Boating and Sailing.pdf - Moja ladja

Chapter 20: The Well-Equipped Nautical Toolbox
◆ Stainless-steel screw clamps are handy. Get them in several sizes to fit everything
from fuel hoses to bilge-pump connections.
◆ An assortment of screws, washers, nuts, and bolts, preferably in stainless steel, carried
in a plastic divider box that keeps them sorted by size, is invaluable. Marine
stores sell kits that contain the most common sizes, all sorted in plastic bins.
◆ Wire coat hangers can come in handy—the wire can be bent into all sorts of useful
tools for retrieving dropped gear, securing loose stuff, hanging up other tools, and
so on. Keep several on board.
Sticky Stuff
Something is always coming loose, flying around the cockpit or springing a leak on a boat.
You need an assortment of “sticky stuff” to take care of these little annoyances. Here’s
what I recommend:
◆ A large roll of duct tape is handy for taping a chart to a table, fixing a water hose,
even repairing a hole in a rain suit—always keep some aboard.
◆ A tube of marine sealer, particularly the tough, stick-to-anything type known as
5200 Sealer from 3M, can be used to patch holes in the hull as well as fix all sorts of
other leaks, glue things together, and so on.
◆ Several sticks of “hot-glue” are also useful. You can melt it with a cigarette lighter
(careful—the sticks will burn!) and let it drip on things you want to stick together.
◆ Epoxy-resin–based auto-body filler has endless uses. I once fixed a busted exhaust
manifold with it, and the stuff stayed in place for over two months without cracking!
It can patch holes in the hull, glue things together, and so on.
Tool Time
Some guys believe you can never have enough tools, but it’s probably more accurate to say
that a few tools that you know how to use and that you keep where you can find them are
more helpful than a 200-pound chest full of unsorted equipment.
One Size Fits All: Adjustable Tools
275
If you’re not into owning large tool sets, adjustable tools can go a long way toward solving
most mechanical problems.
Adjustable tools allow one tool to do the work of a half-dozen, so they take up less space
and add less weight to your tool kit than conventional tools, plus they save you money.