Spares

[Ross]

I am curious about the non-mechanical spares that we carry. Not the stuff for the engine but just the things that we can improvise for making repairs. I keep a ditty bag with a palm, needles, twine, pliers for pulling a needle through thick fabric. The ability to sew a whipping onto a line. Seizing a block to a point where we don't have a shackle. some stainlees steel wire for seizing the anchor shackle pins

 

[ClownPilot]

Very good advice ....

Something I never gave thought to, and you are dead on. Something to stitch fabric whether it be sails or a life jacket et cetra. Thanks Ross.Here is also something to consider. Came to me in a time when I needed alternate emergency power. And that is engine starting power. So often is the case that you don't keep track of onboard power drains throughout a days adventure. Until the time comes when you need to crank up the engine and manuever back to the slip. I found one of those carry-on jumper packs a lifesaver. Walmart for about 40 bux and well worth it!Tom

 

[Ross]

CP I keep a digital voltmeter connected all of

the time if my batteries drop below 11 volts I run the engine.

 

[CalebD]

Nice topic Ross

How many 'spares' do you need or carry? Beyond the engine spares I carry I have an embarrassingly long list of stuff I like to have on board which includes emergency repair items. I like to have some materials around to improvise with.These include: small Marine-Tex kit, as much retired line as seems prudent, several blocks, cleats, life jackets, sewing kit (2 needles), carpet remnant, 12 x 14 tarp for fothering the hull if necessary (cheaper than using a sail). I need to add some wire cable and fittings and a few other things to my list of materials to have on hand. I would keep an epoxy kit aboard if my partner allowed me but it is just as well as 5200 and Marine-Tex set much quicker and easier to keep in their containers. It is nice to carry spare sails and I have them but do not usually keep them on the boat when staying pretty close to home. I recently bought the set of wooden tapered wooden plugs WM sells for emergency thru hull plugs.So does this make me a pessimist or optimist, I ask you? Most of the stuff I listed is emergency stuff but I do carry backup flares, VHF radio, lines. Oh, I didn't mention an inflatable or life raft which I do not have unless you consider a Seyvlor 2 man raft an inflatable.

 

[Ross]

One of the reasons for this post was a dock

nieghbor that was taking his outboard engine carburator off the engine and didn't have a bag for the bits and pieces. Another one suffered a broken forestay turnbuckle and didn't notice it before the mast came down. If he had discovered the broken turnbuckle he could have lashed the fore stay to the stemhead fitting with small stuff and saved a dismasting.

 

[higgs]

Lots of stuff

I have an exstensive collection of stainless fastners, hoses, peices of teak, gasket material, tommy tape, duct tape, sail tape, needle, thread, wire, electrical parts, bulbs, rigging pieces, filters, line, pumps, anchors, gps, lead line, compass, oil, anti freeze, blocks, cleats, and the list goes on. I also carry a pretty extensive set of tools. I do a lot of cruising and have found the spares invaluable countless times. Last year I had what I needed to repair a split engine cooling hose which enabled me to motor on for a couple of hours before reaching port. Each year of cruising seems to bring a similar story. Each year I go through all my junk and bring some of it home so it does not get out of hand.Good post, Ross.

 

[sailaway78]

I carry a long list of spares, from hose clamps and duct tape to spare fuel filters and engine belts, and anything I think that I could possibley need. Well, almost anything. To add a little interest to this thread, how do you contain small stuff. I have found the plastic sugar containers to do well for small stuff. They hold a bunch of junk, don't rust or corrode, and can be stashed away in small nooks and crannies, and the bright yellow makes them easy to spot when stuffed into the back of a locker.

 

[higgs]

Storage containers

For fasterners and electrical fittings I use tackle boxes. Everything else is pretty much makeshift. Some tupperware, some canvas bags, plastic dish pans, plastic jars, plastic bags, old battery boxes, etc.

 

[Ross]

I sew up cloth bags with draw strings,

different fabrics for each bag, doesn't take long to learn what's where. get the fabric from the swatches at the furniture shops.

 

[Malcolm Young]

Storing Mtce. Stuff

I find boxes with lots of little compartments made for storing fishing tackle very useful for nuts, screws and bolts and other small items. I also have midsize sealable stacking bins with sealable tops that go under one of my seats - one for engine spares, one for rigging (whipping twine, light line, fids, spare blocks, shakles, replacements for all of my rigging pins and cotter pins, duct tape, (of course) etc etc, one for electrical, one for plumbing and one for everything else.Out in the large cockpit locker I have lots of stuff including two bins - one with a power drill, jigsaw with bits etc, soldering gun (for cutting line) (I have a small Yamaha generator to provide AC power) and the other with all kinds of cleaning stuff, wax, spare oil, antifreeze etc etc. I also have a bag of shock cords which are useful for lashing things down quickly - like when the roller furling wouldn't roll up and I had to drop the genoa from the furler in a hurry.

 

[Sanders]

All that plus...

I try to have one of every kind of tool I might need, but avoid big sets. I keep them in soft bags in the V-Berth and keep similar items together.I make a point of carrying battery powered drill, the handiest tool ever, and even a battery powered saw. I keep them charged so they will work away from the dock. (I know they won't last, but they are for emergency, not sustained use). I also carry a set of mixed-size clamps which serve everything from clothespins to emergency repair clamps. Plus a cable cutter, spare filters for everything, belts, hoses, and a collection of stainless nuts, bolts and screws and hose fittings. And I use the wll rack system for that, and for another set of electrical items.Oh yeah, and wooden pegs at every through hull.If I were going any disctance offshore I would add spare pumps etc.S.

 

[Manny]

Gorilla Tape and an extra ipod

Plus a whole lot of other stuff. Bulbs, cotter pins, cordless drill, jumpstarter/120v power supply, hose clamps, all different sizes and types of hose, electrical connectors, bungie cords, needles, waxed line, flashlights, wire, bleach, life jackets, sleeping bags, towels, paper towels, sail ripair tape, wooden plugs, toothpaste, wire ties, razor blades, fenders, docklines, spare tiller, and a big first aid kit with all kinds of stuff (boy has that come in handy - I'm constantly injuring myself). I keep most items in zip loc bags grouped together.Kind of funny when I think about it, i'm never really out more than about three hours at a time, do I really need all that stuff? No wonder the old girl is so slow.Mannyedited to add - bottled water and gatoradeSorry Ross, I guess I included some mechanical stuff!

 

[Ctskip]

Most everything I could need ( I think)

And I'm on a lake in Oklahoma. Those old New England habits are hard to break. The sailors here on the docks enjoy it when they come looking for parts. I use plastic carrying cases designed for power tools. Each box has it's own assortment of "stuff". Gas mask carrying case for my tools. I sometimes use the little compartments in the cases and other times, I cut them out when using them for larger items like turnbuckles, duct tape, etc. Most everything mentioned here clamps ,pegs, Nerf football, wire to belts and hoses. I do like the tarp idea thanks for that one.  Great post, Ross, Thanks. Keep it up, Ctskip

 

[tom]

Stuff Gets Old Occupies space

My boat is too small(32') and already has far more stuff packed everywhere than I want. If you live aboard and cruise far and wide spares are far more important than it is for us poor guys who have to work. Except for a vacation my boat rarely gets more than a few miles from the dock and the dock is only a few miles from stores where most anything can be bought. The real downside of stuffing a boat full of everything that you might need is that it becomes increasingly hard to find anything. If you take the time to organise everything that is time that you aren't sailing. My precious little time on the boat is too precious to sit down below and organise a bunch of stuff that I'll probably never need. If it isn't organised it's easier to go buy new than it is to search the boat looking for something bought 5 years previously.

 

[Warren Milberg]

I am always surprised...

... by what other sailors at my marina do not keep on their boats. Because I'm pretty well known as the guy who will loan tools/cotter pins/tape/crimpers, etc., and other stuff to sailors in need, I've come to find that there are a lot of boats out there on the Chesapeake pretty ill-equipped for any kind of emergency. Of course, sailing on the Chesapeake is not like going offshore, but stuff does happen, even on the Bay. I guess a lot of other sailors out there think that when it does, they can either limp home or call for assistance, should that be necessary. But one of the most interesting things about many sailors is their ability to improvise some sort of McGiver-like fix when necessary. Years ago I sailed with a guy who used to filter his diesel with a leg from his wife's old panty hose.... One day while sailing with him, his alternator belt broke. Not having a spare, he cut a piece of the nylon panty hose and tied it around the pulleys and it actually worked to get us home.... We all have our own little idiosyncracies...

 

[Ctskip]

Tom

I use my down time, slow really, (winter) to do my organizing. This way, come sailing time, I'm ready and I know where everything is, so that when someone needs a part, I usually can retrieve it in nothing flat. The Admiral knows what box I need by the color of the box to boot! If I don't have it on board, it's in my storage locker, near the bow of the boat. Which is always unlocked, for those that might need something. Do you really think most organized boaters use their boating time to do their organizing? Lets face it space is limited for most of us. Thats why it pays to be somewhat organized. It saves time and space. Thats just the way I do it. Keep it up,  Ctskip

 

[tom]

Ross said Non Mechanical

I have spare filters,fan belts a reasonably complete tool kit oil antifreeze anything reasonably expected to need that can be repaired on the boat. One of the down sides of living down south is sailing year round. Spring is great sailing due to a lot of fronts producing good winds. Summer is great sailing less wind but you can stop and swim and cold beer is better on a hot day. Fall is great sailing the days are cooler and the fronts are back giving good winds. And don't forget those glorious trees all arange red and yellow. Winter is great sailing all of the birds from up north are on the lake and very few other boaters. No PWC's something primordial about a leaden sky over black water. Snuggling up to that significant other in a warm sleeping bag. No time to stop sailing and work on the boat.  Seriously I think most cruising type boats are overloaded with useless crap. My boat's PO had old air filters stored behing the settee seats did he expect to lose the ones on the engine?? Old instruments etc etc all packed into odd spaces. Much of this stuff I didn't even find the first year we owned the boat. Do you really need a spare tachometer that doesn't work??? What about a 20 year old instrument cluster that doesn't work?? I unloaded enough that the boat no longer has the same water lines.

 

[Ctskip]

I'll agree that that southern living is great

And being able to sail year round is wonderful. But I find July and August dreadfully hot with little wind, even with my AC on board. It's placed starboard in the V berth and uses the bottom half of starboard locker. I still find it to be advantageous to organize my spare parts (all of which work). Naturally I don't have a spare oven on board. Just things that might and could possibly break and become troublesome if I didn't have it. Like a spare bilge pump to back up the back up one already in place. Having a extra key way for the wheel is comforting to know I have also. Spare lines just hanging, waiting for the day they get to be used. Extra fuel stored, but used every year at years end. Even extra propane. Ever run out propane in the middle of a nice steak? Not fun. Warm beverages stored under the companionway,to back up the cold ones in the refer. And those extra screens for the portholes don't take up a whole lot of room. I found them at a silent auction our club held. Four for $10.00. I couldn't resist. Not to mention the "new" temp gauge, along with the roll of wire. Just "in case". And, NO I'm not anal either. I have always believed in the old scout saying,"always be prepared". I even take a road map on my land travels. Nowadays they have garmin for that too. I still carry charts of the areas I will sail and have sailed, complete with lines penciled in and notes written on them. I use a pencil. I know where I stand with a pencil. Not so with a pen. Ya just never know? Need a chart of Long Island Sound? As long as I don't have to educate it or feed it. BTW, the first thing I did to my vessel, was to take EVERYTHING that moved OFF the vessel, so I could inspect and replace things so I knew where they would be. I got up close and personal with her. I uncovered her entirely and know most everything about her. It took me three days, but was well worth it. I also found stuff from the PO the other PO didn't know was there. Sailors are like Harleys . Simulair but differant. Keep it up, Ctskip

 

[Ross]

So far no one has mentioned non-perishable food

We can get stuck out there with a dead engine and no wind but that isn't an emergency by its self. But I get rather hungry after about half a day and start looking for something to eat. I can see how a stort day sail could turn into an all nighter with no need to call for help.

 

[tom]

Ross You Sail in a Great Place

CTskip and I are lake sailers. Wheeler lake is 67,000 acres and 60 miles long but for sailboats the main area is more like 12 miles long and 1 mile wide. Joe Wheeler State Park is a few miles up from the dam so we are mostly less than 10 miles from the dock. In a pinch with a kinda favorable wind I can sail back to the dock. There in the Chesapeak you can get a lot farther from help. Also there are roads around Wheeler so that in dire conditions I can row or motor the dinghy to a road or use the ever present cell phone to call the marina. We do keep cans of soup and coffee etc on board. If all else fails there is a liter of Brandy. Nothing seems so bad after a little brandy. We usually have a case of water in addition to the water in the tanks. Spare toilet paper rolls in the head. That soup has came in handy more than once. In particular I remember sailing up Mobile bay on a cold rainy day. We had been to Pensacola and spent the night at Ingram's Bayou the night before. I was cold and feeling kinda miserable..(though the sailing was good) the wife fired up the gimbled stove and brought out a large cup of soup and really improved my mood. She stayed below much of the day reading as she gets cold easily and doesn't like to get wet.  Some day I hope to make it up to the Chesapeak bay. We have kinda planned a cruise that would entail sailing across the gulf or along the edge and then up the east coast to VA. Ideally we would spend a few months in the Bahamas ride the gulf stream up to Moorehead city and get in the ditch to Norfolk. Spend hurricane season as far north as we can get and then head back south as the water gets too cold to swim....ahhhhhhhh dreams.