I pulled it out and made a new frame. The microwave is just a little narrow for the space, but it’s usually dark to the sides (except when the camera flashes) so you don’t notice it.
I had to make a false floor to elevate the microwave and level it, so I designed it so I could store the original frame beneath it. And the sliding doors are stashed off to the right - all wrapped in bubble wrap so they don’t vibrate. That way when someone is cussing me out while they remove my mod, they’ll suddenly find that all they need to do is put a few dabs of Sikaflex on the rediscovered frame and it’s all back to original. Could be worse.
Brian Godfrey
Vela, NS33, San Diego
(attachments)
I also added a small CA$50 microwave above galley sink in my NS30U. The PO had replaced the Paloma with a hot water tank. This left an opening in bottom of the cabinet that’d allow for easy installation of a small microwave… with a little modification. When in a marina connected to shore power I use the microwave almost daily to reheat food and coffee, and thaw frozen food. Photo attached.
Don
‘87 NS30U Breezin’
Vancouver BC
I like the above ideas (and the idea of posting ideas). So, let me add a few that I saw at the INA Rendezvous back at the end of July.
Pictures are in the attached, which includes:
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A gimballed mast-mounted radar with no additional holes in the mast required (seen on Paul Boudreau’s Thistle)
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An alternative to mast collar clamps for mast base fairleads (seen on Jamie Keating & Megan Long’s, Baroness)
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Cleats relocated to reduce chafing (on Brian Knoll’s, On Location)
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Folding padeyes providing harness attachments w/o barking shins in the cockpit (also on Brian’s boat)
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Low friction rings for topping lift control (credit to J.P. Morch)
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Bow protection plates (I believe I saw it on Xanadu, don’t know the owner)
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Solid horizontal crossbars on stanchions (Paul Boudreau again)
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And, last but not least, a $1.00 solution to UV-damaged plastic cowl vents (I’m afraid I don’t have notes on whose boat)
– Bob
Me Gusta
Nonsuch e26U #233
(attachments)
Very neat installation, Don!
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
Great installations (and ideas) with those microwaves. Well done . I’ve considered one but never been at a dock long enough to use one.
Regards, Gary Forster /Aloki
Three projects I worked on after pulling the boat out in the fall of 2024
Refinished the bow pulpit wood.
The teak looks great again after sanding and several coats of Sikkens Natural teak
Wood refinished on the cockpit coaming boxes.
I made several 1.5" extensions for the boat canvas to make it easier to put on.
The canvas is in good shape but has shrunk over the years in several areas.
Jim Lieder
Nonsuch 30 #350 “Sixpence”
Lake St Clair, Michigan
Dedication to maintenance is a calling i believe Jim.
I was recently in Antigua and met a shipwright turned wood carver who shared a few ‘wood tips’. One that surprised me was his regular habit of tossing finished wood pieces into a tung oil mix which he had a moderate quantity stored in an old cooler. He’d leave it there for a week or two. He found tossing the pieces into the oil (when possible) and having the oils soaking into the wood was his best method. He then ‘dressed’ up a piece (of course I bought one - a mahi mahi fish) with some Vaseline and a paint brush to enhance the luster. Crazy ideas? Seemed to work quite well.
Made me wonder how to soak the boat in the stuff. 
Best, Gary /Aloki
I like this thread and would like to see more posts. We’ve all made our boats our own and there must be lots of clever ideas out there.
I’ve made a lot of alterations on Sandpiper since I bought her but probably the biggest game changer was the bow thruster. I have a particularly tricky mooring spot and I singlehand all the time. Knowing that I can “stick the landing” in any wind lets me get out far more often than I would without it. Most times I don’t need it but when I do ……… priceless!
Paul M
NS30U #211, Sandpiper
Cowichan Bay, B.C.
Nice installation! It looks very clean on the outside. What does the inside look like? Have you done anything with the core? And I have more questions…
Where did the tunnel end up with respect to the bulkheads? What hardware did you choose for the bow thruster and what are the dimensions of the tube you used? Did you install an extra battery or is the installation powered differently?
Maybe it’s not a bad idea to open a new thread, perhaps there are more people looking for bow thruster ideas on the discussion platform.
greetings,
mark h
n36#25 Cotton Eye Joe
netherlands, europe
Thanks Mark.
I posted this on the group back in 2019 when I did the installation.
This album will answer some of your questions.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/mAsUvRKp42aAsCAg6
To answer the others, it’s a Lewmar 140TT which is a 140mm (5.5”)tube.
It’s immediately in front of the chain locker bulkhead. Only the top half of the hole had core which was well sealed off by the epoxy/glass I used to secure the tube.
Nice job, Paul!!
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
Nice !!!
I will think of this every time I have trouble maneuvering from my slip.
Rob
s/v SOAVE
NS33 #009
Cedar Point YC
Westport, CT
Hi Paul,
I read your posting and examined the photos a couple of years ago and I keep looking at the space in my bow. Our boats are different models, but I sure can’t see how I could do what you’ve done. I’d have to shrink a LOT to get in there for the inside portion of the work.
I’ve also thought about those Jet Thrusters. They have the advantage of small holes in the hull and the ability to put the pump where it is convenient, but they have the disadvantage of having to route the water tubing to the nozzles.
Do you know a slick way to determine and/or mark the waterline on the inside of the hull? That would sure make figuring it all out a lot easier.
–Brian Godfrey
Vela, NS33, San Diego