Inshore Racing Toolkit

[roblpm]

Trying to get organised for this seasons racing. Going to leave everything in the garage that isn't necessary to reduce weight.

Has anyone made a minimal racing toolkit list which they would like to share? 28 foot cruising yacht. Yanmar 1gm10.

Might seem a bit ott for club racing but I am going to run a nearly empty yacht. Makes it easier to organise anyway! At least I will know where everything is, ie in the garage!

 

[savageseadog]

In order of importance

Knife
Rigging Cutter
Swiss Army Knife/Multitool
Spanners to adjust bottle screws
Duck Tape and PVC Tape
Grips/Water Pump Pliers
Mole Grip
A set of screwdrivers, flat and pozi
Tools to replace engine belts and impeller

 

[Mark Taylor]

+ spray lubricant
+ Lewmar winch service kit, or at least the bl***y circlip off the top!
+ spare shackles, clevis pins, split rings

 

[Birdseye]

Not clear whether you mean a boat toolkit or a toolkit for racing. Assuming the latter, then stopwatch, bins, gps programmed with marks, chart, some sort of VPP curve, board and waterproof crayon for the course, handheld radio on M1.

Mechanical tools? Well the moment that you have to start repairing things you have lost the race so I dont see the point in carrying anything more than the basic safety gear and a tow rope.

 

[roblpm]

Not clear whether you mean a boat toolkit or a toolkit for racing. Assuming the latter, then stopwatch, bins, gps programmed with marks, chart, some sort of VPP curve, board and waterproof crayon for the course, handheld radio on M1.

Mechanical tools? Well the moment that you have to start repairing things you have lost the race so I dont see the point in carrying anything more than the basic safety gear and a tow rope.

Well occasionally we break something before the race. So a couple of tools as suggested above would be a good idea.

On the board and crayon, i tried a white board with a pen last season and it just rubbed off! Any specific ideas?!

And the vpp curve isn't going well as i can't find anything easy for my boat as it is a cruiser. I think maybe try ipolar on ipad for some starting figures? I may start another thread on this.

 

[Mark Taylor]

I am increasingly seeing regattas in which there is more than one race per day.... indeed at Tarbert the SI's allowed for up to 4 races each day. On that basis it is certainly worth carrying some very basic tools and spares.....amazing what can be bodged with tape, dyneema and a shackle.

On a related note the Sonata rules originally only allowed one of each sail to be carried when racing... those rules have now been amended to allow a second spinnaker to be carried for use, but only if the first one is damaged.

 

[Racecruiser]

Don't forget to comply with the NOR/SIs which will state minimum safety requirements, typically ISAF Cat 5 for inshore racing...

 

[roblpm]

Don't forget to comply with the NOR/SIs which will state minimum safety requirements, typically ISAF Cat 5 for inshore racing...

Yes thanks for that. Its a fully equipped cruising yacht....... Needs to be slightly less fully equipped! But won't be removing any of the safety gear. I did just buy myself a fortress anchor for Christmas though! So lighter safety gear is on the agenda!

 

[Ceirwan]

I would be thinking:

- Set of Screw Drivers
- Roll of spanners
- SMALL socket set. (Really makes everything so much easier)
- Pliers, thin nose and normal + wire cutters
- Knife
- Duct and electrical tape
- Roll of wire and some chocolate blocks.
- Mole Grips
- Hammer
- Adjustable spanner
- Shackles and Clevis pins. (I use soft shackles, so much easier)
- A few spare lines.

That's probably all the essentials, its probably worth walking around your boat and deciding what might need servicing / changing and making sure you have the tool to deal with it.

 

[awol]

Don't forget the beer!

 

[Keen_Ed]

On the board and crayon, i tried a white board with a pen last season and it just rubbed off! Any specific ideas?!

Wetnotes & pencil

 

[roblpm]

Don't forget the beer!

Now that's the sort of attitude i am trying to stamp out in my crew.

Once we have actually come in the top 3 in a race we can start thinking about that sort of thing!

 

[Birdseye]

Now that's the sort of attitude i am trying to stamp out in my crew.

Once we have actually come in the top 3 in a race we can start thinking about that sort of thing!

I wish I could stamp it into my crew. Some boats make bacon butties on the way back to the moorings. Some crews bring doughnuts. One has a chef who brings food. My lot? They moan that I dont bring food and its my boat!

Anyway, for noting the course I use either a wax crayon and a plastic board that looks a bit like a chopping board. Or a dictaphone - thats a handy cruising tool anyway for weather broadcasts and the like. Or usually a pen and paper , the boat being dry.

 

[awol]

Masking tape and felt pen on companion way lid. Remember to remove it after race before it gets permanent!
Depriving the crew of beer after the finish as a punishment for not doing well enough seems a strange incentive.

 

[Judders]

Everything on Magic is either 10mm or 12mm so we only have two sockets and two spanners, a hammer, big flat head, little flat head, Stanley knife, rubber mallet, pliers, mole grips and plenty of spares. We've done plenty of repairs between races. At one Nationals we refitted a stanchion during the prestart and still bagged third.

 

[Judders]

Out of interest, what is the boat?

 

[roblpm]

Masking tape and felt pen on companion way lid. Remember to remove it after race before it gets permanent!
Depriving the crew of beer after the finish as a punishment for not doing well enough seems a strange incentive.

Ok good point.

What i meant was that knowing my crew it wouldn't be 4 cans of beer. It would be 48 bottles that weigh about 50kg! And I am trying to cut down the weight.

I will add 4 small bottles of beer a week to the inventory!

 

[roblpm]

Out of interest, what is the boat?

Its a Parker 275. Unfortunately there is another identical one in the club that does pretty well otherwise I could blame our lack of success on handicap, wrong boat etc etc etc!

Whats yours?!

 

[Judders]

Impala 28


In terms of beer, we carry one small bottle each on passage races so as to get us from the finish line to the harbour because the guys will have earned it and we are only weekend sailors out for the fun of it.

 

[Woodlouse]

Mechanical tools? Well the moment that you have to start repairing things you have lost the race so I dont see the point in carrying anything more than the basic safety gear and a tow rope.

I've done plenty of in flight missile repair when racing and if you're prepared then it takes a major failure to put you out completely. Also if there is more than one race in the day then you need tools to effect repairs between races.

Personally I find a good set of Allen keys to be a god send, followed by good screwdrivers and then spanners. Basically go around the boat, look at items that could break but be fixed fairly quickly and carry the tools to do so. Open up your winches and make sure you have what you need to do that. Finally have a good supply of dyneema lashing and a couple of good snatch blocks.