Marking the kit

[LadyG]

I'd like to mark some kit.

Windlasses: aluminium

Mooring pins : steel

Lump Hammer

Other stuff of plastic.

Is it best to buy a Dynmo

Or use masking tape with a Sharpie pen.

I have a Dremel

I've lost one windlass and one pin  in three years

 

 

Edited June 23, 2023 by LadyG

[MtB]

38 minutes ago, LadyG said:

I'd like to mark some kit.

 

I'll have a go.

 

Windlasses: aluminium 7 out of 10

Mooring pins : steel 9 out of 10

Lump Hammer 10 out of 10

Other stuff of plastic. 0 out of 10

Is it best to buy a Dynmo No these can be picked orf

Or use masking tape with a Sharpie pen. No this can be picked orf

I have a Dremel Never mind, all have our crosses to bear.

[Ianws]

You lose 1 you might find 1. Dynmo tape won't last forever  in active use and the equipment costs. Be careful with your pins and windlasses and accept the occasional loss. 

[Rincewind]

If you use Dynmo or other kind of print label attached to your chosen object then if it is appropriate, over lay it with transparent heatshrink tubing. 

It still wont stop it from being mislaid or stolen though 😁

[Ronaldo47]

I have in the past bought sets of hardened steel number and letter punches in different sizes from Screwfix and Toolstation. 

 

You might have a job marking the head of a hammer, but punches will work on aluminium, plastic,  and wooden handles, and the impressions can be inked in with a Sharpie for better visibility and then  varnished for protection.  I use punches on wood when pre-fabricating  timberwork  to ensure the pieces are assembled correctly.

[Rebotco]

little electric engraving tools are quite cheap.

[David Schweizer]

Marking an item which you subsequently loose, is unlikely to help you to recover it. Marking an item is really only a deterrent to someone stealing it.

 

 

Edited June 24, 2023 by David Schweizer

[Jen-in-Wellies]

A caving club and a cave rescue team I'm a member of use Tough Tags. They survive what is a notoriously destructive environment. Waterproof and very abrasion resistant stick on tags with whatever details you want printed. Reasonable price. You won't be able to place an order till August however. Family firm and real life intruding. No other connection to them other than as a user.

[MtB]

11 hours ago, LadyG said:

I'd like to mark some kit.

 

Why?

 

Is it because you've had arguments with other boaters about whose hammer, windlass etc it is?

 

Or do you need to label things because you forget what they are? 

 

 

[magnetman]

3mm drill and put a series of holes through the item. 

 

I did a windlass once by drilling little craters with an 8mm drill and filling the holes with paint to match the colours of the boat I had at the time. 

Still have that windlass but not the boat.

 

[blackrose]

If the marking looks too perfect anyone thinking of stealing it might think it's part of the manufacturer's design. I have a friend who slaps paint onto things like bicycles really badly so that they become completely undesirable to thieves (or anyone else). His stuff looks terrible but it never gets stolen. However I'm not sure how a windlass gets stolen? Surely you're either using it or it's in the boat? If you leave it out on deck or on the roof then like anything else eventually it will walk regardless of little spots of paint, engraving, etc. Thieves don't hang around for long enough to observe small details like that and once it's gone it's gone.

Edited June 24, 2023 by blackrose

[Graham Davis]

Stop worrying about petty little things like this and get out and enjoy your boating!

[Jon57]

5 minutes ago, blackrose said:

If the marking looks too perfect anyone thinking of stealing it might think it's part of the manufacturer's design. I have a friend who slaps paint onto things like bicycles really badly so that they become completely undesirable to thieves (or anyone else). His stuff looks terrible but it never gets stolen. However I'm not sure how a windlass gets stolen? Surely you're either using it or it's in the boat? If you leave it out on deck or on the roof then like anything else eventually it will walk regardless of little spots of paint, engraving, etc. Thieves don't hang around for long enough to observe small details like that and once it's gone it's gone.

Paint it pink with thousands of one's mixed in. 😁

[Jen-in-Wellies]

50 minutes ago, magnetman said:

3mm drill and put a series of holes through the item. 

 

I did a windlass once by drilling little craters with an 8mm drill and filling the holes with paint to match the colours of the boat I had at the time. 

Still have that windlass but not the boat.

Let me guess. You don't have the boat any more because you drilled the 3mm holes in the wrong place? 😀

 

[magnetman]

The windlass wasn't marked because of theft potential it was just to personalise it with the boat. 

 

The boatmen from yars ago had a tendency to personalise their windlasses. 

 

 

[Hudds Lad]

9 hours ago, Ronaldo47 said:

You might have a job marking the head of a hammer

Especially if you only own one hammer  

[MtB]

24 minutes ago, Hudds Lad said:

Especially if you only own one hammer  

 

One could always 'borrow' LadyG's! 

 

 

[Jon57]

15 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

One could always 'borrow' LadyG's! 

 

 

How would you know it was hers? Unless she has marked it😁

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

2 hours ago, magnetman said:

3mm drill and put a series of holes through the item. 

 

I did a windlass once by drilling little craters with an 8mm drill and filling the holes with paint to match the colours of the boat I had at the time. 

Still have that windlass but not the boat.

 

Tiny floor boards ? or a massive windlass?

[Laurie Booth]

2 hours ago, magnetman said:

3mm drill and put a series of holes through the item. 

 

I did a windlass once by drilling little craters with an 8mm drill and filling the holes with paint to match the colours of the boat I had at the time. 

Still have that windlass but not the boat.

 

Sorry to hear about your boat being stolen, still the thieves leaving the windlass is a bit of luck

[magnetman]

29 minutes ago, Goliath said:

Tiny floor boards ? or a massive windlass?

finger parquet

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

23 minutes ago, magnetman said:

finger parquet

Looks good 👍 

[magnetman]

2 hours ago, Goliath said:

Looks good 👍 

I put it down myself one piece at at time with Lecol adhesive onto 18mm plywood. 

 

It is a nice floor for the boat. 

 

 

[ditchcrawler]

I would suggest people put a mobile phone number on their keys for when they leave them at waterpoints and bridge control panels, that way they stand a good chance of getting them back

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

My boat name is still on my key fob. 
From when I bought it just over a decade ago. 

Just another thing I’ve put off changing.  
I’ll do something about it one day.