A Fresh Boat and a Fresh Start

First off, happy holidays to all of you!  Here’s hoping that the past few weeks have been full of good people, good eats, and good times.

I myself have been doing a wee bit of urban homesteading this holiday season.  What’s this?  The Salty Sister stooped over the stove, knitting up a storm, and learning to make soap?  Yup, and it’s fun to boot. I’ve also been thinking enviro lately, or even more so…good ways to stick it to the man as they say.  I think I’ve found an avenue for us as stewards of the sea, as an environmentally minded group, to do our part and stick it to the man.

My solution is soap.  Boat soap.  How many times have we busted out our boat bins containing chemicals like acetone, MEKP, and bleach? And, raise your hand if you’ve ever washed your boat with Vim and looked on as it rinsed off into the lake, river, or harbour where a ridiculously cute baby seal frolicked nearby.   I will do us all a favour and raise my own hand…I am guilty as charged.

So my lovely sister, dubbed Nouveau Baba, passed a recipe for home made VIM my way and I’m pumped.  We’ve researched the obscure oils and removed any unnecessary to the purpose of cleaning a boat (pretty sure we don’t need to worry about e-coli on a 49er FX or Laser).  Once you’ve got the ingredients, this recipe costs roughly $2 per batch, so go in on it with your pals and you as a group no longer need to feel pangs of guilt when you roll up to a regatta and wash the highway grime off.  No more nasty chemicals into the water supply, no more worrying about the soap leeching into your skin…and one less harsh cleaner in your boat box.  Give it a try!

Boat Soap

Ingredients

1/2 cup baking soda, 2 tbsp Borax powder, 1 Tsp fine grade sea salt, 1/4 Cup liquid castille soap (craft stores, health food stores will have this), 1/4 cup water, 1/2 Tsp d-Limonene (this is the good stuff that gets the grime off), Optional: 10 drops tea tree oil (an anti-fungal)

Directions: Mix the dry ingredients and the tea tree oil in a container, add all the wet ingredients, put the lid on and shake vigorously. Then wonder why no one ever told you how easy it was to make environmentally friendly soap.