It’s called “The Octopus” because, you have to admit, it does look like one.

Also, like an octopus, it is very clever. For the cost of a single elastic band, it solves one of the oldest problems on a boat: What to do with all the bits of string.

Boats accumulate bits of string – and sailors are always needing bits of string (that’s why they never throw them away.)

But neither do they tidy them up – at least, not in a way which makes all those bits of string easily accessible next time they’re needed.

Instead, they tend to accumulate in the bottom of the cockpit cave locker, or at the back of the chart table. Aboard Largo, I used to loop them round the handholds on the inside of the companionway.

The Octopus is the solution. Any thin piece of line less than about a metre in length gets added to the Octopus – just push one end into the elastic band.

When you need a piece of line less than about a metre in length, hold up the Octopus in one hand, give it a shake, select your piece of string and pull.

You don’t need to coil it neatly again – just bundle it up and chuck it back where it came from. The next time you need it, just give it a shake.