For me, this takes me into things I really like doing, like working with my hands.
This could amount to serving the ends of rope so it wont fray (like back splicing or whipping the ends), or doing some fancy knot-work on a favor or a knife (or other handle), to repairing mine or someone else's gear. These types of gigs - while to some may be boring looking - to others, it really shows what kind of skills we should have while playing sailors.
Now, I know that not all of us have the patience to sit and learn fancy knot-work, but we all should learn a few basic knots such as:
1. Bowline
2. Sheet bend (Same as the bowline, but it is used to "bend" tow pieces of line together)
3. Double half-hitch
4. Clove hitch
5. Trucker's hitch
6. The coil
7. The figure-eight stopper
All of these knots are in The Klutz Book of Knots (ISBN 0-932592-10-4).
We all have various skills, so why not use them? Some need only slightly modified tools to use. For example, if you like to draw or write, pencils were period (they were invented in Germany) Just get the big round ones that little kids use, get sheets of newsprint or parchment, punch some holes in them, bind with some string (or yarn or cord), add a bit of leather for a cover, and there is a book for you to use. If you like to knit or crochet, you can buy (or make) wooden knitting needles. Then, just roll your yarn up into balls, and go to town. Or, pick up your knife, get a piece of wood, bone or horn, and try whittling. These are just a few ideas for things to do. Just remember that you should know something about what you are doing. If some think this is boring, just remember that I have held a small audience for over twenty minutes at a time, teaching them how to make the star knot.