Sometimes I do it for the money
Sometimes for the glamour
Sometimes I use my head
Sometimes I get a bigger hammer
Guy Clark, The Jack of All Trades
I sorted through the tool kit on Spartina today. Somehow I always end up carrying more tools (weight) than I really need. I found six screw drivers in there today, I only really need two. When it comes down to it I just need a couple of screw drivers, a couple of wrenches and a ratchet with a few sockets (there just aren't that many nuts and bolts on the boat). So I pared the kit down to the minimum.
I've got some other repair gear on board that is standard equipment. I carry both a leatherman multi-tool and leatherman folding knife. There is a outboard tool kit with a spark plug socket and a pair of pliers. And I always carry a handful of cable ties (an easy way to bind things together) and a west system epoxy repair kit.
I keep the tools in a tool roll from Duluth Trading Company that I bought on sale years ago. It may have been a close-out, I'm not sure if they sell them anymore. But this is very convenient for me. Of course the roll is not waterproof so I wrap it in a gigantic (2' x 2.5') ziploc big bag and put a bungee cord around it to keep it wrapped tight. Is that waterproof? Not 100%, but the kit has been on Spartina for years now and the tools are still in pretty good shape.
Below is a peek through the starboard deckplate on the bunk flat of Spartina. That is where the tool kit lives. You'll also see a bottle of water, there are a total of four bottles of water on the starboard side all together. And above the water are two 15 pound dumbbells (by far the cheapest and most convenient ballast I could find) and the flukes to the spare anchor.
I've carried the toolkit on Spartina as long as I have been sailing her. But I can only recall one time when I used any tools. That was when Bruce and I were cruising on Pamlico Sound and found that centerboard winch wasn't working. We used one tool - a screw driver - and that was it. But I am always glad to have the kit on board. You never know what you will need and when you will need it.
steve
2 comments:
See, I have developed this paranoia regarding getting rid of anything. I've had too many experiences in which two weeks after ditching something, I needed it and started looking around for it, trying to remember where I had put it, only to have the sudden realization sink in that I had disposed of it just two weeks prior, thinking "I've never needed this; I can't imagine I'll ever need it."
Y'know - Murphy's law and all.
Once again demonstrating that you are more self-disciplined than I am. But then again, that's not a terribly high standard...
I know what you mean. But did I really need four flat head screw drivers? My guess is "no".
Sometimes I like to go through everything on the boat and ask myself "Do I really need this?" Like the time I found two new spark plugs AND four old spark plugs. I have never changed a spark plug on the water in my life. My guess is I need two new spark plugs and that is it. (But one of these days I'll regret it.)
steve
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