Your best Jury Rig?

[xxturbowesxx]

I think we all do it, call it ingenuity but i was rigging my new gauges last night ran into a couple of hiccups and solved it with zip ties. And I was thinking in the back of my head what other boaters have come across and had to rig around something. Ive read recently about using cigarette foil for a fuse so maybe we should add a do not try this at home clause(unless really desparate )

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

Duct tape and bailing wire have probably fixed more things than we can list.

 

[Bass Man Bruce]

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

Miles from nowhere up a river on a hunting trip and we sheared the pin on the 3hp Johnson. Thought we were screwed and then found a no tresspassing sign (we were legal) nailed to a tree and borrowed one nail. Bent it back and forth till it broke, put it in the prop and off we went.:redface:

 

[DJ]

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

Miles from nowhere up a river on a hunting trip and we sheared the pin on the 3hp Johnson. Thought we were screwed and then found a no tresspassing sign (we were legal) nailed to a tree and borrowed one nail. Bent it back and forth till it broke, put it in the prop and off we went.:redface:

Been there, done that.

I only keep "galvanized" nails in my 3 HP toolbox.

I once used "zip ties" (all I had to work with) to keep the steering working on a 28' Bertram to keep the rudder working. The boat was a POS (old) but the charter was CHEAP. I love old Bertrams.

The tiller arm bolt had corroded to nothing.

The Captain was radioing for a tow when I told him, "I can fix it".

We got back into shore (marina) with no issues. Great trip, lot's of fish.

NO CHARGE for the excursion.


Another:

Went,
"Jeeping" in the desert, with a tour. The Jeep forded a creek got to the other side and stalled. The driver couldn't shift. Uh oh!

The clutch pedal was "zero". Nada, nothing.

I went under the Jeep and affixed the trailer light wiring to re-connect the clutch linkage to the clutch. Not good but worked.

Lesson. ALWAYS carry a pen knife.

Another Free tour.

On the way back to civilization, I taught the Jeep driver how to shift-without using the clutch. Duh! I thought everybody knew that?

 

[chiefalen]

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

Fat water pump hose on the boat burst, used a whole roll of black tape to try and seal it and we did get back in.

Slow going was leaking a bit but didn't overheat.

 

[j_martin]

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

Back when I had nine kids, and therefore not much money, we decided to go to Montana in a 12 passenger van. Trouble was, that old dodge was so rusty it was downright breezy inside. The teenage girls went at it with several rolls of duct tape, and actually formed door panels and rocker panels out of the tape. In the back window, in duct tape, was formed "Duct Tape Rocks."

We got a lot of waving and horn honkin' all the way to Montana and back.

I've learned that all you need in your tool box is WD40 and duct tape. If it doesn't move, and should, use WD40. If it moves, and shouldn't use the Duct Tape.

John

 

[QC]

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

I used zip ties to fix a broken bimini mount on a friend's boat. It worked for a whole weekend.

I can't think of all the things I have fixed with a needle and fishing line. Bimini straps, cover straps. Life jacket straps. Bimini seams. Cover seams. I just throw those little sewing kits you get at a hotel into my little boat bag. Come in very handy.

I also carry epoxy and have remounted a "fixed" GPS mount that pulled the screws out while we were out. That was my boat and it has not budged since, been four years.

Sealed a tire on our tow vehicle with a big screw and that got us home from over 100 miles out. I now carry a plug kit and I have sealed two other tires on friends rigs since, quicker than pullign out the spare even.

My best "Jerry" was bubble gum on a radiator on an old beat up pick-up when I was 17 or so. It was so cold outside that the ram air kept it hard enough to seal it until we could get home. I still can't believe it worked, but it did.

 

[Rocky_Road]

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

Actually...it is 'jury rigged'.

And I have done it so often, that I don't even consider it as 'rigged' at all!

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...y+rigged&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

I was towing home when the water pump belt snapped on my truck...Found a fist full of wire zip ties and connected 5-6 of them together, rounded all of the pulleys and cinched it tight. Worked for 3 miles, but when I got the RPM's above 2K the tinkling sound of the locks hitting the pullers stopped. Made up another zip-tie fan belt and hit the road,, broke it and replaced it again, and again, and again...

Zip tie fan belts are only good for 2-3 miles and/or 2,000 RPM



Out with my buddies fishing/partying/camping and by the campfire at night we had the stereo going. Work up in the morning to a dead battery, click, click, click... Removed the battery and placed it over the bed of coals to warm it up (on a grate of course). While the battery was warming I disconnected or turned off everything electrical in the truck, stereo, lights, heater blower, fuel pump. We discussed our plan, as soon as the engine fires up, plug the fuel pump wire back into the fuse block. After installing the toasty battery we were set, Ignition on, VROOM,,, YEAH! ATTA-BOY, WAY TO GO!!! Sputter, quick confused look and the light bulb clicked on,,, fuel pump was never reconnected.. engine dies Reconnect fuel pump and Click Click Click,,, battery dead again...... Luckily someone came driving by about 10 minutes later and gave us a jump start.

 

[mphy98]

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

Back in 72 was coming home from Keesler AFB in my 66 vette. Smelled an awful smell for a long while. Went to get gas and when I stopped the right wheel came down with a thud. Wheel bearing out. Not much money to replace the spindle soooo..... got a new bearing and the guy at the gas station let me weld the race to the spindle. Lasted all the rest of the way home and back to base where it sat for a while till I got enough money to do it right.

 

[tx1961whaler]

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

I'd have to list everything I've made with JB Weld.........

 

[Shizzy]

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

I plead the 5th.........

 

[xxturbowesxx]

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

Back in 72 was coming home from Keesler AFB in my 66 vette. Smelled an awful smell for a long while. Went to get gas and when I stopped the right wheel came down with a thud. Wheel bearing out. Not much money to replace the spindle soooo..... got a new bearing and the guy at the gas station let me weld the race to the spindle. Lasted all the rest of the way home and back to base where it sat for a while till I got enough money to do it right.

I grew up in Biloxi although i'm a youngin. Its made a drastic change in the past 15 years(for the worse Imo)..

I seem to rig things weekly so ill plea the 5th as well.

 

[david_r]

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

And I have done it so often, that I don't even consider it as 'rigged' at all!

i have to agree...........this statement says it all...........just depends on what you are carrying in your tool box.....if you look in mine you may think --overkill, but i go prepared for the worst.

 

[DJ]

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

If it doesn't move, and should, use WD40. If it moves, and shouldn't use the Duct Tape.

John

I like that.

 

[slasmith1]

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

was enjoying 4th of July some years ago boat had Volvo 350 fresh water cooled (raw water pump on engine not drive) raw water pump had catastrophic failure I pinched off the inlet hose with a hammer handle and the hose clamp hooked up my raw water wash down pump to the heat exchanger and made it safely to the nearest marina.

this story didn't end there I was lucky enough that a person working the boat launch new a mobile repair guy who went home and took the pump off of his fishing boat and brought it back (refused payment) and then some Idiot hit my boat while i was tied to the dock installing the new pump.

the happy ending was we made it back on the water in time to see the fireworks.

 

[jimr]

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

we had a trash truck break a ujoint on a pto shaft. it took a chunk out of the side of the tranny. well a new allison md3060 is about 10 grand so my boss told me to jb weld the piece back in. I did and it didnt leak. about 2 years later the tranny was run low from another leak and burned up. Sent the truck to allison for a rebuild and the service manager called and said he liked the repair but if they were going to warranty their work we would have to buy a case.

 

[triumphrick]

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

Citi Bank of NY arranged to have me fly to the Cayman islands from a job I was working in Jamaica. I brought parts to fix their lightning damaged bank security system. Unfortunately, the diode I needed was not in the parts bag. Off to the local hardware store, where I bought a cheap radio, disassembled it and removed the diode. Installed it in the system and was up and running. The local branch manager had driven me about and was with me at the time. He was awed at my resorcefulness (jerry rigging!) He insisted I spend the night at the local beachfront hotel and presented me with a 40 oz jug of Chivas! Thank God for US Navy electronics training!!

 

[LadyFish]

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

I once fixed a run in my pantyhose with superglue. I never did that again.

 

[jsfinn]

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

Re: Your best Jerry Rig?

In high school I had a friend who wanted a bigger air intake on his Honda Civic (yeah, I don't know why either...) but didn't have the money to buy one so he decided to make one.

After buying about $5 worth of parts at the local hardware store, he had affixed a metal flexible dryer vent hose to the intake manifold with some rubber size reducers. For the filter he used cheesecloth stretched across the other end of the dryer vent held on with rubber bands.

The best part was when he started the car up the dryer vent hose instantly shrunk up from it's nicely laid out position and stood straight up dancing around like a cobra about to strike. As soon as he gave it a little bit of gas the cheesecloth got sucked in to the intake manifold. We spent the next hour picking it out.

It's not a "best" jury-rig or mine but makes me laugh every time I think about it.


My best jury-rig? I hung a flat panel TV on the wall but wanted the cable set top box to go with the TV so I ran some cable ties through the vents on the top of the box and suspended it under the TV from the screw holes that used to hold the base of the TV on (which you remove when you wall mount it). You can't see any of the cable ties because the box is snugged up to the TV and looks really nice.