What's in your tool box

First I need to perfect the foam heat resistant panels on the deck, and get better seals for the airlock, then I can add a nitrogyn chamber.

[CaptainK]

Now you're talking!!:cubalibre

[Sandero]

Bosch Heat gun... Yummy for doing and undoing soft hoses... shrinking heat shrink... undoing things which undo with some heat.

[cburger]

Kirk I have a Navico new still in the box Navico 5500 tiller pilot. I was thinking of getting rid of it how ever after reading of your experiences with the unit I am not so sure. Would appreciates some input.

[CaptainK]

Rick.

You're saying a simple herb will protect the tools!!

I find that very hard to believe!!

Do you have any scientific data to back this up?

[CaptainK]

I think I will give it a try, Rick.

My many thanks!!

[delmarrey]

If I could only squeeeeze it in.

Actually, I carry a good variety of tools. I think my Makita cordless drill has been the most used and still going strong after 10 years of use. I've had to buy a couple new batteries and I keep a spare now so when I run one runs down the other is charging. The box is getting a bit rusty

The second most used is the Crescent tool kit with three different sizes of ratchets with sockets, open/closed end (metric & english) wrenches and driver bits. They are highly polish chrome and have yet to show any rust.

The other items that seem to get a lot of use are the:
6" steel marlinspike,
long straight hemostats,
corkscrew packing puller,
2' long fingers for reaching down into holes where your hands never will,
half round combo bastard/fine wood file,
surface scraper, 10 oz. & 5# dead blow plastic hammers,
1# claw hammer,
hacksaw, keyhole saw,
set of hole saws,
channel locks (big and small)
alum. pipe wrench up to 4" grip,
drill set up to 1/2" and number drills also,
set of reduced shank drills up to 1",
1/2" Milwaukee vari-speed drill motor,
set of thread taps and handles up to 1/2",
6' & 30' tape measures,
cable cutters up to 3/8",
scientific calculator,
multimeter,
12V probe tester (pointy end),
feeler gages,
digital 6" calipers,
mini-maglight,
an awl, punches, chisels
and three different sizes of Crescent wrenches.

This is as much as I can remember but I keep all but a couple items under one end of the stb solon cushion. This doesn't count the common shipboard stuff like lights, sewing & spicing kits. As well as special tools to fit certain items, like the nuts over thruhull fittings and etc. And then there's spare parts.........._/)

BTW As a Toolmaker & Maintenance Machinist, I'll back up the camphor stuff as well as white lead, which one can not buy anymore, thanks to those who misuse hazarous products.

A SHOP TASK! I had one of those. You are right about it not fitting. Not even on my boat. Too much weight. The problem I had with mine was the tolerances were too loose. It worked well for rough machining, and I built allot of bike parts with it, but the close tolerance stuff had to be farmed out. Of course, my machining skills are not quite up to par. I am sure someone with better skills could get better results. I also highly value my Crescent wrenches. That is the fall back tool.

[Alan Wheeler]

Hey I got one of them Del. Well actually it is a little bigger than that one and has a few extras. I love it, what a very cool toy. But yeah, the weight is a little out of even my boats league. It took four guy's to lift my one.

[Terry Etapa]

I've found the Stanley Locking Adjustable Wrench to be a great addition.
http://tinyurl.com/zvrs7

[Gator81]

I signed on today specifically to ask what tools you all carried on board, and here's the thread with the answers. As usual, you guys are way ahead of me.

One other thing: I'm surprised to hear about all the cordless tools. I figured, at least on cruisers with AC power, you'd stick with corded tools for the lighter weight. Or maybe the weight of extension cords makes it even? I also expected that the batteries and chargers would have corrosion issues in salt air. Not so?

I would have a very difficult time deciding what tools to take on a cruise, and what tools to leave in the shop. I generally prefer to fix things rather than buy new ones, and to do it myself if at all possible instead of hiring it done. Consequently, I have filled a shop with tools over a lifetime, from jeweler's tiny screwdrivers to a welder and compressor. But I do love a boat that sails instead of plows, so I guess I'd just have to figure out the most commonly needed things and leave the rest at home.

I have wondered if some outfit somewhere might market tools for folks who would pay for light weight (pilots and sailors).

[hellosailor]

Rick-
Scientific data for your camphor block: The US Navy. When they "mothball" a ship, they literally seal it up, dry it out, and place CAMPHOR BLOCKS below. From what I'm told & have experienced, either the real thing or the newer naphthalene/para mothballs will work equally well.

You're dead right about how it works, the mothballs sublimate at room temperature and leave a molecule-thick coating on whatever else is around them, and that's all it takes to block rust.

For those who want something a little gentler on the nose, 3M makes "vapor deposition tabs" that look like waxy postage stamps, available from gunsmiths and other tool suppliers, designed to be put in a gun case or tool drawer to protect things without making the smell.

Each of my tool boxes has some mothballs in each compartment, and we strew a box in the boat before closing it up for the winter. The fumes can make you QUITE dizzy when you open it up--they need to be aired out--but they stop rust and keep all the little critters out as well. We had some problems with wasps nesting in the boom in the spring. Couple of mothballs jammed in, no more wasps.

Sometimes the old fashioned remedies work very nicely. And if I could find the 3M tabs at the same "buck per box" price as mothballs, I'd be just as happy to use the new ones.<G>

Favorite tool...That's a hard one. Probably the high-end wire stripper or ratcheting wire crimper, each an expensive tool bought for a wiring project, that just make it SO much faster and simpler to do it right. Or maybe the Fiskars screwdriver with four different bits (2 slotted, 2 phillips) and an odd finned rubber handle that looks like a martian sex toy--but never blisters my hand.<G>

I've learned to appreciate a GOOD screwdriver with a machined bit. There's a lot of junk on the market, even from brand names. The really good ones almost lock into the screws because the fit is so much better.

[Charlie]

I'll have to try the camphor/mothball trick. Where do you buy camphor in the States? Is it like Vick's vapor rub. Another question to throw out. Where can you buy shrink wrap at a reasonable price? Where can you buy electrical crimp on end fittings (with closed holes) at a reasonable price?

[hellosailor]

Charlie, you can buy mothballs (no guarantee which kind) in almost every dollar store, in old fashioned hardware stores, and probably in the big box stores like Target and WalMart. The balls are convenient, the "bricks" will take longer and cover a larger area. And, if you know a janitorial supplier...urinal cakes are the same thing too.<G>

Vick's:
4.8% Camphor (cough suppressant & topical analgesic)
2.6% Menthol (cough suppressant & topical analgesic)
1.2% Eucalyptus oil (cough suppressant)
Not quite the same thing.

Shrink wrap, no idea. Crimp fittings with closed holes, also no idea, AFAIK you won't find that on fittings that are smaller than battery terminal lugs. ANCOR brand are comparable to any other premium brand, any electrical supply house will carry them or similar. The good fittings simply never are cheap, the cheap fittings simply never are good. I try to close my eyes and ignore the numbers, and buy the box of 100 because that's the only price break you can get.

[Charlie]

Thanks Hello Sailor:

Where would you buy straight camphor. I can't even find the crimp fittings locally and dam sure not going to get them from Waste Marine.