Top Ten Tools for a Cruiser

[Chef Mike]

I am helping a cruiser establish a tool chest. Would someone care to comment on necessary tools that one might need in dire situations when the boat yard mechanic is thousands of miles away? Besides the obvious, e.g. screwdriver, hammer, rum... what type of tool would you consider? Below are my suggestions

1. Good drill index with tap and die set.
2. Pulley puller
3. Vise
4. Torch
5. Multimeter
6. Swag
7. Grinder
8. Bolt Cutters
9. Solder Gun
10. ?

Comments like "Well first of all you must know what you are doing..." have been accounted for.

Mike

[wannago]

1. hammer
2. hammer
3. hammer
4. hammer
5. vise (cause after hitting your fingers 4 times trying to hit something with a hammer they start getting sore).
6. hammer
7. hammer
8. hammer
9. drill
10. grinder

but seriously, in dire straights, I don't think too many people are going to be bothered to use a micrometer.

Emergency wiring generally gets twisted together, crimped if the connectors are handy, but if the straights are dire you might have more important things to do than soldering.

Multimeters are great, test lights work well enough in a lot of cases.

I can't think of where more than 2-3 pulleys would be used on a boat, and what emergency someone would have to start pulling them. And anything along this line of repair will require a good set of wrenches, and maybe sockets and a ratchet.

Torches are a potential danger in themselves.

Bolt cutters big enough to go through rigging.

Grinder (the 3 1/2 or 4 inch hand held angle grinder kind). with sanding disk and cutoff wheel. But it's not going to do much without AC around. The first time I started to do some fiberglass repair I discovered this was indespendible. And maybe a sawzall.

And pliers and vise grips of assorted sizes and shapes, goes along with the screwdriver and hammer in the basics category.

[Bash]

1. Filter wrench
2. Multimeter
3. Monster size pair of channel locks (great for tensioning belts.)
4. Bolt cutters
5. packing gland tool
6. Dremmel tool
7. mallet
8. assorted fids
9. ratcheting butt connector crimper
10. wire stripper
11. pop riveter
12. right angle needle-nose pliers (for removing impellers.)

I've never needed a grinder or a torch.

[delmarrey]

Flat screw driver
Philips screw driver
Small and large Cresent wrench
Pipe wrench
Vice grips
Pry bar
Large wire cutters
Hacksaw
Chisel
Hammer

With these I could dismantle my whole boat except for the major parts of the motor/trany.

[daddle]

Originally Posted by Bash

8. assorted fids

Whew! Only took 3 posts to get a sailing tool on the list. One might think this is a engine or electricial forum.

* Sewing kit
* Sewing palm
* All the tools to maintain the rig and steering.
* Whatever one cleans the bottom with: mask, scraper, cloth, hookah...

[atoll]

1 a round toit
2 sky hook
3 left handed screw driver
4 plenty of elbow grease
5 small child for those hard to reach places
6 big hammer
7 bigger hammer(for bigger jobs)
8 very big hammer(for very big jobs)
9 chinese power tools(break after 5 miniutes so you get the rest of the w-end to relax)
10 that red head from the hardware store

[Bash]

Originally Posted by daddle

Whew! Only took 3 posts to get a sailing tool on the list. One might think this is a engine or electricial forum.

Good point! Maybe we should start over:

1. Winch handles
2. Rigging knife
3. Marlin spike
4. Shackle key
5. Church key
6. Deck fill key
7. windlass clutch wrench
8. assorted fids
9. sail pre-feeder
10. corkscrew

there! much more nautical.

[foggysail]

When nothing else will work:

A SAWZALL

[atoll]

seriously now

5 minute epoxy putty
blow torch
pipe wrench
good set of spanners an sockets
multi meter
micrometer and tape measure
epoxy repair kit(cloth filler etc)
self amalgamating tape
gaffer tape(duct tape)
gasket sealer
gasket card
wd 40

its all very well having the tools but with out basic stuff to make repairs with you might as well not start.

blow torch is indispensible for getting corroded stuff apart or alloy stainless bolts undone on outboards with a few drops of oil.

micrometer essential when trying to match parts in strange places where nobody speaks the lingo.

could go on but nessecity is the mother of invention

[DaveOnCudjoe]

If you want to dis assemble and re assemble you better have a socket set, end wrenches and socket head(allen) wrenches. Those vise grips, channel locks and crescent wrenches will screw up the bolt heads and nuts in no time. Dave

[Bash]

Originally Posted by atoll

blow torch is indispensible for getting corroded stuff apart

hmmm. we don't allow corroded stuff on our boat.

[rebel heart]

Mallet
Pliers
Fid/knife combo
Razor blade
Vice Grips
Crescent wrench
Vaughn Bear saw (japanese style)
Sanding block
Multimeter
Electrical: heat gun
Electrical: multimaster

[oldtomcat]

C'mon you guys; the most important thing(tool) DUCT TAPE!!!!!

Tom

[Hudson Force]

I like those suggested above, but I'll add a favorite of mine that did not make the list. A turkey baster! Countless times there will a need to move a little fluid from one place to another and nothing does this better than a turkey baster.

[David M]

If I were limited to 10 tools...

Phillips screwdriver.
Slot screwdriver.
Drill.
Bits.
Sliplock plier.
Sidecutter.
Vicegrips
Crescent wrench.
Socket set
Socket wrench