Manuals stored on board

kirk a

kirk a

GreatGrady Captain
Joined
Sep 26, 2009
Messages
417
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Points
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Location
Massachusetts
Model
Express 330
Wondering if folks are storing the Grady Bag full of manuals on board, and if so, where? I'm in a 330, and am tired of tripping over the bag of them, but don't really want to stuff em in a closed compartment where they might deteriorate.
 
I keep mine in the cabin inside the Grady bag.
 
I have my MDFs's flush mounted but hinged so I can access the box behind them, keep all my manuals there for easy access. Seem to have acquired a lot with a T 8 kicker, F 200, AP, Yamaha command gauges, i Troll, ....yikes ....it is a small library in there.
 
I agree that manuals can take a beating on the boat, the biggest issue being moisture and possible mildew. In addition not all manuals are needed on the boat. Many manuals can be downloaded to a tablet or phone. Personally, I don't store mine on the boat but there are times I wish I did mostly for electronics that don't have the most intuitive user interface.
An old friend of mine used to vacuum seal books and manuals that were important but not needed on a regular basis. He used a Food Saver machine and I have to say, the manuals stayed in perfect shape
 
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Mine are on the boat most in zip-Loc bags. Kept in GW bag under v-berth on the side.
 
I store mine in the port side compartment under the forward V berth. Covered with that stamoid flap.
 
All mine are sealed in a LARGE zip-lock bag and then in my Grady bag. they are from 1997 and look like new.
 
I store mine inside my house and use the Captain Grady app which has a searchable PDF of the manual. I never boat without a fully charged phone and find the searching feature in the app handier than working through a paper doc.
 
Toothpick 10 said:
I leave my manuals at home and bring the required manual to the boat if needed.
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Murphy likes me way too much to be comfortable with this approach!

I'm going with the under V berth storage on this one. Not sure why I did not think of that already.
 
grady23 said:
All mine are sealed in a LARGE zip-lock bag and then in my Grady bag. they are from 1997 and look like new.
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How often do you need to open the bag for a manual? Is it always the same manual you need to read?
 
I keep all of my manuals, registration, insurance, fishing licenses, etc in the Grady bag. I store the bag inside the head compartment on the netted shelf. In 6 years, no issues.
 
I keep mine at home. Only manual I have on board is the one for the Simrad to figure out a function if needed.
 
kirk a said:
Murphy likes me way too much to be comfortable with this approach!

I'm going with the under V berth storage on this one. Not sure why I did not think of that already.
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Keep in mind that you can access most manuals through your phone online if you need information in a hurry.
 
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Fortunately we cruise into beautiful areas that have no phone accessibility (no signal)......doubt I will go satellite. Fishing slow or anchored out, like to peruse some boat info, which there seems to be lots of with 2 motors and todays electronics.:)
 
I loaded all mine onto a one drive and can access them anytime as long as there is an internet access.
 
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