"MINNEY MEN AGAINST THE SEA" An epic saga.....

The above picture was taken October 10, 1959. That was the day my father George Minney backed his 65' schooner "Kelpie" out of the dock and departed with his three sons as crew on a one year voyage to French Polynesia. What was supposed to be a dream cruise quickly turned into a stressful and challenging voyage for the entire crew. Three days out of Newport Beach, while laying too on a sea anchor saltwater pounded up the exhaust pipe and put the Chrysler engine out of commission for almost 3 months. Near gales and flat calms tested the Captain and crew to their limits. 1000 strokes on the hand bilge pump in a 4 hour period would test the mettle of anyone. Dragging anchor and going ashore on the island of Nuka Hiva almost finished the trip. Having the wind drop and a strong current setting Kelpie towards a rocky cliff called for the 15' dory to be launched in an attempt to tow the 50 ton schooner to safety. Two guys rowing with all their might brought the bow around to the other tack and saved Kelpie from a watery grave. This and many more stories will be told and I will be showing my 50 year old color film of this epic voyage this coming Thursday, March 1st at the Orange Coast College Sailing Center in Newport Beach. Call 949-645-9412 to reserve a seat. Admission is $15.00 for singles and $20.00 for couples. All admission fees go to the Sailing Center. Show starts promptly at 7:00 PM. The Sailing Center is on Pacific Coast Highway on the bay at the west end of the large Balboa Bay Club building. Hope you can make it. Ernie Minney P.S. Drop by the store between now and show time and pick up a 50% savings certificate........

Used Charts

We've still got hundreds and hundreds of used charts for $1.95. Wallpaper, decor, gift wrapping, shelf liners, treasure maps etc... endless uses!

Keep Fish & Game at Bay!

Pick up one of these handy little laminated charts letting you know where you can and can't fish. $7.95 is a lot better than the fine you'll get if you're caught in a marine reserve.

PS: It's not mentioned on the chart, but don't feed killer whales...

2012 Tide Calendars

Get your tide calendars before we send em' back to the publisher. We're selling them at our cost because I don't want to go wait in line at the post office.

List - $14.95

MINNEY'S - $9.95

Pigtails and Splitters Galore

We know you and everyone else check out a product in the stores and then buys it cheaper online... that's why we try our best to keep our prices under Amazon and the other "virtual" big box stores.

50 Amp - (2) 30 Amp

List - $259.00

Amazon - 174.35

MINNEY"S - $115.00

30 Amp Splitters

List - $219.99

Amazon - $142.23

MINNEY'S - $105.00

30 Amp - 15 Amp Adaptor

List - $69.99

Amazon - $50.88

MINNEY'S - $37.50

WE KEEP BOATING AFFORDABLE!

Man Overboard Alert

Pictured is a $3,000 unit that could save your life. An EPIRB may help you get picked up by the Coast Guard if you're lucky, but this device is meant to get you back on your own boat... a much more desirable rescue.

Included is the ALERT receiver enclosed in a Pelican case, a radio direction finder antenna ($800 alone), and 6 transponders to be worn by crew members.

It lists around $3,000

We're giving it away at $395

Device hasn't been used to our knowledge, and 5 out of 6 transponders are still in sealed pouches. Sold As-Is.

Half Off Outboards!

Today through Sunday take 50% off of all the outboards in the store. They're sold as is, where is, no lay away or placing holds... they wont last long so get down here.

POMPANETTE "ELITE" HELM SEAT CUSHIONS.. $39.95 !!!

This is one of my most outrageous deals in the history of my little store. Pictured is a brand new seat cushion, slide on back cushion and two arm rest cushions for Pompanette "ELITE" helm seats. These were all going overseas to be installed on "RIVIERA" power boats. We hijacked the ship and therefore have very little cost in these items. If you tried to order these cushions from Pompanette the price would be over $220.00 per set. We have a limited supply and are selling the set as pictured for $39.95 a set. We want to spread them around and are limiting all orders to six sets per customer. There will be a packing charge of ten to twenty dollars per order and shipping charges will be extra. I know that a group of local yachtsman have petitioned the Vatican to bestow sainthood upon me and I thank them for it. Customers have referred to me as the Mother Teresa of boating and the Robin Hood of the sea. That is also very nice. Our mission statement is "WE KEEP BOATING AFFORDABLE", how are we doing ???

Rudder Alley

Where else can you find a pile of sailboat rudders like this in town? No, we don't know what they came off of, but if you're in need, you might come have a look.

Inverters-Toilets & Tabs.........

I'm gonna let the pictures do the talking today. Have a nice weekend.... Ernie

Pumps-Panels-Bottom Paint

Interlux and Pettit bottom paint $119.00 per gallon. Big box stores are getting over $200.00 for the same paint. Only about 25 gallons left. This price is only for the limited stock on hand. Some nice looking electrical panels and instrument packages for Riviera power boats. A great looking Newmar panel was on display for only 20 minutes when a boat owner exclaimed, "that's exactly what I've been looking for" and grabbed it. Lots of pumps for Mansfield marine toilets, and several brand new Orberdorfer high pressure gear pumps that are wired for both 12 volt and 24 volts. Yes, it's like Christmas around here as we slowly unpack the tons of hardware and marine gear that we purchased from and exporter that is scaling down his operation.

Vents-Buckles & S.S. Exhaust Hose Clamps....

Pictured is a great batch of U.S. Navy bronze turnbuckles. This type turnbuckle were usually used for cable lifelines on large ships. They have sort of an acme thread and the wire was attached by pouring melted zinc into the large cone at one end. They also have some of the little wedges that helps spread the wire. This isn't something that would be too useful aboard your Cal-40. If you have a nautical room in your house or want to rig a mast in your seafood restaurant these WWII rigging screws would look cool. They are about 20" in length with about 5/8" bodies. $35.00 each. 1000 heavy duty 8" hose clamps. Made in USA and all parts 300 series stainless steel. We know $2.95 each is a GIVE AWAY but they are bulky and it's fun shocking you with our awesome low prices! Also pictured is what we think are the engine room side vents for Riviera power boats complete with circulation fans. The seem to have heavy duty Star Board frames with unique louvers that allow air to flow through them while keeping salt spray from coming in. We're a bit out of our element with something like this. Perhaps a Riviera owner can enlighten us. We've priced a set of 4 with hi-tech fans at $495.00.

Electrical wire-exhaust hose-Morse control cables

Finally, the trucking is done and we can relax a bit. It took 4 strong guys (I'm one of them) 3 days to move our large purchase of boat gear into our store and surrounding garages and boat sheds. In the marine junk business you don't just pick up the phone, place and order and have it delivered to the front door of your store. No, we travel all of the U.S. in our endless effort of keeping boating affordable and maintaining a constant supply of marine hardware, sails and supplies. Once in the hills above San Luis Obisbo my monster Penske truck full of ABI hardware from San Francisco (never renting from Penske again) broke down in the middle of the night. A nice highway patrol man took me in his patrol car into the town to call Penske. Enroute we turned on the siren and stopped a drunk driver with me as his back-up sitting in his car near his shot gun. We talked about boats as we drove down the steep hills into town, he owned a Catalina 250. I gave him my card as he delivered me to the Apple Farm Inn in SLO, two weeks later he ordered a sail from me. How's that for networking??? Pictured are a couple of items from our latest purchase. About a half ton brand new marine engine exhaust hose priced at a buck a foot and inside diameter inch. A local engine speciality store has been purchasing it from us. Our price is better than their regular hose distributor. Darn, I just had my Down East 38 re-wired with Ancor marine electrical wire and I was shocked at how expensive the wire was. Now, a ton of the stuff falls into my lap! We priced it at $5.00 a pound if you purchase 100 pounds or more. Also pictured are brand new Morse control cables. We think $1.00 a foot a fair price. What do you think? This has been the same price for the past 15 years. P.S. We have 4 brand new wind shields for Riveria Yachts. The label says they are for the "Pacific 3000". They are in two about 4 foot longs halves and are beautifully curved complete with rubber mounting gaskets. The look very expensive. We think $495.00 a set is reasonable. Please pass the word.... Thanks Ernie

TOO MUCH BOAT GEAR TO ITEMIZE ?????

We did it again! Purchased more marine supplies, hardware and equipment than the store can hold. It's in my patio and garage at home, in the boat shop down on the bay and all about the store and back yard. You would do well to drop by the store as soon as you can. A few of the items you might be interested in could be- 2000 lbs Ancor marine electrical wire. This is the industry standard and we are selling for $6.00 a pound. Buy 100 pounds or more and we'll make it $5.00 a pound. One half ton marine exhaust hose priced at $1.00 per foot per inside diamater inch. Stainless steel sinks, electric stoves and stove tops, valves, zincs, electrical panels, battery chargers, washing machines and dryers, 500 pounds S.S. hose clamps, half ton electrical wiring harnesses-glass pipe and vernal lift glass exhaust pots and on and on. Gotta cut this short and get on with the "trucking", we gotta clear this warehouse by sunset or pay a penalty. P.S. Most items are in new condition, some pretty shelf worn, some show damage. One things for certain, the PRICE WILL BE RIGHT!!!!

Complete Isolation

It's amazing the kinds of things that make their way through our front door. Pictured is an 8 KVA isolator that'll keep your boats electrical system totally protected from spikes and surges coming in through shore power. How much would it cost you to replace your chart-plotters, radars, fish-finders, VHF's, stereos, etc... It's rigged to work with 110 or 220 and was used with Roy Disney's "Pyewacket" as it travelled around the world trying to break records. Charles sells similar units for upwards of $5,000 but you can pick this one up for only $1495.

Mutiny On The Kelpie.....

About once every ten years Orange Coast College Sailing Center taps me on the shoulder and ask me to show the 16 mm color film I took aboard my dad's 65' schooner "Kelpie" on our 1959 voyage to Tahiti. My dad (Capt. Bligh) and brothers Joe and Owen and three other guys head off to the south seas on the big schooner and boy, does the adventure begin. Our first landfall and navigation check was to be Guadalupe island, 300 miles from Newport Beach. Just one problem, dad can't find the island. "No problema" dad says, "bring in the big parachute anchor, hoist the sails and I'm shaping a course for Nuka Hiva only 3000 miles away." Later the same afternoon we go to start the engine and find that by laying too on the big sea anchor all night sea water pounded up the exhaust pipe and filled the engine with water and put it out of commission for the next 75 days! Weeks later we near the equator and encountered our first tropical squall. As the black mushroom shaped cloud came down on our port beam, dad said, "sheet the sails in flat, the wind seems to be dying?" Wow, we learned first hand what a "KNOCK-DOWN" was!!! Luckily, GOD intervened and saved us from sinking as water was cascading down the spiral staircase into the main saloon of "Kelpie." I'm showing the movie on March 1st. You can call the store for time and location. The film is so-s0? My girlfriend's dad gave me a 16 mm camera and 2000 feet of color film and thought perhaps we could win and Oscar with the finished product? Second time I used the camera I dropped the wind-up key overboard and had to wind the camera with needle nosed pliers for the rest of the trip. Anyway, if you are in town that night, drop by and see my presentration, won't show it again for ten years. Oh yes, the Minney brothers finally had enough B.S. from their loving father (Capt. Bligh) and carried off a MUTINY???????

Bronze chocks from New Zealand......

Chrome plated and bronze chocks from Chatfield Engineering of New Zealand. After forty years and tons of boat hardware have passed through our hands, we know QUALITY when we see it. When Pacific Seacraft closed their plant and had an auction there were several pallets of pure GOLD!! We were forced to bid against than man that purchased the molds and tooling and is now building the lovely line of Pacific Seacraft sailing yachts. Hard-ball it was on the auction floor but we hung in there and beat out the deep pocket boat builder and ended up with all the hardware from the stock room of Pacific Seacraft yachts. Most of you have never heard of Chatfield Engineering. While in New Zealand on my big schooner "Shearwater" I was in a race and two of my 3/4" turnbuckles broke. The threads on the forks let go and the forks pulled right out of the turnbuckle body. Wow, lucky I didn't lose the entire rig? I checked the rest of my turnbuckles and found a sort of electrolysis on all the threads. Asking around the yacht club all the old salts referred me to Chatfield Engineering. I contacted them and two weeks later I installed 20 of their high quality big turnbuckles on my schooner. Pictured are a couple milk cartons of C.E. chocks. They are large so call or e-mail for measurements. At a glance at the price you'll think that seems high for Minneys? When you see the quality, you'll agree the chocks are fairly priced. To date our best customer has been Pacific Seacraft. P.S. The original owners of Pacific Seacraft went on to start a power boat company. They called it Cabo Yachts. When they were in full production they were importing almost a million dollars of year of marine hardware from Chatfield Engineering of New Zealand......

My favorite island.............

Summer's coming! Now's the time to get all those projects done so you will have a trouble free and comfortable time aboard your boat in your favorite anchorage. The picture above needs no caption. I'll put Avalon (only about 25 miles off the coast of Southern California) up against any quaint anchorage in the world. Yes, it's a bit too on the commercial side in summer but it's still a huge amount of fun. Give the kids a twenty dollar bill and send them ashore. The video arcade, miniature golf, the pleasure pier and white sandy beaches will entertain them for hours. Not wanting to become a "boat potato" I make it a point to hike the loop up to the bell tower (ran into a 8 point deer at the Zane Gray hotel last time I was up there) and keep going to the top of the new zing line and then down past the new Wrigley home and back into town. Another great walk is up to the Wrigley mansion on Mt. Ada and keep going all the way to the Edison power plant and the boat yard. You better have a good heart to make these hikes cause it's all uphill. Catalina Island is a very special place to our family. My dad lived there and went to high school and my grandfather ran charter boats off the pleasure pier in the 1930's. Yes, it's time to get our boats ready for summer fun. I'm in a little log cabin in Colorado as I write these notes. It's snowing outside and what am I doing? Making my list of boat projects. Replace windows on trunk cabin, replace steering cable, caulk seam between cap rail and bulwarks, pull rig or at least go aloft and make sure I can get another season with what's there and on and on and on...........

Bronze pumps & engine controls.......

Pictured are a few of the pumps that end up at our store. Quite often a boat owner sells us his spares knowing that he will get no more money for his boat if he includes the extra pumps, impellers etc. We're not sure what engines a lot of these pumps go to? Usually, local marine mechanics pick them up and re-sell them to their customers at healthy mark-ups. We also have several milk cartons full of impellers. Most are new and an average new impeller for a Jabsco 1" pump would be about $10.00. The engine control pictured is just one of the large variety of gear shifts, and throttles that end up at the store. One engine control manufacturer saw some of his controls on our BLOG and purchased all we had. That kinda sends us the message that he could buy his controls cheaper from us than he can build them. KEEPING BOATING AFFORDABLE is our mission in life...........