Single Handed Maintenance/Tool Techniques

[bletso]

Two man job made a one man job. Of course using butyl tape, it should never be needed again!??!! There is very little I do that requires me to rely of help.

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

When I was a kid I had a set of Craftsman screw drivers that had a clip system to hold the screw. They were awesome!

Havent seen such in decades, so asked my pro mechanic stepson about similar tools...nope, he didnt know of any either. He also just uses a bit of whatever to hold the screw in place.

This is not a screwdriver with clips, which would be useful, but another tool that helps. It is called a screw starter, and grips the screw till it starts to bite.

https://store.snapon.com/SearchResul...Tool%20Catalog

Ann

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by bletso

Two man job made a one man job. Of course using butyl tape, it should never be needed again!??!! There is very little I do that requires me to rely of help.

Ah...thats yellow thing is a jig to hold the bolt heads above deck while you turn nuts below?

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

When I was a kid I had a set of Craftsman screw drivers that had a clip system to hold the screw. They were awesome!

Havent seen such in decades, so asked my pro mechanic stepson about similar tools...nope, he didnt know of any either. He also just uses a bit of whatever to hold the screw in place.

I had those too, came with the big screwdriver set.
Now I use either a magnetic screwdriver, which is no good for stainless steel, or I will sometimes put a drop of superglue in the Phillips head screw and glue it to the screwdriver, it pops off easily and does not fill the screw slots so the screwdriver won’t fit.
We were issued the screw starters in the Military, I never liked them cause the screw would pop off too easily.

Looks different, I remember a red and clear handle
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?m...2F261450384930

[bletso]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Ah...thats yellow thing is a jig to hold the bolt heads above deck while you turn nuts below?

Yep, you get the prize. I always found it frustrating trying to yell up to someone on deck which bolt to hold. I have 14 stanchion bases with 4 bolts each.

I have made a few specials to make my life easier. Special Jigs / Tools | Sailing Vessel Vigah

[Scott Berg]

When working singlehanded learning how to heave-to was a critical element of most of my repairs

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by bletso

Yep, you get the prize. I always found it frustrating trying to yell up to someone on deck which bolt to hold. I have 14 stanchion bases with 4 bolts each.

I have made a few specials to make my life easier. Special Jigs / Tools | Sailing Vessel Vigah

Yep, its on my todo list to improve my metal working skills (and related gear) so I can quickly fab up little things like that...at least it doesnt need to be pretty.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Scott Berg

When working singlehanded learning how to heave-to was a critical element of most of my repairs

Absolutely. If underway heaving too is a very valuable basic sailing skill. Have done many a minor repair that way...as well as reefing.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Some folks find heaving to to be very helpful in terms of stabilizing the boat if they have to go up the mast while at sea. Others prefer to do it with the boat under sail, again, to stabiize the boat. As the worst way to do it is to take all of the sails down, the boat rolls & pitches like crazy. So it's something to avoid if you can.

Also, for going aloft, solo or otherwise, I have checklists. One of them is a safety & proceedures checklist. And the other is a list of the items which I take with me all of the time when I go aloft, with a 2nd list akin to this one, which has sections that cover any specialty parts that I'll take with me for job X, or Y aloft.

Though I do always keep my rig for going aloft ready (packed n a plastic tool tub), including the tools I commonly use up there (with lanyards), & a list of parts & supplies which I always take aloft. Stuff to handle pretty much any fix it type job up there, without having to come back down & get something.

[CaptRory]

You guys didn't look very hard. https://www.amazon.com/Felo-07157500.../dp/B000E60ODS

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by Suijin

I just refit my deck and so ran into this extensively. I'm at a "do it yourself" yard and wanted to minimize paying for someone to simply hold a screw driver at $80/hour so it was something I was continuously confronted with. FYI I took the same approach to installing my chainplates.

Some other thoughts, primarily about ongoing maintenance

- Distribute duplicate tools in various places where they are needed throughout the boat. For example, I have a tool roll in the engine room that includes the commonly used tools I need for regular maintenance. Getting into and out of my engine compartment, given my height and size, is not something I want to do unessessarily. There's nothing worse than cramming myself in there only to discover that I forgot a particular spanner

- Proactivity. You need to stay on top of maintenance diligently not only because it can take longer since you're solo but also because dealing with an issue when you're single handed can be more difficult if not downright dangerous. My mast hardware and fittings for example get inspected frequently in benign conditions since going up the mast solo in more difficult conditions is just about the most dangerous repair scenario that you can engage in when single handing.

- Simplicity is your friend. When designing solutions for boat systems, keep it simple. Fewer repairs, easier and faster repairs.

I can't think of specific tools or tricks that apply to various maintenance tasks, other than vice grips. I did stumble on a vise grip crescent wrench (flat parallel jaws) that is now a favorite tool, but it's useful to anyone single handing or not.

These are all good tips. I keep a toolbox in the workshop, but also one of those orange gasketed "crash boxes" in the pilothouse with my most commonly used tools. This includes two channel-type pipe wrenches; a couple of ratcheting wrenches in the two most common metric and Imperial sizes (meaning four options, which you want on a boat with metric BWL AWAB hose clamps and SAE Tridons above the WL); two size of Vise-grips; an adjustable spanner; a flashlight; a multi-head screwdriver; jewellers' screwdrivers and multiple bits; a variety of cable ties and lengths of adhesive heat shrink tubing and terminal connectors; a Klein wire stripper; an Ancor double crimper and a few other goodies. This actually does for 90% of my routine maintenance aboard and has the benefit of being easily carried from place to place.

I also keep select "emergency tools of unusual size", such as my 18 inch crescent wrench, a torque wrench and big channel locks, in a pilothouse locker along with the usual softwood bungs not already tied to the through-hulls.

Lastly, I keep my main set of socket wrenches in the aft cabin as I find myself reaching for them on a regular basis. Some of these tools are lanyarded if I expect to use them on deck. I also have tools partitioned by quality: really good tools are kept below as much as possible, whereas I have some cheap knockoffs stowed under the pilothouse roof overhangs via velcro for easy access. An example of this would be a long screwdriver and box wrench for quick turnbuckle adjustments (or removal!). YMMV.

[zengirl]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

When I was a kid I had a set of Craftsman screw drivers that had a clip system to hold the screw. They were awesome!

Havent seen such in decades, so asked my pro mechanic stepson about similar tools...nope, he didnt know of any either. He also just uses a bit of whatever to hold the screw in place.

I believe you can find them on Amazon
Best Way Tools 25600 Screw Holder
3.9 out of 5 stars 37 customer reviews
List Price: $8.99
Price: $5.14 & FREE Shipping

[uncle stinkybob]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

Funny thing, I just asked about that at Canadian Tire, with a very knowledgeable salesman who does know his stuff. He remembered, too, ut, nope, ain't made anymore, or at least they don't have it.

My solution, and his?: a dollop of butyl tape in the Phillip head screw slots. Worked great. The screwdriver was already magnetized, but wouldn't hold the screws at the angle I had to work in/with.

Try Amazon, Easypower spring clip screwholder screwdriver.
decent price, good drivers.

[mikedefieslife]

Had this problem trying to remove my windows. At some point someone had damaged the rivet nuts and instead just stuck nuts on the end of the bolts. That means they turn as your turn bolt. Had to get creative wedging a wrench against the frame for the blinds. Lots of running back and forth to sort it out.

[Martkimwat]

Originally Posted by AmericanVagrant

Instead of using standard vice grips, I purchased a locking wrench: https://www.amazon.com/Stanley-85-61.../dp/B00009OYGZ

Works really well, not just to hold nuts/bolts, but also because it gets a tighter grip on hardware to help prevent rounding out.

I swear by these too, a great tool, one pair lives on my boat, the other in my kitchen drawer along with 15 in 1 screwdriver, pair of pliers, needle nose pliers and a really great pair of pipe grips that will go right up to 70mm even though it says 2" on the side. Made by Rothenberger.

The other useful tools for singlehanded use are finger spanners that clip on your finger and hold a nut or bolt with little springs inside, great for reaching hard to get at spots and getting a nut on or starting a bolt without it dropping out of its hole. Always have roll of waterproof gaffer tape on the boat which can be used to hold a spanner, as well as many other uses.