Date: 7 January 2021. Hanger Storage.
© janice142
For at least ten years I've been putting my excess hangers under the
step into my forward cabin. The problem is that the hangers would
fall off. This "temporary" storage system was implemented over a
decade ago. There needed to be a better solution. I finally found a
five-minute fix to permanently remove this annoyance.
You have no
idea how happy this little change has made me. I have called
friends, texted far away folks, and now, I'll tell you about it too.
About hangers: mine are from
our 40'er and are at least thirty years old.

After I have washed my blouses it is easy to place
them on the hangers. The shirts dry while hung without creases. Once
dry, I fold the clothing for storage under my bunk in the Seahorse
locker:

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Photo repeated so you
don't have to scroll:
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You may have noted the string
with two clothes pins tied to the hanger. That is so I can
attach my skirts with ease to a hanger designed for shirts. I utilized a 1/8" braided line I
had in my stash.
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I told you about my
string collection in the
Box of Small Stuff (line)
article. This container is a little thing in the scheme of
life. Regardless, having a box of string is far more useful
than one might at first believe. |
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The hangers aboard Seaweed all have a metal top that
rotates.
Some folks advocate using 100%
plastic hangers aboard a boat. Because my hangers have not rusted after decades
of usage, I see no reason to purchase new ones. Mine function
perfectly. In my view the turning part makes the older hangers
preferable to the new-fangled solid ones.
The rotating top of the hanger
allows my shirts to dry along a bulkhead.

As for storage, I used to stow
the hangers on a screw partially inserted into the support for the
step into my forward cabin. This system failed regularly. The hangers would come off
over the head of the screw. My initial solution was to add a washer at the
end of the screw. That worked, but not very well.
Finally
after knocking the hangers off one time
too many I decided to fix
this permanently. |

Eons ago I had purchased two sizes of L-brackets from a
seller on eBay. The listing title was 10X stainless
L-brackets. Unfortunately, the fine print said "quantity
one" rather than the ten of each size I believed I was
getting. eBay is great, however it is not always Perfect.
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My larger single
L-bracket I attached it to the bottom of the step support in
the same place as the original screw was inserted. In order to
make sure the hangers would stay put, I used an *8x32x1.5"
machine bolt and two nuts at the outside end of the bracket.
This keeps the hangers from falling.
*8x32x1.5": Metric diameter size 8,
with 32 threads per inch, and a length of one and a half
inches.
Side Note:
8x32 (spoken aloud as "eight by 32") is fairly standard for marine electronics. You might want
to have some in various lengths for your collection.
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If you would like more
information about nuts and bolts,
the
Bolt
Sizing Primer vignette should be
helpful. |
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The how to:
An L-bracket has an open end. I wanted a U-shaped portion for the
hangers to fit into, yet not become dislodged easily. To accomplish
this I retrieved my screw collection. One 8 by 32 bolt and two nuts
were retrieved.

First I threaded one of the nuts on from the bottom
approximately 1/2" (a bit more than 1cm). This was to
prevent the bolt from falling all the way through the hole
in the L-bracket. Then I took the second nut and tightened
it up from the bottom.
Voila! One U-shaped
system to
easily store my hangers is made.
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I
am beyond pleased by this small change aboard Seaweed.

The
HANGERS ↑ are now
out of the way yet easily accessible.
The hangers cannot be knocked when I go into my
cabin. The
L-BACKET ↓ is back from the step edge.

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Memory Lane:
Growing up aboard our 40'er, Mother had a real antipathy
regarding boats that hung their laundry on the lifelines. She
was particularly miffed by sailors who raised their skivvies
up the flag halyard. We kept our drying clothes inside or out
of sight.
Outside, under the *gunnel we would dry our bathing suits.
That way they were out of sight. Additionally, the sun would
not destroy the elastic in the suits.
*Gunnel: the top edge of the hull.
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Photo taken from the galley step, looking aft
with
the boat all opened. She was a beautiful home... |
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This quirk regarding laundry is one I have continued. I am aware that
few share my views. Most boaters without a drier do hang
their items outside. Dampness inside can exacerbate mildew
issues. Seaweed is well ventilated so that issue has not been
a major concern thus far. |
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To this day, I
handle laundry the same as when I was raised. I can and do dry EVERYTHING inside the boat. One of the
"secrets" is to utilize hangers for my blouses and skirts. I also do
laundry every day or two so there is never a whole lot. That makes a
big difference too.
Someday I'll get into the whole "where I hang everything" if there
is interest. There are one dozen (twelve!) places I dry items inside
my 23' long home. Let me know in the comments please if you'd like
to see my setups. Thanks!
As
for me, I'll be hanging around...

I will admit to being inordinately pleased with my
new storage solution for hangers. Though a
small change, and now I wonder what else I can do on a minor scale
to make my Seaweed better...
To those who
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This makes a huge difference, and I do appreciate it. J.
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Comments welcome and encouraged on the
Hanger Storage
page.
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Topics of Interest:
You can achieve a simple satisfying life

Oh, a wondrous bird is the pelican!
His bill holds more than his belican.
He can take in his beak enough food for a week.
But I'm darned if I know how the helican.
(Poem by Dixon Lanier Merritt, 1879-1972.)
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Seaweed is in St. Pete right now.
The above chart (#411) can be a
wish book of sorts as you look over your domain and wonder where to go
next. And yes, I do have the originals (sans red arrow) as jpeg's for
download should you desire your own for closer perusal. Enjoy!
The Writer's Block
It's my belief that other folks who
boat are some of the most interesting in the world. Inside every boater
is a story. Let yours out! I'd love to post short stories, vignettes, or
even longer articles that focus on some aspect of our life on or near
the water. Suggested topics include:
1. I Remember When...
2. My First Boat
3. Who inspired you to be a boater?
4. Fishing Trips or Tricks
5. Or another subject of your choosing
For the novice, here's how to write: Simply pretend
you're sending a letter to a friend. Tell about an event or a memory
from years ago that you still recall.
Life has changed so much on the
water since I was born aboard. Personally I'd love to hear your memories
of life when you were younger. Boats were smaller, narrower, and much
slower. Kids were kids and our families often shaped the adult we have
become. Here are my two aboard the tow boat my dad ran for a time:

Your pictures would be wonderful too. I posted one of
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and really, that's not so terribly long ago... Do you have any photos to
share?
Email me.
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Often an article for the website
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Pets afloat (include pet and boat
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thanks bunches!
My email address is
janice@janice142.com
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