Yesterday mid-morning I got a call from a friend in town, saying that they were at a local chandlery (boat parts store) that was having a last day blow-out before shutting down. I caught a lift into town, and took a look around. Most goodies were already gone, but I had a few things in mind which were still available.

There was this tail-end of a roll of 7mm 1×19 316 stainless wire, what I need for my standing rig. The sticker price was $2.65/foot, and knowing that most everything was at least 50% off that day, I offered $1/foot, for whatever was left on the spool; it didn’t look like much. It was busy and frantic, and none of us wanted to unspool it for a measure, so everyone put in a guess. One fellow guessed 200 feet, while his boss was sure there was no more than 150. So I bought the unmeasured spool for $150 cash.

Back at the boatyard, we unspooled it for a measure. Just pulling it off, I had a feeling there was probably over 150 feet. Eventually, we had the sloppy wraps off the spool, doubled across the grass… and the doubled length measured 155 feet. 310 feet of wire, and all I need is 270! At $0.50/foot, whew, and good Gibb wire too. The lowest quote I’d previously had was $550 for 300 feet.