Upcycling

What do SOCCOM float boxes and cribbage board have in common? 

The trophy board made for the cribbage tournament by ship's bosun Elysia.

The SOCCOM floats are shipped from the University of Washington to research vessels throughout the world. They're secured into wooden boxes designed to keep them safe during shipping and have stickers on them that show if they've been mishandled. These crates are not usually reused or shipped back to UW after a cruise. On this cruise, the ship's bosun was eyeing the crates very early on and was delighted when I said they were up for grabs.

The red indicates rough handling - in this case
being hit with a wrench in order to test the sticker.

She and her team have disassembled a few already, a process that takes a few hours since they're put together with nails and glue. They are making improvements around the ship using the scrap wood. There are still 8 float boxes left between SOCCOM and the NOAA floats we deployed on this cruise. 

Sid, the ship's OS (ordinary seaman) made a rack for the ship's grease guns and a custom cabinet to hold tools in the bosun locker. I can't wait to see what else the deck crew makes out of the float boxes!