Give Old Boat Parts New Life as Holiday Gifts

There’s nothing worse than getting or giving yet another ugly sweater or never-to-be-worn tie. Why not try up-cycling old boat parts to give new life to retired gear? Here’s a dozen or so ideas for do-it-yourself (DIY) reuse of what would otherwise become nautical discards. Not the DIY type? We’ve got you covered with a few ready-made items available from unique suppliers.

New Life for Old Winches

What sailor doesn’t have an old set of single-speed, non-self-tailing winches? Buff them up and let them serve a second life as door stops or book ends. Small winches might serve as paper weights or chuck the internals and fashion the winch drums into salt and pepper shakers.

If you want to do it right, you’ll disassemble and degrease the old mechanism and then mount the winch on a proper chunk of nicely finished mahogany. This is what I would do with old winches if I failed to sell them on eBay. For more on this more financially rewarding use of old gear, check out “How to Sell Old Sailing Equipment.”

Repurposing Cleats and Other Hardware

Marine hardware is often beautiful. Bronze, in particular, develops a wonderful patina and stands up to decades of use even better than stainless equivalents. Marine hardware is also notoriously expensive, so forgive this budget-minded execution of a hardware reuse idea. I couldn’t find six matching bronze or stainless cleats at an affordable price, even on eBay or Craiglist, so I bought Marelon plastic cleats to replace the nondescript knobs on a set of built-in drawers in my nautically themed office.

I have to confess that I didn’t even through-bolt these cleats, though I did use stainless steel screws. The installation has stood up to more than 20 years of vigorous drawer opening.

Instruments as Objets D’art

Old electronics don’t usually stand up as well as marine hardware, but after removing my circa 1972 Kenyon KS 200 knotmeter and log, I just couldn’t toss it. This analog instrument didn’t have a great reputation for reliability (the log is stuck at just 188 miles) but the lathe-turned aluminum bezel and case is simply gorgeous. The round instrument was held in place by an equally impressive ring fitted with sunken, Allen-head barrel bolts. The whole contraption weighs in at nearly three pounds, and when you give it little tip, the well-balanced analog needle shoots up the knot scale.

Rather than junk this beauty, I took off the back, removed all protruding connectors and parts and then applied stick-on felt feet. The device now lives within eyesight on my bookshelf and I pick it up once in a while and rev it up to five or six knots.

New Life for Old Sails

There are plenty of enterprising craftspeople and retailers who are finding new uses for old nautical gear. Emiliano Marino and Pami-Sue Alvarado (a.k.a. Salty Sue), for example, run a sail exchange and canvas services business as part of The Artful Sailor, a nautical retailer and online catalog based in Port Townsend, WA.

As Emiliano notes in this blog, it’s very common to see old sails turned into duffel bags, totes and purses, but he’s not stingy in sharing ideas for barbecue covers, cabana curtains, sun sails and other items. Not a DIYer? I’m sure you can engage Emeliano (or your local loft) to execute one of these ideas. Or  check out the unique nautical items in The Artful Sailor catalog.

New Uses for Old Boats

Maybe you’re not so crafty, you don’t have any worthy marine discards, or you’re simply running out of time to come up with a salty gift. One of my favorite retailers of old sailing gear is Sailboat Parts, based in Grasonville, MD. This isn’t just a place for gift ideas. Boat restorers can “Search by Boat” and find items such as an interior cabinet door from a Bristol 30 or a boom crutch from a 1964 Pearson Triton.

In the gift vein, Sailboat Parts lists old ships’ wheels, old port hatches and more. Sailboat Parts even finds new uses for entire boats, such as turning the transom of an old Lightning into a bench seat or the midships of a Seafarer 23 into a bar.

Holiday Contest!

Have you found new uses or gift ideas for old boat parts (or old boats)?

Tell us about them via the form below for a chance to win a yearlong subscription to Practical Sailor as well as a Practical Sailor t-shirt. Please upload a photo as well. Contest closes on 17 December 2025 at 11:00 p.m. EST.