Abstract: The disclosure is a non-rotating ski-rope retriever having a reel-like drum molded of a tough and preferably smooth flexible plastic material. The drum is easily removable from a support adapted for semi-permanent attachment to the transom and/or the rear deck of a motor-boat, and is swingable from a vertical-axis position for easy manual winding-up of the ski rope to a paying-out position in which the axis is generally horizontally disposed but preferably with a downward and rearward inclination to lessen friction as the rope slides over the top edge of the drum. If the drum is made of flexible plastic material its rear flange will also flex to further reduce the friction as needed.

Abstract: A device for handling fragile layers of baked goods comprises a plurality of smooth rods (e.g. of stainless steel) rigidly fixed to a bridging handle so as to extend parallelly and coplanarly therefrom. A second handle is provided with transverse parallel bores for removably engaging the free ends of said rods. The layer support so provided can be laid face-down over a cake layer in its bake pan and can be manually held against the layer and the pan while they and the support are inverted to permit the inverted pan to be lifted off the layer. The thus supported layer can then be accurately laid on any flat surface, such as a platter or an icing-coated previously handled layer. Finally, after the removable handle has been detached, the parallel rods can be axially withdrawn from beneath their supported layer, or from between two superposed layers, with minimal disturbance of the surface or surfaces engaged by said rods.

Abstract: A skinner tool especially effective for skinning catfish, but also effective for skinning other fish and animals, comprising: a pliers-like implement having a lower relatively flat jaw terminating in a relatively sharp front penetrating edge, and a curved upper jaw terminating in a blunt edge for gripping skin against the upper surface of the lower jaw adjacent its tip. The handle members are thickly dip-coated with a tough and preferably somewhat resilient plastic material and are shaped to provide more comfortable gripping. The lower handle member is curved to partly embrace the hand of the user as an aid to the pulling action. The gripping edge of the upper jaw may be flat, roughened or serrated.

Abstract: The disclosure is a quickly and easily attachable and detachable portable mount for radios in automotive vehicles which have a floor hump defining a drive-shaft tunnel. The mount has a base lamina overlying the hump and has at least one lateral lamina hingedly attached to each lateral edge of the base lamina. The laminae straddle and embrace the hump and are made quickly and easily attachable to, and detachable from, the hump by the use of marginally attached strips of tape having minute hooks projecting from its face. The minute hooks firmly grip the nap or loops of the usual carpet covering the floor of the vehicle. The base lamina has attached thereto a support structure formed from a relatively stiff sheet of metal or plastic bent to define an inclined panel adapted to underlie the case of a (citizens' band) radio, and an upright panel to support the elevated edge of the inclined panel.

Abstract: A fuel-burning forced-air-circulating heating system having a thermostatically controlled heavy-duty blower, and a constantly operable relatively low-powered supplemental air-circulating attachment for forcing air from the cold-air-return plenum to the hot-air-feed plenum of a conventional hot-air furnace. The supplemental attachment bypasses the furnace so that the air-flow resistance of the air filter of the furnace minimizes reverse air-flow through the furnace, resulting in a gentle temperature-equalizing circulation of air through the rooms being heated. Preferably, and very importantly, the supplemental attachment may include a heat-exchanger associated with the furnace flue to further improve the thermal efficiency of the system thus modified.