I started thinking it would be a good idea to have a tool box on board our H285 for emergency repair. Like being able to purge the fuel lines if I had accidentally run out of diesel and used my 5 gal spare. Or to repair a packing gland leak, or electrical problem, or change a belt or putting on a spare hose, and so on.
But to have every tool makes for a heavy and large box. So, has anyone worked up a list of tools needed excluding wrenches that don't fit anything and including duplicates when needed?
Are there opinions about the tool box itself, waterproof? Or boxes and a place to store them?
There was a thread about this a few months ago.. do a search and you should be able to find it...
Other than basic hand tools?... There are so many variables as to what you would ever need as there are ideas of what you could/should carry...
If i had a big enough boat i would want my welder, torches, plasma cutter, 5t chain com-a-long, table saw, router... extra wood and metal for any repairs or ideas that crop up and this is in addition to all the other tools that i have... maybe even a golf cart to get from one end of the boat to the other...
See what i mean?... where does one stop when they are packing tools aboard. (Or kitchen untensils, clothing and/or other creature comforts)
Small boats dont need to carry as much as big boats, and bay cruisers dont need as much as coastal cruisers.... boats cruising thru the middle of the ocean should carry items they wont find out there if they are ever needed...
Look at the systems you have and the remotness of the area you are traveling in/thru and figure out what tools you would need to jury rig it to get somewhere where you could get some real help... load those tools into your already well prepared/maintained boat and take the best care in all conditions and hope that you never need to use them.
Basic hand tools... screwdrivers, pliers, wrenches, crescent wrench, vise grips, hammer... and if you have any electrival on the boat whatsoever, wiring supplies/strippercutters... and a multimeter, and know how to use it.
Some people dont think of the multimeter as a "basic" tool that they should carry, and mostly because they dont really know/understand how to use it.... but it really is one of the basic tools that should be in the tool kit of every boat that has any form of electrical included in its systems.