Cruisers Forum
 


Reply
  This discussion is proudly sponsored by:
Please support our sponsors and let them know you heard about their products on Cruisers Forums. Advertise Here
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Rate Thread Display Modes
Old 20-05-2010, 21:21   #1
Registered User
 
J Ventura's Avatar

Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Azores
Posts: 98
The Minimal Tool Kit

The majority of the boats I sail are brand new , many times they are launched and handed over and there's not even a spare sheet let alone a tool kit . The safety gear is usually part of the commissioning but tools are not , so the skippers need to carry theirs . Along the years skippers will bring the tool kit down to the minimum , or one's interpretation of "minimum".

I am flying tomorrow to the Virgin Islands to join a new boat and the person who was to inform me about the inventory couldn't do it , so in the likelyhood that there is nothing on board I am packing my tool kit and took this picture. Not shown , and things that I don't go without , are a multimeter , a climbing harness , a hacksaw and a spool of thin line , plus the epirb , a selection of fuses and bulbs , and all charts . This passage will be 1500' but I have crossed the Atlantic several times with this as my tool kit on empty boats . My philosophy is that I don't need to re-fit or fix everything that breaks or fails , I need to prevent that , and get the boat safely to the next harbor when things break , and for that these tools have so far been enough , this is my minimum.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	P5200002.jpg
Views:	424
Size:	430.8 KB
ID:	16322  
J Ventura is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 20-05-2010, 21:37   #2
Moderator Emeritus
 
Ex-Calif's Avatar

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: May 2007
Location: Ohio
Boat: Now boatless :-(
Posts: 11,580
Images: 4
A good friend a respected mechanic told me, "The first thing I put in my tool kit is a good pair of scissors." I never really thought about it before but I use them all the time. Things I would add trying to stay minimalist.

- 3 files - round, half and flat
- inspection mirror
- side cutters
- duckbill pliers
- channel locks
- set of precision (small) screwdrivers
- some wet and dry sandpaper
__________________
Relax Lah! is SOLD! <--- Click
Click--> Custom CF Google Search or CF Rules
You're gonna need a bigger boat... - Martin Brody
Ex-Calif is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 20-05-2010, 21:42   #3
Long Range Cruiser
 
MarkJ's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Australian living on "Sea Life" currently in England.
Boat: Beneteau 393 "Sea Life"
Posts: 12,822
Images: 25
Quote:
Originally Posted by J Ventura View Post
. This passage will be 1500'
1,500 feet?

Hell, I'd take a spare boat!

Its a great question because you are flying so your kit can't be too heavy.
__________________
Notes on a Circumnavigation.
OurLifeAtSea.com

Somalia Pirates and our Convoy
MarkJ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 20-05-2010, 22:47   #4
CF Adviser
 
Bash's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: sausalito
Boat: 14 meter sloop
Posts: 7,260
here's mine:
Attached Images
 
__________________
cruising is entirely about showing up--in boat shoes.
Bash is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21-05-2010, 03:50   #5
Registered User

Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Virginia
Boat: B24
Posts: 785
Images: 62
Quote:
Originally Posted by J Ventura View Post
in the likelyhood that there is nothing on board I am packing my tool kit ...


My philosophy is much like yours, although I probably tend to carry more tools than I need… generally I carry tools and spares for all the stuff I actually know how to do (not including stuff for cosmetic repairs… although on longer outings I’ll also take along sandpaper, brushes and the usual coating potions). I regularly carry the typical adjustable/clamping devices but try not to rely on them… in years gone by a simple set of SAE boxes and sockets with the usual allen-head and screwdrivers (multi-meter, and duck tape, etc.) would suffice (did I mention duct tape…) , but now days with so much mix and match, one must carry both SAE and metric – don’t like tool wraps, however, usually use a GI surplus tool bag… Bottom line is, know the boat and carry the correct tools cuz I don’t want to have to put in somewhere just for mechanical reopairs – although for deliver skippers in unfamiliar boats, that may be more than one can expect… but always carry duck tape… and hose clamps (cuz I don't think I've ever sailed aboard a new boat…)
__________________
Larry
dcstrng is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21-05-2010, 04:19   #6
Registered User

Join Date: May 2010
Location: Baltimore
Boat: 1970 Albin Vega 27
Posts: 92
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bash View Post
here's mine:
And a roll of duct tape.
RedBellies is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21-05-2010, 05:27   #7
Registered User

Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Toronto
Posts: 223
Your hammer is way too small. How to do expect to fix anything with that?
Efraim is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 22-05-2010, 07:00   #8
Registered User

Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 50
Don't force it, use a bigger hammer.
Puddlefish is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 23-05-2010, 18:45   #9
Moderator Emeritus
 
Ex-Calif's Avatar

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: May 2007
Location: Ohio
Boat: Now boatless :-(
Posts: 11,580
Images: 4
Quote:
Originally Posted by RedBellies View Post
And a roll of duct tape.
And WD-40.

If it doesn't move and should - WD-40
If it moves and shouldn't - Duct tape
__________________
Relax Lah! is SOLD! <--- Click
Click--> Custom CF Google Search or CF Rules
You're gonna need a bigger boat... - Martin Brody
Ex-Calif is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 23-05-2010, 19:03   #10
֍֎֍֎֍֎֍֎֍֎

Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 15,136
jv, where did you get the tool roll? They're just about impossible to find these days, or else priced like monogrammed luggage.
hellosailor is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 23-05-2010, 22:25   #11
Registered User

Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Tasmania
Boat: VandeStadt IOR 40' - Insatiable
Posts: 2,317
Images: 91
Some things that I go offshore with include (but are not limited to)
Decent bolt cutters (sealed in a vacuum bag)
12 volt angle grinder with cutting blades & 2 batteries (also sealed in vacuum bag)
Packing nut wrench (for prop-shaft glad packing nut)
Weyalan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 24-05-2010, 03:18   #12
Registered User

Join Date: Feb 2008
Boat: 2017 Leopard 40
Posts: 2,662
Images: 1
Lose the hammer! Replace it with a larger adjustable wrench and a smaller one.

Also you need to add a multimeter, wire cutter/stripper and assorted crimp connectors with crimp tool. You might also consider some tapered wood plugs (about the only thing to use a hammer on in a boat) but you could bang them in with the large wrench.
SailFastTri is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 24-05-2010, 04:22   #13
Registered User
 
Boomp's Avatar

Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Massachusetts
Boat: Morgan OI 30' Itinerant
Posts: 254
Like it!

Like Ventura's kit...would also include a telescoping magnet & mirror. Sears sells a good one for only about $20...not that I would ever drop anything
__________________
A man who is not afraid of the sea will soon be drowned, he said, for he will be going out on a day he shouldn't. But we do be afraid of the sea, and we only be drowned now and again.

J.M.Synge, in The Aran Islands
Boomp is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 24-05-2010, 06:49   #14
CF Adviser
 
Bash's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: sausalito
Boat: 14 meter sloop
Posts: 7,260
so then, we're settled on two options

Option #1: Standard tool kit
***leatherman
***duct tape
***WD 40

Option #2: Deluxe tool kit
***leatherman
***duct tape
***WD 40
***large adjustable wrench, suitable for hammering
__________________
cruising is entirely about showing up--in boat shoes.
Bash is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 24-05-2010, 06:56   #15
Registered User

Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Virginia
Boat: B24
Posts: 785
Images: 62
Okay, finally dug up my old tool list (add subtract as suits):

· Metric/SAE Allen wrench set
· Torx bits for screwdriver
· Multi-bit ratchet screwdriver
· Conventional straight flat blade screwdriver
· Conventional Phillips screwdriver
· Bent/curved flat-blade screwdriver (don't ask...)
· Flex-shaft for screwdrivers
· Extension-shaft for screwdrivers
· Vice-grip combo tool
· Regular Vice-grip
· Regular pliers
· Wire striper/crimper
· Side cutter pliers
· Needle-nose pliers
· Channel Locks in two sizes
· Crescent wrench in two sizes...
· Ratcheting Metric/SAE box/open combo wrenches
· Metric/SAE quarter-inch drive socket set
· Metric/SAE 3/8ths drive Combo ratchet with sockets
· Awl-style circuit tester (plus VOM meter, now that I’ve figured it out)
· Army stainless pocket knife
· AF survival knife
· Stainless surgical clamp
· Fist-full of wire-ties
· Rigging tape
· Small ditty bag with the usual needles, thread, palm and wax
· Fuses in ten or so flavors
· Bulbs for cabin/nav-lights
· Spare spark plugs and sparkplug socket
· 25' of parachute cord
· Electrical tape
· Fid
· Couple of small wood chisels
· Cold chisel and punch
· Smallish hammer (well, mine is a small boat)
· Spare shop rag - usually wrapped around the oil
· Flashlight with spare batts (beyond the several in the boat)
· Various other odds and ends left over from long-forgotten projects
· Partridge in a pear tree, as well as the obligatory roll of duct-tape



Not sure I know how to use all that and it does weigh just a smidgeon; however, most of this packs in a small 6x6x12 mil-surplus tool-bag and goes on and off the boat with me... Plus, small coil of electrical wire, some cotter pins, couple of hose clamps, and the usual potions like WD-40, white grease, electrical grease and quart or two of oil appropriate to what I'm running. I've pretty much carried something like this (metric, whitworth or SAE) for years and if I ever get stranded, I'm hoping someone will know what to do with `em...
__________________
Larry
dcstrng is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
fein tool SanSailer Construction, Maintenance & Refit 26 18-03-2021 04:14
Miracle tool Alan Wheeler Construction, Maintenance & Refit 26 11-09-2007 00:09
What's in your tool box soul searcher Construction, Maintenance & Refit 59 03-12-2006 23:03
Leads for a tool never monday Engines and Propulsion Systems 10 13-06-2006 02:25

Advertise Here


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 16:37.


Google+
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Social Knowledge Networks
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.

ShowCase vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.