Even on sailboats, sometimes you need to move fuel from one container to another. Unfortunately, manipulating jerry cans or any kind of portable fuel container can result in spillage ranging from “kinda stinky” to “an annoying mess” to “new Superfund site”!

I’ve often found myself wishing I had some sort of compact, manually operated pump/siphon arrangement aboard. Enter the Hopkins Shaker Siphon. This could be useful aboard a cruising boat of any size. Heck, it could be useful at home, too. As with my favorite binoculars and my favorite flashlight, I may need to buy extras.

I don’t own one of these shaker siphons yet, but reports indicate that it works well: you insert the end with the copper fitting into the full container and shake it up and down, which primes the line and starts the fuel flowing. According to one cruiser, “You can do it without spilling a drop and not have to taste or smell the gas.” That sounds a LOT more pleasant than the sort of experience I’m familiar with!