Article by Tor Pinney                                                                                                                           Back to Outfitting Checklist List

                  

THE CRUISING SAILBOAT’S TOOL KIT
© 2011 Tor Pinney All Rights Reserved

Adapted from my book, “Ready for Sea! – How to
Outfit the Modern Cruising Sailboat” (Sheridan House)

 

When you take off cruising in a sailboat, you’ll want to carry aboard all the tools of the trades that you can. The following list is extensive; it may not be possible to store so many heavy tools on a small boat, so use your own best judgment to decide what's necessary. Invest in top quality tools and preserve them by coating with light oil periodically. They'll repay you with longevity and reliability.

Manuals

Carry operation, service and repair manuals, as well as parts catalogs, for every mechanical device and piece of complex equipment aboard. In time you'll use them all. In many small ports, skilled repairmen can be found to assist you in making repairs if you have these manuals and the spare parts they need.

Basic Rigging Tools

• Rigging knife

• Sheathed knife kept sharp and handy in cockpit

• Bosun's chair and pouch with safety harness or lanyard

• Nicopress tool (bolt-up type is usually adequate) and sleeves for all wire sizes on board

• Cable cutters

• Diamond rods for hacksaw holder

Basic Sail Making Tools

• Sail needles, assorted, from size numbers 12 to 19

• Knife

• Side cutters

• Rope fid

• Sailor's palms

• Scissors

• Awl

• Thread and twine

• Beeswax

• Nylon or tarred marlin for serving

• Spare Dacron cloth

• Yards of spare (Sunbrella) cloth matching your sail covers, awnings, genoa UV strip, etc.

• 3/8-inch grommet punch, spare grommets, and dies

• Contact cement for emergency repairs

• Butane pipe lighter to seal line ends

Additional Sail Making Tools

• Electric portable zigzag sewing machine with hand cranking attachment

• Dies for brass cringle liners

• Soft hammer

• Seam ripper

• 12-volt and 110-volt soldering guns with flat tip for hot knifing Dacron cloth

• Rigging vise and wire fids

• Various weights of spare cloth and bolt rope materials

• 100-foot measuring tape

• Nylon webbing and tape

• Rip-Stop sail tape

• Leather

• Scraps of colored nylon for making flags

Basic Carpentry Tools

• 1/4-, 1/2-, and 1-inch wood chisels

• Smoothing plane

• Surform planes

• Back saw, hand saw

• Claw hammers, medium and large

• Counterbores for wood screws

• Brace and bits 1/4-inch to 1-inch and expandable to 1 1/2-inch

• Egg beater drill

• Four or five adjustable clamps or C-clamps, various sizes

• Two speed hand drill plus set of bits including many small size bits that break easily and often

• 12 foot tape measure

• 8-inch by 12-inch carpenter's square

• 2-foot straight edge / level

• Bevel gauge, marking gauge

• Paint and varnish brushes

• Oil can

• Putty knives, small, medium and large

• Caulking gun and cartridges

• Wood scraper and fine file

• Wood rasp (file)

• Sandpaper, assorted grits (regular, wet/dry, and emery paper)

• Whetstones, large and small

Additional Carpentry Tools  (for wooden boat or professional use)

• 6-foot folding rule

• Set of hole saws

• Draw knife

• Caulking tools including making iron, nib iron, reefing irons

• Caulking mallet

• Wood plug cutters of 3/8-, 1/2-, and 5/8-inches to fit your counter bores

• Screw driver bits for brace

• Additional chisels and planes

• Coping saw, dovetail saw

• Angle grinder

• Scribe

• Spoke shave

• Additional wood scrapers

• Portable drill press (incorporates electric hand drill)

Basic Mechanic’s Tools

• Several sizes of adjustable crescent wrenches

• Assorted screwdrivers

• Vise grips, several sizes

• Pliers

• Needle-nose pliers

• Channel lock pliers

• Cold chisel, various sizes

• Fine flat file, course half round bastard, various round files

• High speed drill bits, 1/16- to 1/2-inches, 3/8 shanks

• 2 Hacksaws and 12 assorted spare blades

• Small pipe wrench

• Ball peen hammer

• 3/8-inch or 1/2-inch drive socket set

• Combination wrenches up to 1-inch

• Feeler gauge

• Nut drivers

• Allen (hex) wrenches

• Water pump pliers

• Phillips screwdrivers

• Tap and die set

• Machinist square and straight edge

• Inside-outside calipers

• 8- and 14-inch pipe wrenches

• Valve grinding compound

• Counter sinks

• Center punches

• Side cutters

• Pin punches

• Selection of brass rod for soft punches 1/4- to 3/4-inch X 6 inch

• Stainless steel bristle wire brushes

• Pry bar

• Tin snips

Additional Mechanic’s Tools

• Small and large assorted metal files and cold chisels

• Chain wrench

• 3-foot pipe to fit over wrench handles for leverage

• Impact driver

• Micrometers

• Various gear pullers

• Torque wrench

• Large set of Allen wrenches

• Set of easy-outs

• Service wrenches for A/C and refrigeration valves

• Re-Coil (or Heil-a-Coil) kits, 1/4x20 and 3/8x16

Basic Electrician’s Tools

• Hydrometer (battery tester)

• Electrical tape, & weatherproof self-amalgamating tape

• Multi-tester volt/ohm/amp meter

• Soldering iron with various size tips, solder (solid, resin, and acid core), and soldering paste (flux)

• Butane soldering torch

• Wire stripper

• Terminal crimper

• Selection of connectors and crimp ends

• Side cutters

• Electrical contact cleaner

• Wire of various colors and sizes

• Variety of quick-ties and wire bundle clamps

• Assortment of heat-shrink tubing

• Small vise

• A pigtail, a short length of cable with one end that plugs into and extends your shore power cord, and the other end left unfinished to accept various cable ends used in foreign marinas. With this, you can make up your own adapter with just one local fitting to install.

Plumbing Tools

• Pipe wrenches, 2 or 3 sizes

• Tubing tools for cutting and flaring

• Long garden hose with spare end fittings and spare nozzle

Electric Power Tools

• 3/8-inch drill with bits (including a set of carbide bits)

• Angle grinder, with cutting and grinding discs and soft pad

• 3-inch belt sander with assorted spare belts

• Vibrator sander

• Circular saw with assorted blades and abrasive cutting discs

• Saber or jig saw with assorted blades for wood and metal

• Heavy-duty extension cords including at least one long enough to reach the masthead. Also, a couple of household extension cords for light applications.

• Step-up/step-down converter (transformer) for 220 volt to 110 volt so power tools can be used in other countries

• Vacuum Cleaner 

Miscellaneous Tools

• Knife sharpener

• Freon leak detector (for refrigeration and air conditioning)

• Refrigeration pressure gauge

• Chain binder (load binder)

• Crow bar

• 5-lb. short-handle sledge hammer

• Rubber mallet

• Single bit hatchet or axe

• Short-handled shovel

• Machete in a sheath

• Small, flat hydraulic jack

• Ratchet hoist (come-along), 3-ton capacity

• Propeller puller

• Magnet, 5-lb. capacity

• Small magnet on an extendable rod to retrieve tools and parts

• Small mirror on an extendable rod

• Small electric pump

• Inflatable dinghy repair kit

• Bicycle air pump w/end fitting for inflating dock fenders

• Bicycle tire repair kit

• Sewing kit with variety of colored thread, needles and thimbles

• Gun cleaning/oiling kit

• Utility (razor) knife with extra blades

• Candles

• Five thermometers:  medical, wall mount, refrigerator, seawater, and bread

• Lots of rags

• Old toothbrushes

• Plenty of clothes pins

Store metal tools in dry lockers and/or in heavy-duty plastic boxes. Spray them with light oil to protect and preserve.

~ End ~

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