Date: 4 May 2016. Red Fish, Green Fish
(visual clues)
© janice142
I like
labels, tags and hints. Especially in times of stress having a visual clue
can keep me on the right track. It is also helpful for those new to
boating. Everyone can seem salty with the right reminders. Here is
what I do aboard Seaweed.
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Visual
Clues (old style/works but not very nautical) |
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Hanging by the pilothouse
doorways these two are visual clues for me. Port on the left side
of the boat is red. On the right is starboard which is green.
The bells are a reminder that "one whistle" is a port side pass. "Two
whistles" indicates a starboard pass.
Of course I know that
port has one syllable and starboard has two. Still, these
visual minders have been hanging in my pilothouse for a long time.
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The main problem with my red and green clues is they are ugly. They
are not in the least attractive. I have solved that and you can too.
Here is what I came up. Directions follow for those so inclined.
First I
sketched out a small fish. It needed to be simple. I wanted a small
one as I did not wish to overpower the cabin. My boat is smaller so
full sized would look out of place. Plus I prefer unobtrusive.
Here is my fish:
White throwable cushion
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After years in the cockpit
the sun finally destroyed the cover of my cushion. That is when I took the
thing apart. Inside are several layers of 1/4" foam.
In the center are two layers
of 1/8" rubber. That rubber made its way into my stash of
stuff.
When I needed stiffener for the fish project, I knew just what I
wanted to use. And best of all, it was free! |
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Actually the cushion was
free too. My friend Lynn gave me a pair of cushions that
served me well for many years. I had one in my dinghy back in
the days when that sufficed for a legal life preserver. Now I
have a ratty orange one that is legal.
One of these days I
might pry open my purse and buy one of those $$ inflatable
ones. For now I use what I have.
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First I cut out a bunch of
fish from the rubber. Next I took red and green felt and cut out
slightly larger fish.
Don't forget you need two felt pieces per fish.
I next got
out my soldering gun. Mine is an inexpensive one from Harbor Freight.
Because I do so little with it having a superior one would have been
a waste of perfectly good money. It does do the job and that's all
one can desire.
The plan is to hang the fish. Thus the hole is top and off center. I
want the fish to hang level and this placement works.
To poke the hole I got out my chunk of wood. Every boater has one.
Mine is old, holed, and serves the purpose.
The wood is a surface that can
be damaged and not matter.
The holes ended up with
SLUGS OF MELTED RUBBER. I took Daddy's
knife and scraped them off.
I had some swivels in my fishing supplies. Attached at the hole, they are the hangers. Nautical, eh?
Initially I
used glue to adhere the felt to the rubber. That was unnecessary
so I eliminated that step.
The next part is attaching buttons to the felt. Because of the
rubber I could not stitch straight through and do both sides at
once. Thus each button was sewn on individually. Not fun, and time
consuming too.
One button became the eye. For the green the second button went near the tail.
Remember "two whistles" for a starboard pass...
I wanted my
fish to look fine on either side. That is why I made them three
dimensional with the pretties (buttons) on both sides. It only takes
a bit more time to complete the back.
Be careful.
The buttons need to be on opposite sides for the finished product.
There is a left side and a right side of the felt fish. Getting the
buttons wrong only means making another set if you've got extra
felt.
I think the
fish make cool Christmas tree ornaments or gifts for other boaters.
Pam who is so kind made a set
of fish:
I like the way her green fish has both eyes together. It looks
great!
After the buttons are on I was
ready to sew. The swivel snap is attached through the hole in the rubber.
Then using carpet thread I went around the fish just outside of the
rubber. Voila: finished fish. I chose to go around once leaving the
fish more rustic. Plus it was quicker.
In
retrospect I do not know that the rubber was necessary. The two
layers of decent quality felt are sufficient if the fish are not too large. And too a starch could have been sprayed on them after completion to
stiffen them up if necessary.
Definition
of "decent quality" felt: The thicker stuff with body versus that
thin junk you can see through. If you are spending time to make
something that you want to last, opt for the better quality
materials.
Note for
the boys: Your mom would use starch when ironing. Mixed with water
she would sprinkle it on the clothes using a pop bottle with holes
poked in the cap. Later spray versions came out. The starch made
your daddy's collars stiff and took the wrinkles out of clothes.
[Thank goodness for permanent press fabrics. J.]
Seaweed's
clues went from old and ugly...
This is the new, improved version:
That is what I did for my Seaweed. If you want to do fish
for yours, this is a good project. Without the rubber, putting the fish
together is a fun afternoon craft for all ages. At one time I considered
making the fish for cash. Marketing is not my forte. I'm having too much
fun playing however if you want a do-it-yourself kit, let me know.
Thanks for reading.
What crafts are your favorites aboard?
And, have you seen all the great felt ideas on
Pinterest?
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