Make them the right length for any job
Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012
Bungees of the “loop and ball” type are very handy around sailboats. I needed some larger than those commercially available for tying up my rigging while trailering, so I made custom ones.
I visited a tent and awning shop where I bought a long length of 3⁄16-inch elastic cord. I then acquired a number of large 1⁄8-inch-thick x 1 3⁄16-inch-OD plastic washers with a 1⁄4-inch hole. I enlarged the holes in the washers to 3⁄8 inch. After experimenting with the cord length I needed, I passed the cord through the hole and tied a figure-eight knot in each cord end (you could also tie both in one knot). Done!
Repeat as necessary.
Allen Penticoff is a contributing editor with Good Old Boat. He has trailersailed on every Great Lake and on many inland waters and has had keelboat adventures on fresh and salt water. He presently owns three sailboats, an American 14.5, a MacGregor 26D, and a 1955 Beister 42-foot steel cutter that he’s restoring.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
