What do you keep in your boat tool box.

[Parkerman]

Due to the powers of mother nature and the fact that the old 2110 leaks a bit I was cleaning rust off of a few boat tools. This is what I had:
crappy plastic tool box
standard sized #2 Phillips and a standard slotted strait drive
a pudgy of both
a right angle screw driver
wire cutters
wire strippers
test light
red and black wires 24" long with alligator clips on both ends
a hammer (I guess that is the carpenter in me)
pliers
channel locks times two
large and small adjustable wrench
Misc screws and washers and bolts and nuts
Fuses
super glue
socket and ratchet for plugs

After cleaning the tools I upgraded the tool box to a plastic bin with a hinged lid that has a fat old gasket around it. Seems to be waterproof but it should be better than the Wall mart special I had. I think I will add duct tape and a few shop rags. Anyone have anything to add???

 

[Crystal Coaster]

a good place for duct tape is around one of the handles of a tool or something where adding bulk won't be a huge problem. This will decrease the footprint in your box, but also avoids the inevitable soggy cardboard core on the interior of the roll. I have done this on an adjustable wrench and a Nalgene camping bottle.

 

[Crystal Coaster]

Another thing to add would be a multipurpose tool. I know they are rarely as good as their dedicated/single purpose counterparts, but they can simplify things when doing screw tightening or general maintenance you happen to catch while on the water and don't want to mess with bringing out all the other tools.

Possibly consider adding a lanyard or a keychain-sized float (like you would get from a manufacturer for the ignition key) to any tool that has a hole on the end. Moreover, consider adding holes to tools that have the room for them so you can add a lanyard or float to them before doing any over-the-rail type repairs.

Not sure if this is anywhere else on the boat, but you gotta have a flashlight/headlamp of some sort. If possible, get the best LED headlamp you can afford. You can use it as a handheld flashlight OR headlamp, the LED's wont break (like a bulb flashlight could do when you need it the most), and it takes up less space for considerably more candlepower. If you do go the flashlight route, then this is a perfect place to re-spool the duct tape as mentioned above.

a few more things:
- battery terminal sealant
- battery terminal cleaner/scrubber
- electrical tape

There are plenty of other things to add, but at that point you might as well park the boat in the garage and push the toolbox up next to it! I'm sure in hindsight I will have left out something important, so keep thinking out loud on this, as you want the approach to be clean, practical, and concise.

 

[GaryM]

I have pretty much what's above plus I have a floating propeller wrench and hose clamps of various sizes. I also have spare bulbs for trailer lights, but now that I've switched to LEDs they're kinda useless.

Additionally, you can add a moth ball to the toolbox. It absorbs or displaces the oxygen so your tools will not rust as fast.

Gary

 

[Luv2fish]

3M 5200 and plastic cinch straps of various sizes.

 

[Brent]

mostly the same as above

cable ties
allen wrench to remove cover over spark plugs
$2.99 Harbor Freight DVM and free LED flashlight
matches and lighter
hacksaw blade
spare drain plug (Walmart - plastic)
carbiner free ones from meetings
Sharpie, ink pen, pencil
one trash bag, 2 or 3 zip lock bag, a couple free paper funnels from gas stations
I use plastic containers from work to store items
ex http://www.air-sea.co.uk/product-listin ... containers
post it notes, scratch pad
magnetic pickup tool
forceps or hemostats
string 3 wire to 2 wire plug converter
bandaids
waterless hand cleaner (bought a giant container and aliquot to small containers - toothpaste tubes, etc)
darn-it stopping juice (4 ounces of single malt scotch or KY bourbon) to stop cussing
flat type box cutter that uses single side razor blades (more free stuff)
dental mirror (plastic ones discarded from dentist)
my tool bag is soft canvas material from Sears ($10) with handles
cash, dollars, coins
old leather gloves and dispo gloves

Ok I am either really cheap or thrifty

 

[Megabyte]

The tools I carry are pretty basic, and cover many of the items already listed.
How I carry them is a little different, and might help keep them from rusting.

I lay my wrenches, pliers, and other tools that might rust on an old shop towel and shoot them with WD40.
Then I roll up the shop towel and put the bundle inside a Zip-Lock freezer bag, squeeze out the excess air, and seal it.

My storage container is a surplus .50 cal ammo can.
I place a clean, dry shop towel in the bottom of the can to cushion everything, then put my Zip-Lock bag in.
On top of that goes any additional items such as screwdrivers, wire strippers, wire, zip ties, duct tape, sparkplugs... ect.

Another shop rag goes on top of the loose items, and the can is sealed.
The shop towels cushion everything and eliminates rattles, and they also come in handy if emergency repairs need to be made.

Hope this helps.

 

[jeffnick]

What do you 'keep' in your toolbox might be dictated by what you NEED in your toolbox and influenced be how compulsive you are.

Rather than trying to protect tools from rust and working with safety lines to prevent dropping I just buy a new toolkit every couple years (and you can keep 2 aboard if you're butterfingerish). The trouble is I can't throw the old ones away and they're growing in numbers under dust in the back corner of the garage.

http://www.harborfreight.com/105-piece- ... -4030.html

Nothing worse than trying to resurrect a rusty pair of pliers with WD40 kneeling in the dark in the rain on a pitching boat.

 

[Brent]

Good suggestion Kevin and Nick

I still use my ammo box