Tools aboard: Minimizing space and weight

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

I now standardise on one battery powered tool set. In fact I have bought several compatible lithium adaptors so I can use the same 18b tool batteries in my dinghy pump and other portable devices devices. My vacuum cleaner uses the same batteries

At the last count , drill , jigsaw , router , buffer , angle grinder , circular saw , heat gun , vacumn , dinghy pump , lab power supply all
Using the same lithium tool battery

That is not an easy thing to organize. Very impressive actually.

I get around this problem another way. I use the boat’s inverter and house bank to power everything.

[Rumrace]

A puller seems to always miss the lists. Forgive me if someone mentioned them.
They are heavy and pack away.
About 30 years ago my wife and I started carrying Bocci balls. We consider them essential friend making tools. We also notice hundreds of boats today also carry them. They are darn heavy but necessary. Technically we play commando bocci so no court. One year we waxed the womens balls while they were getting drinks during the finals tournament. Don’t do this to the womens balls we lost.

Dremel tool is a zillion tools in one. Soldering gun. I have both in a plastic tub.
My boat has a funky door in the washroom first thing inside is drawers with tools.
Even the dinghy needs a spark plug wrench a spar spark plug, patch kit, why we love seat bags.

Really good sealing tape, Lexel chalk, in the boat first aid kit. In an old power boat I had rewired I left a 50 foot length of wire stashed in the anchor locker. We came across another boat adrift which had been hit by lightning.
We donated a battery and that 50’ piece of wire and limped into Collingwood with them. You just never know do you.

Could be a three hour cruise and the weather started getting rough…

[rslifkin]

I try to carry the tools I truly need, but skip many of the nice to haves. So a decent set of wrenches, hex keys, sockets, screwdrivers, etc. I do carry a corded drill aboard as well, but that's about it for power tools. There's also the stuff like a hammer, big (but lightweight) pipe wrench, stuffing box packing wrench, packing extractor, carb adjustment tool, and assorted stuff that's collected in the toolbox. Total weight is probably under 100 lbs for me.

If we were traveling full time far from home, there's some extra stuff I'd probably bring along. But for stuff I only need when the boat is on land or for a pre-planned project (such as tools to change a prop), I leave those at home. In general, getting along with mostly hand tools on the boat helps a lot with keeping the toolbox size reasonable.


For power tools that live on the boat, I stick with corded. For the most part, they get used too infrequently, plus I can easily run an extension cord to any part of the boat. That said, for pre-planned work I do sometimes bring cordless tools from home for convenience.

[Rumrace]

The new cordless tools are impressive. My coolest boating tool for an old fart is land locked but you’ll see them in several clubs and manufactures like Hinckley a 3D printer. This silly thing printed in ASA or PC protects my lines rafting or strange peer. A new tool!

[thinwater]

The OP's point was, as he predicted, broadly ignored. All he needs, and all most sailors need, is a get-home tool kit. Enough to jury rig some sails, steering, and perhaps get a balky motor running for a short period, but they are not going to maintain anything or repair anything major. They will do that after they get home.


So all you need are:

• A knife, of course.
• Duct tape, electrical/rigging tape, athletic tape, sail repair tape, and some rigging wire (also serves as splicing fid).
• Sewing kit, including palm and whipping twine.
• A few things to fix broken wiring. A few connectors (wire nuts will work, but Wagos are better for this), a cutters and perhaps strippers, and some bit of wire. Fuses if applicable.
• Parts to fix fuel connections. Some hose, a few clamps, and maybe some metal tubing.
• A few simple wrenches, pliers, vice grips, and fresh sparks.
• Some cord and rope, a few carabiners, and maybe a few pulleys. some shackles. Combined with the sewing kit you should be able to sail.

The get-home kit for my F-24 fits in a large, multi-compartment travel toiletries bag. In my car I have a heavy travel tool pack, and my home shop includes welding, many fixed power tools, two lathes, and a lot of ... stuff. But my get-home kit is small, focused on fixing only the things I need to fix to get into the slip. I've pared it down--it was larger when I fist bough the the boat.


The kit on my cruising boat (PDQ) was larger, but that is not what the OP asked.

[TheOffice]

I sail offshore. I also have the Klein screwdrivers. They're great, but they eventually corrode! I also carry a dremel, cordless drill, angle grinder. Lots of pliers, hacksaw for cutting large hose, hose cutter, hose removal tool. Crimpers, multimeter. I use 2 canvas bags. One has wrenches and pliers, one has everything else, plus small cloth bags for sockets sets and a wrench roll.

[JBP]

An oscillating multi-tool can tolerably replace a sander, an angle grinder, a hack saw, a jig saw, a circular saw, scrapers and probably a lot more. That and a cordless drill are probably the only power tools I NEED. Sure other tools might make the job easier, but I get get it done without them.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by carstenb

A heavy duty cable crimper for crimping up to 50mm? yep, I used it

A big, heavy tool. 50mm? Really? A typo perhaps.


While I would agree that crimiping is the superior approach, solder cup lugs applied with solder slugs and a torch are good enough in many cases -- and much lighter and smaller.

[rslifkin]

I keep small crimpers aboard, but it's unlikely I'll need to re-crimp large battery cables on the fly. So those crimpers stay at home.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by disputin

One note about the Klein multi-tool (which I am a big fan). Look around your boat for screws that are deep set in a narrow hole. While the multi-tool can replace a lot of screwdrivers, having one or 2 regular screw drivers is well worth it. Several times I've grabbed the multi only to find out I can't get to the screw head and had to use a traditional screwdriver.

I have run into this also. The Xcelite 99 series multi-screwdriver was one of the few multi-screwdrivers that gets around this (though the use of long blades that interchange in the handle). Those are still available but with a limited selection of blades.

Originally Posted by TheOffice

I sail offshore. I also have the Klein screwdrivers. They're great, but they eventually corrode!

I have run into this too. The ball springs in the bits, especially, tend to corrode.

Originally Posted by thinwater

The OP's point was, as he predicted, broadly ignored. All he needs, and all most sailors need, is a get-home tool kit. Enough to jury rig some sails, steering, and perhaps get a balky motor running for a short period, but they are not going to maintain anything or repair anything major. They will do that after they get home.

I'm also trying to have a baseline toolset such that, when I bring tools from shore for a particular project, I don't have to bring many.

[Rumrace]

Heck I read the OP wanted more discussion not lists my bad.
I hate lists.

[Rumrace]

“ Tools threads tend to degenerate into people posting lists of tools without much discussion. Please try not to do that here.”

I did the old school cut n paste.
So part of contribution is making tools for my boat like a water fill which fits European threads so I don’t stand there with a cut off hose.
Or an emoji Poop floating key I printed for the pump out key.
Not everything has to go on excel.

[Rumrace]

A must have when electronics need love.

[MicHughV]

I have a home made prop puller in my kit. It goes completely contrary to this thread, as it it is neither light nor small.
Say what you want, but no long distance sailor should be without this device. It's heavy and cumbersome for sure, but worth it's weight in gold. It lives in the bilge in it's own greased bag, so is not a detriment to space, so there is that.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

I have a home made prop puller in my kit. It goes completely contrary to this thread, as it it is neither light nor small.
Say what you want, but no long distance sailor should be without this device. It's heavy and cumbersome for sure, but worth it's weight in gold. It lives in the bilge in it's own greased bag, so is not a detriment to space, so there is that.

I periodically debate carrying my spare props, prop puller and appropriate huge wrenches on the boat. But it's a good 80 lbs of stuff and takes up a ton of space. I might bring them if traveling somewhere really remote for a while, but otherwise, I keep the stuff all next to each other in the garage at home.



I'm not a diver, so there's no way I can change a 30+ lb prop in the water myself. Which means I need outside help anyway, either a diver or a haulout. So I'm going to lose some time to arranging that. Which means it's not that big a deal to have someone ship me the props (and tools if needed).