Standard or Metric

[Scubaseas]

Metric hammers are important.

Eye ball the engine. Bring appropriate S wrenches if needed for starter, injection pump, water pump">raw water pump. Injector flare nut wrench (Hazet makes nice ones) and deep broach socket for injectors. flex drive sockets as appropriate. Spill pipe for fuel timing. Feelers, good adjustable puller. I pared my kits down to essentials and really nice to have for ease of repair. But still carry two stainless adjustables and a Lowe's wrench and socket kit. Can fit everything into a relatively small tool box that can easily steer the autopilot 80* off if you walk by the compass with it. If you want to go small you can get away with under 15 tools. Long grabber with light is nice and used often. 1/4 flex head fine tooth ratchet and deep 7 and 8mm sockets for clamps. 7/16" deep for T clamps on the exhaust. Dremel tool with metal cutting discs. Heat gun. Big ass slip joint pliers.

If you have the room bring it.

[JPA Cate]

Hi, Hoosier sailor,

There's probably not room on your boat for a lifetime's worth of high quality tools, and I think you're right that you will need to triage them. If you're just going to the Bahamas and then coming home in 6 months (more or less) you probably don't really need to bring the torque wrench, for instance, or the socket that will fit the keel bolts.

Our boat before this was SAE sizes but the engine was a BMW, so metric. I'd had a BMW car, so I brought my metric end wrenches and sockets to the boat. Jim had plenty of SAE size tools. We have 1/4" drive sockets, 3/8" drive sockets, and 1/2" drive sockets. You'll want a very long, strong screwdriver, as well as a mixed set. You will want both Allen head metric & SAE. Jim has some ball drivers, and a screw starter. Assorted pliers and vice grips. We carry a vice, mounted on a board. It gets used almost every year. Jim has a little set of what used to be called ignition wrenches: normal sizes, but very slender, for getting into those places that are too tight for regular sized wrenches.

What you need and what you want may be different, too. You may have some favorites among your tools. Bring them. Until you find out they're in the way and you don't use them--or that you do use them and it was good to keep them.

McHughV is sort of right, but the tools you have chosen are an important part of your life, almost a symbol of it, and I'm glad I brought the tools I used on my car to our boat. Which may sound weird, but there you go!


If going to the Bahamas is but the beginning of a circumnavigation, you will bring more, because you can't count on finding what you want some of the places you go.

Ann

[Kettlewell]

I carry a lot of tools, both metric and standard, and all sorts of specialized tools too. One set of things I have found invaluable is the electrical parts bins with switches, fuses, terminal blocks, bulbs, etc. including bags of coiled electrical wire of all sizes including spare battery cables of various lengths. But, one thing to keep in mind is that even if you don't have the specific tool needed for some specific job someone else in the cruising fleet is bound to have it. The VHF radio and the cruisers potluck on the beach are your friends!

[carstendenmark]

Owning a RANS12ES ultralight airplane before, it was a mix.

But in general, I recommend you to find out what you need, if you sail the boat. Including tools for mast etc. Even in the top.
If you just want to go by engine then you need all you can get - metric.


OP : You're truly a pro mecanic ?
Where have you been ?

Getting a little nervous, entering an unchecked, private, US airplane now...


My sister is a military helicopter mechanic. Sikorsky, Bell, etc.

Runs in the blood.

[Icarus]

Both plus a ½ and ¼ socket set, torque wrench, pliers, hole punches, drill bit set, power tools, vice..and so on....multimeter, lug crimper.....
Bolt cutters, axe...

[MicHughV]

Let me give you a real life example.

I had my first boat for about 11 years or so.
I eventually sold this to buy another, but bigger boat.
In transferring my worldly goods from the 1st boat to the second, I was dumbfounded at the number of tools, instruments and gadgets I had been schlepping around all these years. Many of these, I had none seen in years as they were buried deep in some or other locker and had forgotten I actually had them on the boat, but I know that sometime in the past I must have used them otherwise they would not be on the boat.

So it will be with you too. At first, it will be a set of metric and standard wrenches. Then you'll add a variety of screw drivers. Thereafter will come all the electrical stuff....fuses, spare wire, meter and so on. Then sail repair kits. Then hose repair kits, hose clamps and the like, prop pullers, spare parts, the specialty tools, spare filters, extra oil, etc, etc, etc.

Before you know it, you'll have a regular workshop of tools on your boat, and you'll find the space to stow it all somewhere. The trick is to remember where you've put what. Some folk are good at cataloging what goes where, but I don't have this gift. I can remember I have a certain tool onboard, but can't remember where I've stored it. In the process of looking for it, I will find other stuff, which I will mentally remember for a week or so before before it gets swallowed up in some or other brain cell.

This is not a bad thing. There are no service stations out on the ocean, no handy marine store, you'll be on your own so the more stuff you carry around with you the better as the odds are, sooner, rather than later, you'll need something.

[JanH]

The most useful adjustable wrench that will deal with any size nut/bolt is a plier wrench - highly recommended - https://www.knipex.com/products/pipe...e-tool/8605150

[more]

Originally Posted by JanH

The most useful adjustable wrench that will deal with any size nut/bolt is a plier wrench - highly recommended - https://www.knipex.com/products/pipe...e-tool/8605150

you joke. if you come close 2 meter to my any engine you fired immediately. this is for house pipe,no boat pipe dude
i think on boat engine 95% bolt is special bolt. and you must use orginal bolt where bolt is heat. head of engine,exhaust bolt and wher is 2 and up bolt what need proper torque .but he is airplane mechanic he know all this think.

but most important toll on boat is https://www.amazon.co.uk/Deals%E3%80...2389837&sr=8-6

[nmccubbin]

You will need both American and metric tools to work on the boat. Apart from the obvious that Yanmar is metric, some gadgets you buy or are already there will be metric. On the other hand there are bound to be American nuts and bolts on board, and if you work on her in the US you may be forced to use US size stuff.

BTW, worldwide standard is metric. Also, there is little Imperial about American nuts and bolts. We use the American standard (The imperial Whitworth etc was largely abandoned 50 years ago)

[Cheechako]

Just stay away from the metric clocks. Those 10 hour days are the pits getting used to!

[MicHughV]

10 hour clocks are one thing....but these 100 day years are wearing thin...

[TeddyDiver]

Remember to have standard money too. £sd incluling pounds, shillings, pennies and farthings for daily purchases. Also if need to buy some boat stuff guineas might be needed.

[more]

Originally Posted by TeddyDiver

pounds, shillings, pennies and farthings for daily purchases. Also if need to buy some boat stuff guineas might be needed.

this old gb currency i simply don't understand,
explain matematic what narcotic used when somebody decise.
20 shillings = 1 pound. 12 pence = 1 shilling. 240 pence = 1 pound. 4 farthings = 1 pence
guinea = 1 pound and 1 shilling and 1 1/2 fart

this be ridiculous,i think this sistem made because GB want confuse France and rest EU

[MicHughV]

math can be silly...

if 1 ship can cross an ocean in 7 days...
7 ships can cross it in one day...

1Sx7D=IC...or 7SD=1C
7SX1D=1C...or 7SD=1C

figures never lie....

[Capt.Don]

Two 10mm wrenches - you are going to lose one bleading the Yanmar.