Best cordless tools for sailboats

[captain58sailin]

Did a complete 1.5 year refit, w/18 volt Makita tools, took the corded tools off the boat, continue to use them while underway, I really like them. They make a cigarette lighter plug in charger so I can use 12 volts to charge them up. Been really good tools in spite of the abuse.

[lhusty]

Originally Posted by Adelie

Extra power is mostly a tradeoff for time, space and weight.. On a sailboat, you should have plenty of time to use a tool that is slower to do its job but not so much space to store said tools plus maybe you might be weight sensitive.

I've chosen to go with Milwaukee 12v. I'm hoping they come out with a charger that will recharge off of 14v source (i.e. alternator or solar panel).

Milwaukee does make a dual charger 120 volt and 12 volt. About $100

[fatherchronica]

Years ago I was renovating hotel rooms in Scottsdale Arizona, and at the end of the first 5 months we put several fully charged screw guns into a storage container to be retrieved in 7 months, in June, for the next phase. My crew of superintendants arrived a few days before our crews of illegal aliens started showing up a few days later and we took the screw guns out to assemble some wooden platforms for loading materials to upper balconies with forklifts. We had all 18 volt Milwaukees, De Walts and Ryobis. The Ryobis were bought by me because they rarely got stolen, but I was a union framing contractor for most of my career, and used Skil saws, Mikita beam saws and everything else Milwaukee almost exclusively. When we started using the screw guns we found that the Ryobis were nearly fully charged and the others went dead after a couple pf screws. After that I sort of got used to the economy of Ryobi, plus they have a really huge variety of 18 volt tools. We carry a circular saw, a jig saw a sawzall, a drill, a screw gun, an impact wrench, a router, three different sanders a couple of flash lights, a grinder, a multi tool, a fan/mister, and two chargers. When we decided We needed a hard, sailing dinghy with underwater Lexan windowsd. I built a 12 foot nesting dinghy, at docks and beaches along the way, over the course of half a year. For the record it was usable as a row boat and motor boat in a couple of weeks, and after that I went weeks or months without doing anything. I like Ryobi, their selection of tools is really big, and except for the circular saw are all strong.

[rodgoult]

Big fan of Ryobi. Very solid, powerful and the advantage of one size of battery for all of them.
But reading the posts, it seems it's down to what we have and have had really good experience with.
Multiple choices with the main difference probably being price.
For 110v or 240v I swear by Black and Decker. Other people I know swear at them.

[msrcal36]

I replaced my Dewalt with Bosh 18v. Check out reviews. Very powerful and lightweight. I got the impact drill and cordless screwdriver kit. Excellent!

[jeepbluetj]

As I mentioned before, I like Ryobi. I have one of these to inflate the dink:



Low pressure side for bulk inflation, then 3 min or so of the high pressure side to get the dink to 3psi. Works well, cheap, and uses the same batteries as the drill, flashlight, vacuum, and spotlight. (What I keep on the boat)

For 12v charging, HD offers a ryobi 18v charger that runs off of a cig lighter plug for $39.

I do a lot of work off the boat and so far I've killed 2 makitas, and 3 dewalts before switching to the cheapass Ryobis about 4 years ago. So far I've killed 2 ryobi batteries (out of 12 or so) and not a single tool.

[MarkSF]

Originally Posted by Steve_C

I have owned and managed to break most brands. I now use the DeWalt 20V and its by far the best I've ever used. The power is easily capable of doing anything you need. I have used a 4 inch hole saw to drill thru stucco with no problems. the Angle grinder uses power the fastest, but the rest of the tools last forever between charges. You can get 2 - three Amp-Hour batteries from Amazon for $99.

https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DCB200...0v+max+battery

Just be sure to get the Max version of the tools with the metal transmission.

Also the impact driver is REALLY fast and powerful so for running small screws I use the 9.6 volt screwdriver. Its Industrial Quality and I have used one of them for almost 20 years. It can be easily switched between angled and straight and when you let go of the trigger it locks so you can finish tightening by hand. It has great very low speed control and is perfect for small long winded screws. I will never be without one again.

I'd like to second (third?) the DeWalt Max range. Two of my all-time favourite tools are the big impact driver, this one :

20V MAX* 1/2" High Torque Impact Wrench Kit (4.0Ah) - DCF889M2 | DEWALT

which even on my Land Rover Discovery never met a nut it wouldn't loosen. Changing wheels takes seconds now. It was also the only thing that would get the starter motor bolts off on the Universal 5424. Used it with 4 ft of extensions, from inside the salon.

The other favourite is this wet and dry cordless vacuum, that I use for cleanup after jobs like drilling on the boat and at home :

18/20V MAX* Cordless Wet-Dry Vacuum - DCV580 | DEWALT

[MarkSF]

Originally Posted by msrcal36

I replaced my Dewalt with Bosh 18v. Check out reviews. Very powerful and lightweight. I got the impact drill and cordless screwdriver kit. Excellent!

Bosch are on my **** list for ever now. I bought a fuel pressure gauge kit. On the first use, the pin fell out of the centre of the Schrader valve, and was lost, rendering it useless. Contacted customer care (this is one week after purchase) and they told me to go suck a tailpipe, essentially, but were kind enough to offer to sell me a 5 pack of the pins. So this product is so well made that they sell a pack of replacements for the part that shouldn't have fallen out in the first place. Well, Bosch, your $1 saving will cost you hundreds for all the power tools I'll never buy.

[uncle stinkybob]

I bought a cheap Harbor Freight cordless drill some 6 or 7 months ago. After using it for job I got it for, I stowed it in a bad spot. It gravitated to a spot in the bilge that allowed it to get wet on a port tack. I found it in sad condition. I removed the battery, cleaned the terminals, put it on the charger. I sprayed the chuck out with PB Blaster, scrubbed it off with a wire brush, then worked the chuck loose by hand. Slapped the charged battery back in and it works as well as ever. and if it didn't work? back to H.F. for another $16 drill.

[bustermaw]

Originally Posted by Uncle Bob

Another vote for Makita 18 volt drill driver, and add the angle grinder to the package, just about all the power tools you will need.

As a professional heating engineer I've used lots of different battery tools .
Don't buy Makita unless you like spending lots of money on their crap batteries .
I have a few of their tools lying around with no batteries because the batteries all died on me . A fault I'm told to do with the chargers which don't like dust and therefore overheat the batteries as a result .

Just a warning from someone who gets fed up buying Makita's expensive batteries .

[bcboomer]

+1 Ridgid

The lifetime warranty on tools and batteries is great. They seem to have repair depots everywhere and are easy to deal with.
Maybe not as easy as it would be if you could go to Home Depot but better than shipping them somewhere.
Lots of power, reasonable prices and you get a new one if you break the old one. Plus lifetime batteries.

[SSgtPitt]

I manage a residential remodeling company and also carry my own projects. My contractors and employees have every tool by every manufacturer between them. Makita and Bosch are by far the best performing, strongest and longest lasting. Dewalt and Ridgid not so much.
Ryobi is making a huge showing and I see more of them as the guys replace their tools. I got their big all in one set 10+ years ago and they all still work. I wore out the little circular saw bearings and got a new one, which is still WAY underpowered.
For the money, Ryobi 18v is what I continue to buy. Get the big batteries when they're on sale. I have 6 and love 'em. I dropped one in the Marina and fished it out. After a few days of drying out it still works. I doubt it will last long though.
If you're building homes everyday, stick with Makita or Bosch. Your arm will wear out before they do.

[Bulawayo]

I used to use 12v as I could also hard wire it directly to the battery. Now I use 18v DeWalt - I have a circular saw, a drill, a jig saw, a driver, an angle grinder (gets a lot of use) and a sander. I have 3 lith-ion batteries and a fast charger. Very happy so far.

[rescueguy]

I have been using the Milwaukee FUEL series since they were first introduced. They are a little pricey but they do more work than the old 28v series I had 4 sets of for me and my crew. They are lighter and have many more uses for the batteries and assemblies that can be couple to those batteries. These new fuel series even have brush-less motors,less heat build up to destroy the motor and less maintenance. Makita has always been a good standby as well just not as solid as the milwaukees on the job.As a contractor of 40 plus years I get what will last for the long haul. Best of luck in your search

[CarinaPDX]

Another vote for Milwaukee. I use the M12 12V series for most jobs. They are compact and quality. The right angle drill can be very useful on a boat. For a normal drill I got the more powerful one with a clutch for screw driving, but no hammer (who has masonry on a boat?). I like the multi-tool and rotary tool (Dremel) as well.

I bought an M18 18V drill for heavier jobs - it has incredible torque. I used it to turn a 4-1/2" hole saw through thick teak. It is necessary to be careful because if the saw jams in the wood the torque is sufficient to do serious damage to the operator. Again I chose to avoid the drills with hammer capability. I also bought the M18 vacuum cleaner; it is very powerful, and as a result drains batteries quickly.

Milwaukee is converting to "Fuel" motors, as others have mentioned. This is just branding for their brushless motors. It is preferable to the typical motors that require brush replacements. My M18 drill is a Fuel product. They are starting to show up in the M12 line as well.

Personally I take care of my possessions, and they last a long time, so it is worth it to me to pay for quality. If I were going to be careless with them, and let them get wet, then I would just buy cheap Harbor Freight or go up a bit to Ryobi. But that is not me. Your choice.

Greg