THE 90% TOOLKIT

The only two“tools” that some boat owners carry are a subscription to a towing service and a mobile phone. My guess is that most readers of Passagemaker want to be more self-sufficient, in which case the size of the toolkit will depend substantially on the location and duration of the cruising itinerary, and the level of paranoia about potentially crippling breakdowns.

When I set off from New Orleans in 1987 with my wife, Terrie, intending to sail around the world, I had on board a vacuum pump, an oxyacetylene kit, cans of refrigerant, and coils of copper tubing in case the refrigeration system needed repairing in some remote anchorage. And then there was a complete replacement variable pitch propeller unit. And of course, lots of tools and a bench vise.

All of this on a relatively narrow-beam, 39-foot, double-ended sailboat. The boat was 2 inches down on its waterline. There was barely room for Terrie and our year-old daughter, let alone the baby on the way.

Now you know why we did not make it out of the Caribbean. Over the years, it has become easier and easier to get replacement parts pretty much anywhere in the world. I have steadily reduced what I carry. The vacuum pump, oxyacetylene kit, cans of refrigerant and coils of copper tubing are long gone.

Then, a couple of summers ago, I fouled the anchor on a mooring when trying to free the anchor. Terrie and I are no longer young or fit enough to retrieve our 66-pound Rocna anchor and all-chain rode by hand. We had to rig up a mechanism using a cockpit winch. This effort prompted me to carry out an assessment of equipment that might be difficult to replace at short notice, and for which a single point failure could shut down our cruising. For example, the windlass motor, engine starter motor and alternator. The spares inventory crept back up again.