which tools do you take sailing?

Hi all

Have just started out sailing and I'm trying to work out what tools I need to get hold off.

So far I've just taken a rusty old pair of pliers and knife and a flat head screwdriver. I've seen a few sailors using multi tools.

What do you all recommend? If a multi tool which one? If separates which tools?

All the best, Adrian

I bring tools for everything that I expect to need to potentially adjust, tighten, remove or replace in an emergency situation. I also bring spare parts for anything that's likely to fail or get lost.

Tools:
Socket Wrench w/ 3/8", 7/16", 1/2" and 9/16" sockets (All the sizes on the boat)
5/8" Allen Wrench
Monkey Wrench
Wrenches for 3/8", 7/16", 1/2" and 9/16" nuts/bolts
Flat head screw driver
Knife
Multi-tool
Pliers
Hand Powered Bilge Pump

Spare Parts:
Shackes (All Sizes)
Nuts (All Sizes)
Spare Rudder Bolts
Spare Rudder Pins
Spare Plugs
Spare Anchor Pin
Spare Shroud Adjuster
Spare Twisted Clevis
Clevis Pin (All Sizes)
Clevis Rings (All Sizes)
Spare Mast Pin
Sail Tape
Spare Batten Caps

Hobie sells spare parts kits which have most of what you need for a "starter" spare parts kit.

_________________
Mike

'79 H18 standard 'Rocketman II' sail #14921 RIP
'78 H18 (unnamed) sail #14921
'08 H16 sail #114312
'97 H21SC sail #238

SabresfortheCup - which multi tool do you use?

I take a toolbox with me that has a variety of tools I might use on my car. For an H-16, one other spare part worth carrying is a rudder cam along with the special screw to install it. If the cams have never been replaced, you need some way of filing off the rivets that hold them. That is why you need the special screw to put the new one on. If they had been replaced you probably already have those screws. The one time I did it on the beach, I believe I used a small punch and hammer (very carefully).

The last beach repair I did involved getting my daughter to bring me a battery powered electric drill and a couple of stainless sheet metal screws. I was lucky she and her husband didn't live too far away from the lake. You probably don't want to carry that. I am assuming you trailer the boat and drive to the launch area.

Look at the nuts holding the rudders. I replaced the old nylon nuts with S/S lock nuts. You have to be careful not to tighten them, just snug them to take out the slack. So the spare nuts you carry should include some lock nuts that would fit the rudder bolts. The nylon nuts tended to loosen.

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Howard

Are you talking about tools for on the boat while sailing, or tools to take to the sailing site?

On the boat, I pretty much just bring my multi-tool - Leatherman WAVE. It has pliers, a knife, and screwdriver which covers most on the water needs.

To the sailing site, I bring a tool box / trailer box with a fair amount of spare parts like line, pins, shackles, split rings, and other miscellaneous small items. Plus a couple screw drivers, wrenches, maybe a hammer, file, a couple sockets, and some sand paper. Spray lube (silicone spray) is another must have item.

sm

I meant which tool/tools would you take out on the water with you

On the water ....
Multi-tool (Leatherman or similar)
Hobie Tool (because I bought one a long time ago)
Knife (I have a Blackie Collins, a gift from a client).
Spare parts, shackles, ring dings, some line.

Keep it light and simple.

_________________
2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

I take a Hobie tool which is used during rigging the boat, and a Davis Deluxe Rigging Knife (marlin spike, straight flat blade, and shackle tool). I take my cell phone, but have been thinking of getting a marine radio (which is always requested at the skippers' meetings).

I realized a problem with my set up though. How to make my shiny stainless steel tools float? I put the Hobie tool on a keychain float, and it did not rise to the top (tested in a sink). The Davis tool is even heavier. My fear is I flip the boat, open my tramp bag, and all my tools fall to the bottom. Or, I jump in the water to cut my rigging clear of the boat after my mast collapses (which it will not because I have already learned my lesson), and I drop my tool.

Does anyone have any recommendations on floats to use with these tools?

Thanks,
Ted

I have been made fun of for being "all safetied up" by youngsters on the beach, but here is what I take when I solo my H16 on Lake Michigan:
- kayak knife - sheath knife for one-hand use, has a flat tip for screw driving, attaches to PFD
- Hobie tool
- flat wrench thing with various size holes in it for different size nuts - not sure where I got it, both tools fit in PFD pocket
- VHF radio - in my pfd pocket or attached to the pfd, my next one will float
- glasses retainer that stays above my pfd - it's like rigid fishing line and has made life easier, not for safety but thought I'd mention it
- I attached spare ringdings, shackles, 2 bungies, clevis pins, etc to various points on the boat
- cell phone in a dry bag I hang around my neck inside the pfd, which I really use to take GPS tracks and play Pandora on my Ecoxgear waterproof boom box/speakerphone
- maybe a beer and some snacks in a small dry bag because you're safer when you're not starving

_________________
1989 H16
2009 H16 squaretop

oh yeah, and a very important item to me - I have a Platypus flexible water bottle with a long hose and bite valve that I hang from the boom tang. I can get some water almost no handed on a hot day.

_________________
1989 H16
2009 H16 squaretop

many years ago I made the mistake of carrying too many tools onboard, most of them rusted and it wasn't necessary.
now it's just a Davis knife, shackle key, floating VHF, cell phone bag and a couple key shackles.
the tools all have a loop lanyard on them to slip over my wrist.

onshore, is a full complement of tools, parts.

_________________
Chris
'88 H18SE Arís

I keep VHF radio in PFD pocket with lanyard long enough to use the radio while still on lanyard. A whistle, cat key, and Gerber multi tool in other pocket on PFD. My cellphone in drybag in the hull along with a couple shackles.

Sailing on Lake Michigan. Never carried radio on smaller lakes.

_________________
Scott
Hobie 18 w/wings
Hobie/Holder 12 Funseeker
2 Hobie Waves
Tandem Oasis Kayak
Hobie 16
Southern California

whistle - forgot I have too have one tied to the shoulder strap of my pfd - wish it worked on the big motorboats that seem to want to buzz us near shore on light wind days, but I've only actually used it when coming in through the constellation of oblivious paddleboarders and kayakers

_________________
1989 H16
2009 H16 squaretop