What's In Your Toolbox?

[tjg1677]

I have been in marine engineering both professionally and in boat ownership for nearly 40 years. Over that time I have got into the habit of always having certain items to hand in the toolbox, on that basis I thought I would ask what are your must have items apart from a fairly basic tool kit?.  Toolwise my most versatile thing is a set of 3 spring loaded self grip wrenches, they have got me out of the mire on more than one occasion. 

Never without a roll of ptfe tape, this stuff is so versatile I have even made temporary O rings in the past as a get you home job. Also superglue, self amalgamating tape, araldite, terminal blocks, tie wraps and various bits of wire.

What are your must haves?

Trev

[Viking23]

I wish you hadn't posted this, I was hoping to get back to sleep... lol

In my tool box, apart from my spare engine, spare water pump, as we have an outboard, I find a cheap £1, plastic bicycle pump very useful, it clears the tell tail on the outboard, helps to back pressure the paloma water heater when winterising, etc.

Silicon gasket sealer, jb weld, two part epoxy, chemical metal epoxy, a sheet of gasket type cardboard, some foam type sheet to make gaskets. Spare Impeller, not forgetting all the tools required to replace it. A home made flywheel puller. A spare prop, no make that two lol. A tarp or two to cover leaky windows or torn canopy. A multimeter is essential, if not two. Spare fuses, bulbs, engine oil and gear oil for a complete oil change. Replacement gear select/throttle control cables. Loads more to come... I'll sleep on it.. lol  Oh and ... Replacement activator for life jacket.

 

Note to self... and all the forum... when was the last time you checked your expiry dates on the auto lifeacket activators and also the weight of the gas bottle...? hmmm yes that long ago... time flies. 

 

[Wildfuzz]

A length of plastic strimmer cable, brilliant for blocked telltales on the outboard.

 

Bottle of brandy for "whilst thinking  about it" situations.........

[Baitrunner]

Rum, wine, mobile phone and Boulters recovery service subscription!!!

oh and loads of other paraphernalia similar to Viking. Although where you put all that stuff is anyones guess!!

[brandenjg]

I had a lovely set of tools onboard. Nowadays I have a powerful magnet on a piece of string because all my tools keep falling in the bloody water. Branden 

[grendel]

well not having a boat, I have a boot full of tools in the car, recently I changed a suspension control arm at work in the car park - to get the car through its mot. the only extra tool I took in was my trolley jack.

[Timbo]

At the minute it is impossible to list what tools I have on board Trev...it would be easier to list tools I haven't got on board.

A socket set.

You see I walked through three tool shops yesterday and I bought nothing. Nothing I tell you!  Last week I gave away a tablesaw because it was in the way. I even have a spare band saw which I'm bringing down for Doug. 

The problem is going to be when Royal Tudor is finished because she holds a duplicate set of tools to those I have at home. Where am I going to put them? _{Buy another boat.} I mean my workshop at home is only 7'x8'. _{Buy another boat.} How will I cram everything back into the car. _{Buy another boat.} I certainly won't have storage in my workshop. _{Buy another boat.} Anyone got any ideas? _{Buy another boat!}

[grendel]

fortunately for the models - the tools are smaller, that said I do have a full size and a smaller table saw, now I just need to clear space in the conservatory to make half of it my workshop.

[Regulo]

Besides the usual (Jason [24/7] reckoned I never left the marina without a full F1 toolkit aboard), I carry one of those flexi-grabber tools, like a micro grabber crane amusement machine thingy. I'm always dropping the last screw, bolt, or other necessary small part, and it invariably ends up juuuuust out of reach, in an inaccessible nook.

[Timbo]

Just now, grendel said:

fortunately for the models - the tools are smaller, that said I do have a full size and a smaller table saw, now I just need to clear space in the conservatory to make half of it my workshop.

What makes me chuckle are the Americans on YouTube describing their 2 and 4 car garage 'micro workshops'. Fortunately my father in law has a 45' x 12' tool shed that I can use occasionally if I book in advance and put in a bit of grass cutting labour. I'll be using this next week to route out the recess in RT's new cockpit sides to take the glass. 

 

[grendel]

my current workbench for the models is just the kitchen table, how much more micro can you get than that?

[VetChugger]

Far too many! In fact so many I had to buy another toolbox!

 

[LondonRascal]

I just have a Griff.

[ranworthbreeze]

4 minutes ago, VetChugger said:

Far too many! In fact so many I had to buy another toolbox!

 

Only the one?

[Viking23]

My tool box isn't half full.

My tool box isn't half empty.

As an Engineer,

my toolbox is twice as big as it needs to be lol.

 

Now can anybody answer this one, where on earth do the M10 AF spanners go?  I have three and can rarely find one lol. 

[grendel]

the same place that M10 sockets seem to go.

[ExUserGone]

Quote

Now can anybody answer this one, where on earth do the M10 AF spanners go?

Over the head of an M6 bolt or nut usually....

Pela oil suckers are very useful to have on board for all sorts of tidy up jobs, as is the usb endoscopes that fit android phones for finding the bits you've dropped under the engines.

[quo vadis]

Years ago one of my bosses had lost most of his tools so me and the other guys would steal every 18mm spanner from every ship we worked on and put in his tool box he had hundreds of them

Yes before anyone tells me 18mm is a common size nowadays back then I never found one

[Londonlad1985]

I have a small adjustable spanner, multitool, spare innertube, puncture repair kit, tiny pump and the box (pouch) clips under my seat. This is not very marine. I doubt it would be much use on a peddlo. 

[tjg1677]

2 hours ago, LondonRascal said:

I just have a Griff.

Everyone needs a Griff.. ............

[BroadAmbition]

Like it 

there ain't enough room to list what we carry. Thing is whilst out on the rivers I mostly use em on other boats 

Griff

[dnks34]

Im not sure about an 18mm spanner Ive never come across a need for one up to now but we do have a 19mm spanner and a long jemmy as part of our tool kit, the jemmy is for tensioning belts.

I always carry a spare impeller, spare belts, spare oil and antifreeze and would like to think I could deal with most breakdowns myself if need be, i noticed before we left OB today a weap from the HE drain so that will be undone later in the week and having its washer renewed. 

[Viking23]

1 hour ago, Londonlad1985 said:

I have a small adjustable spanner...

Is it metric or imperial ?

It's really worth having one of each lol you never know lol.

[Timbo]

25 minutes ago, BroadAmbition said:

Like it 

there ain't enough room to list what we carry. Thing is whilst out on the rivers I mostly use em on other boats 

Griff

Cor flippin eck Griff....your gonna have a right job lumping all them tools up from the river up to the shed at Martham to give me a Doug a hand! 

[Vaughan]

"Yankee" pump screwdriver. This is my third one. I wore out the other two.

Stanley hand drill. Both the above need no wires, no batteries and no re-charging. In emergency, they work perfectly underwater. I have never felt the need of a cordless drill and probably never will.

Clip on ammeters, of 70A and 30A. They work on the magnetic field created by the current and are as accurate as any electronic device. The one on the right is over 40 years old.

Telescopic mirror and magnet, for seeing under engines and picking up spanners when dropped in the bilges. Bought in ALDI!

Mini socket set, bought for 13€ in LIDL. this has got me out of a lot of awkward corners.

Knock-ometer.

AF/metric universal wide-mouthed engineer's spanner. For use by wide-mouthed engineers.

Tool for adjusting old-fashioned inboard bearings (stern gland).

Also handy for getting Boy Scouts out of Girl Guides, as well as stones out of horses' hooves.