The three photos here show a neat small boat solution we saw on board a 29 foot cutter at Port Townsend. The locker door that covers the spice rack folds open to create a counter space next to the galley sink. Its back has a cutting board attached. When the cook is finished, the door swings up and there is an extra seating area for visitors, or a good place for the crew to be nestle in and read a book when the boat is on port tack.

Most of Thelma's running rigging is tatty looking, so one of my first jobs once she was definitely ours was to go through the supply of old line we had left here or shipped back from various ports because they were just too good to throw away: mostly pre-used halyards from Taleisin. Most of them needed a good wash up. I had bought mesh storage bags from the big marine store in the US for $5.99 each, and found them a perfect solution for this job. I stuffed each line loosely into a separate bag, then ran them through a cold water wash with one extra rinse using normal detergent plus softener. The lines came out tangle free, look much better, and are softer to handle. I found the 14 pound capacity front load washer I use could handle two 75 foot lengths of line in two bags plus a few pieces of other laundry each time. I would not recommend using a dryer with line, but left them to dry naturally. We have been told that washing like this actually prolongs the lines life as it gets out the salt crystals that can chafe at the individual strands.