We want to live simply, off the grid, with less "stuff" than we do onshore. Its easy to say but at the same time we want to be self sufficient, be able to live for long periods in very remote areas where we cant rely on anyone but ourselves so we must be prepared.
So all you can do is have as close as possible to "everything you need and nothing more". But that is a moving target depending on so many factors, such as the age and frequency of use of the gear you are maintaining, the length of time you intend to be without re supply, the size or extent of repair/contingency work you plan for.
When we were in the latter stages of building the boat I made sure that I kept track of any tool or product I needed and ensured I took them with me when we launched the boat. I am confident that I can pull the entire boat apart and any system onboard if I needed to as they are the exact same tools I put it together with.
These photos were taken late Summer 2017 in Tasmania when we were at home getting ready for our 2nd season in the Pacific. We emptied the boat, took stock of what we had used, threw away a few things, added a few more and repacked for sailing offshore again. Its what we are currently carrying.
If you have a tool, or product that you think is missing that you couldn't do without on your baot let us know. I owe all I know now to the ideas shared by others in the boating community. I feel obligated to pass on what I do know and eager to continue to learn what I don't.
This is the contents of our "tool tidy stool" Its the kit need within arms length every day. I'm not sure why I have two tape measures. That is a potential weight saving if ever there was one.
This is the same kit packed away in the Nav Desk seat. It does not look this neat 99% of the time...
I have two tool bags on the boat. This is the "Makita" bag. It houses most of our spares and consumables like a few spares of every stainless fastener on the boat, the left overs form installing all the electronics on the boat, every different type of tape you can think of, a few plumbing fittings and a Dremel tool with a bunch of attachments and some other odds and sods.
#Note I don't actually have any Makita tools in my Makita bag.. The reason for this is after we finally left my Dad, Johns shed after we finished the boat his tools had coped a hiding so I bought him one of those bulk buy Makita tool kits. He gave me back the bag to use on the boat.
I think I kept my eye out for the right tool kits for about 4 years before deciding on these ones. The one on the left is a 1/2" drive Metric and Imperial kit from Teng Tools (8mm - 19mm). It covers 95% of all the fasteners onboard. There are a couple of smaller sockets and one bigger one that I have loose in there for a couple specialty jobs. 7mm Hex Machine screws on the engine water pumps and a large 22mm socket holding the props on etc.
On the Right is what I call the "everything everything" driver set. Its got you covered for the unexpected non standard fastener as well as full size ranges of all the standard stuff. Its from Kincrome.
Both of the kits have hit the mark for being decent quality without being crazy expensive and with semi regualr bath of WD40/Lanox/air tool oil they are holding up in the marine environment OK. They are getting a spring clean when this photo was taken.
This is my fiberglass repair kit including paints. It has a small quantity of everything Roam is built from. Its all laid out here on one of the benches in John's shed. After 18 months onboard we had used a few things (mostly for fixing other peoples surfboards) and some things had gone off and needed replacing.
I am also not carrying the quantities resins that I was before. The hardners go off in the heat and expire so I carry now enough for small jobs and if we ever needed to do a bigger repair we would just have to stock up for the job.
This is the "Milwaukee" tool bag. Named for obvious reasons. The gear in here is pretty self explanatory. Of note is the 18V Grinder. I was on a race boat doing a delivery a few years back and its carbon mast came down in spectacular fashion in the night. It had rod standing rigging that needed cutting so we could abandon the rig before it punched a hole in the deck and hullside. The guys onboard were well prepared and had a battery grinder to cut shrouds but I remember watching the bloke who made the cut trying to operate the grinder, shield his eyes with one hand as the sparks flew. For the 2nd cut that night some sunnies were used. I now always make sure that the cutting disc is in the grinder for passages and there is some safety glasses right next to it. You are going to be pretty upset the day you have to lose your rig, no point going blind over it too though. If you think you are going to be effective in a worst case situation with a hacksaw you are dreaming.
Finally here is our splicing kit. It probably gets the most use maintaining and ever improving what I consider to be our primary system onboard, our main propulsion system.
I'd like to take the opportunity to thank Ben King for not only setting up our running rigging for the boat but also passing on the knowledge to maintain it. I recently asked another rigger for advice on how to set up our spinnaker halyard. He said he could supply me the material but could not tell me how to make the termination. "It's like asking a chef for their prize recipe" he said. And whilst I completely agree with his thought process, keeping hold of knowledge that as taken years to acquire, as skippers of boats operating in remote areas we need to pick up these skills form somewhere to maintain our boats and keep them safe. Ben is a champ and you can find him at Almasts Launceston of you are in need of some rigging work or advice.
I hope that browsing through these pics you saw an item that you don't currently have onboard that might come in handy one day. I haven't listed everything out. One very rainy day I might get time for a full stock take but if you see an item you want to know what it is drop a comment below.
I haven't got a photo of the engine spares. Bit of oil, coolant, oil and fuel filters, couple of belts, anodes, water pump impellers. Haven't got anything more serious than that onboard for the engines. Spare filters and oil for the water maker and a few spares to do an outboard service as well.
In the mean time writing this has got me out of any video editing for another day so that's a win!!
Later
Mick