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ghostlymoron · 10-11-2014, 01:28

Default*new spanner setI need to get a complete set of metric combination spanners (8mm to 19mm) to keep on the boat. I've seen them at under a fiver from CPC but have been advised that I need to spend £30-40 for reasonable quality. Any ideas?

**StuM** · 10-11-2014, 01:40

Don't know what CPC is, but it's worth spending extra to get decent spanners. NOthing worse than cheap, soft steel that distorts and slips when you really need the grip.

goboatingnow · 10-11-2014, 02:35

Get a set of rachet head spanners. best thing on a boat.

Blue Stocking · 10-11-2014, 09:49

With the amount of use the spanners will get in boat maintenance, I'll bet even the cheap set will outlast you. Spend the difference on cold beer, consumed while you gloat on your practicality.

sy_gilana · 10-11-2014, 10:08

Draper make good and reasonably priced tools in the UK

**skipmac** · 10-11-2014, 10:15

I'm assuming you are speaking British and referring to what we call over here as wrenches. I would not buy the super cheap stuff but £30-40 sounds a bit high, at least in the states.

I do have a set of ratchet spanners and the times where I really need them is worth the cost of the whole set. However if you're working on an old marine engine I would start with a set of basic 6 point, not 12 point. The 6 point gets a much better grip on the head of the bolt or the nuts and less likely to round it off.

Probably overboard but I have a sets of 6 and 12 point in metric and inch and ratchets in both up to 3/4" or 19mm. Also some spares in the common sizes like 1/2" or 13 mm.

jeepbluetj · 10-11-2014, 10:38

My boat tools are all harbor freight (cheap Chinese) tools. Amazingly, the chromed spanners/wrenches haven't corroded one bit. Even after being submerged in salt. Nor has the cheap HF socket set. The pliers are all piles of rust now.

My thoughts are to have the boat tools of a quality/price that I don't mind much loosing one overboard. I've got top-quality tools on land if I need em. The ones that live on the boat are cheapies.

**Jim Cate** · 10-11-2014, 10:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeepbluetj

My boat tools are all harbor freight (cheap Chinese) tools. Amazingly, the chromed spanners/wrenches haven't corroded one bit. Even after being submerged in salt. Nor has the cheap HF socket set. The pliers are all piles of rust now.

My thoughts are to have the boat tools of a quality/price that I don't mind much loosing one overboard. I've got top-quality tools on land if I need em. The ones that live on the boat are cheapies.

Ya know, when we left the States in 1986 I left my Snap-ons and Bonney and other high quality tools in storage for the very same reasons, and bought crap stuff to replace them on board. 24 years later I'm still using those crap tools and they have not suffered too much from being on board... and I have been forced to use tools that I don't much like whilst the ones that I do like gather dust. They are too heavy to reasonably ship out or carry as luggage on one of our rare trips back to California. Sure wish I'd brought them with me...

If you expect to return after a short cruise, leave the good stuff behind perhaps, but if you think you are a "lifer", bring your friends with you!

Jim

**a64pilot** · 10-11-2014, 11:05

As someone who's made a lot of my living with tools. Friends don't let friends use junk tools. You won't have an anchor made from rebar would you?

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Cheechako · 10-11-2014, 11:06

Yeah... some cheaper sets aren't too bad... some are terrible. Nice to buy a mid range set that comes in a good plastic case for the boat..... even though I have good tools on land. Ratchet wrenches and deep sockets are nice on the boat too. spend the extra money on those .... I've even found some more expensive tools wont work where others will... the spanners wont fit in a tight place because they are made with more meat on them!

jeepbluetj · 10-11-2014, 11:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

If you expect to return after a short cruise, leave the good stuff behind perhaps, but if you think you are a "lifer", bring your friends with you!

Jim

I completely agree. My 35 year old Catalina 30 isn't ever going to be very far from home. I'm a coastal guy with that boat.

For long-distance cruisers, the "what tools" question would be very different. And I would bring top-notch tools in that case.

And, I've been amazed that the HF ones I picked up have been good. They don't round off bolts, don't bend, don't corrode. Sure, the socket set had two 3/8ths instead of a 3/8 and 7/16....

As to the OP, the part about "under a fiver from CPC" led me to infer that CPC is much like a harbor freight in lands where "wrench" is pronounced "spanner." - And my experience with some cheap tools are they're not too bad. Some are awful. Usually can tell by picking them up and looking.

MarkJ · 10-11-2014, 11:58

Buy an expensive set of spanners and they slip overboard. Buy cheap and they rust. Best option is to sell the boat and buy a caravan...

**Dockhead** · 10-11-2014, 12:10

Welcome to CF, GM. For those who don't frequent YBW, GM is a regular there.

GM, go to Toolstop. There's one in Southampton on the road to the airport, in various other locations, and you can also buy online. They sell various decent quality spanner sets like Clarke or Bahco for 30 to 50 quid a go. The prices are the best I've seen in the UK (in fact you can't do better in the US, as far as I know). www.toolstop.co.uk

You don't want the ultracheap stuff as it will bugger up your fasteners. The steel should be quite a bit harder than what fasteners are made of (so chrome-vanadium or something similar), and they should be machined with reasonable precision. If you want the best (like Snap-On), it will cost you a bunch more, but the better stuff at Toolstop is quite all right.

Good luck!