Pencil holder

[Christian Williams]

How many yachts have been lost at sea with all hands because of an inadequate pencil holder?

They go down fast, nobody able to scribble a note. So the loses remain unknown.

The aftermarket pencil holder on my boat put the whole project at risk.

First, it held only pencils--no marker would fit. Not even a fine-point to mark wires.

Second, it was unnecessarily complicated in design, composed of three pieces screwed together.

In attempting to modifiy it, it broke. Which was not my fault. Well, if it was, it was earlier the fault of the designer, who made the holes too small to begin with.

Trace the accident chain all the way back, I always say.

Now look what happens when a fellow just drills holes in a scrap block of mahogany.

Pencils and markers fit.

The yacht gains speed and certainty, the weather moderates and sun breaks through the sullen clouds.

When it comes to pencil holders, don;t take any chances.

 

[kari]

Aye approve!

 

[Alan Gomes]

I like it! I see one of these in my future.

 

[Steve A]

heres my pencil/pen holder

 

[Afrakes]

Inadequate Holder

Where's the slot for the word processor?

 

[Rick R.]

How many yachts have been lost at sea with all hands because of an inadequate pencil holder?

They go down fast, nobody able to scribble a note. So the loses remain unknown.

The aftermarket pencil holder on my boat put the whole project at risk.

First, it held only pencils--no marker would fit. Not even a fine-point to mark wires.

Second, it was unnecessarily complicated in design, composed of three pieces screwed together.

In attempting to modifiy it, it broke. Which was not my fault. Well, if it was, it was earlier the fault of the designer, who made the holes too small to begin with.

Trace the accident chain all the way back, I always say.

Now look what happens when a fellow just drills holes in a scrap block of mahogany.

Pencils and markers fit.

The yacht gains speed and certainty, the weather moderates and sun breaks through the sullen clouds.

When it comes to pencil holders, don;t take any chances.

I know I read an NTSB report a while back about birds in jet engines being almost as bad as a broken pencil holder on a sailboat. Now your sails will no longer luff, no more wind spilled out of the top of your headsail and balance is no longer just the name of a shoe!

Nice work Christain.

 

[Glyn Judson]

New fangled pencil holder.

Christian, At first I was confused but as I looked closer, I now see the point of it all. Glyn

 

[toddster]

I kind of like the one that came to me with my boat. A neat little cubby hole piece. The actual pencil holder is simply a block of wood that slips into one of the cubbies.
Easy. It can be infinitely reconfigured just by replacing the block.
I took it out and bored out a few of the holes to hold sharpies.
I can think of a few other places on board where the same general method could be useful. For example, that exact same piece could easily hold toiletries, toothbrush, razor, comb.

 

[Rocinante33]

To be a devils advocate:

The original design may have been lighter.

It also had a certain elegance about it. Nice grain to the wood, although that grain may have contributed to the breakage.

The rounded edges look safer in the event a clumsy crew member falls against it, as well as more elegant.

On the other hand, simplicity IS elegance.

But in the end, you were right when you said, "Trace the accident chain all the way back." AKA, a "Root Cause Analysis."

 

[u079721]

In this shot you should just be able to see my modified pencil holder. I was able to drill out one of the holes to make it large enough to hold my dividers. Be sure to add some of those triangular fittings on the outside of your pencil so that they don't roll across the nav station (the blue thingy on the white pencil). And note the cool hat!

 

[alcodiesel]

This is an important topic. So important I went down right away and took a picture of my pencil holder. This lovely nautical themed container conveyed with the boat. It is held on with Velcro, which I always like, so it can used it elsewhere or to facilitate cleaning it out. It has a divider about a quarter way from the left leaving the right side large enough for a pad of paper if I so choose. Note the distressed lovingly used-look along the top.

 

[paul culver]

Here is my repurposed block of mahogany

Paul
E29 "Bear"