What is the best tool set?

[Ex-SolentBoy]

Soon to be pressie time and the boat needs a new tool set.

Yes, I know you can get away with a bag full of bits and pieces but the boat wants one of those nice all in one sets with spanners, sockets and the like for engine maintenance, electrical work etc.

Any ideas where I can get a quality one, without getting a mortgage and buying a Snap-on trolley?

 

[dsw]

Halfords tools are very good and so is the price.

 

[Twister_Ken]

I bought an all in one Draper set from one of the swindleries. Possibly this. Pretty good if supplemented by a couple of sensible screwdrivers, medium and big adjustables and a junior and senior hacksaw. Tucks away very neatly.

 

[Blue5]

The Halfords ones are very good value but must agree with VicS about buying tools you won't use.

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

More sensible IMHO to be more selective. Buy the tools, spanner sizes etc that you will actually use.

No sense what ever in spending money on tools you wont ever use or taking up valauable storage space with them either.

"the boat wants one of those nice all in one sets" The boat needs a darn good talking to I reckon!

Boats are like wives, you just can't talk to them about tools.

No way really to predict what you are going to use, that's why I like sets. We have a small B&Q one now, but it wont last very long. I want the big daddy!

 

[colhel]

"Normally" when buying a budget type tool set the sockets only go up to abot 3/4" or 19mm. May not be a problem, but worth noting (in case you got a saildrive and need to take the prop off ... )

 

[G12]

I have about 30kg of tools onboard to cover all eventualities.

I bought the bits I wanted and made up my own kit that lives onboard and if there's major work going on then the big kit is brought out from home.

 

[Croc]

Buy what you need seems to be good advice.....but it is *******s because you do not know what you need until you need it. OK the obvious things like spanners that fit the nuts on your boat, screw-drivers and pliers....so better to have a selection of tools you might need for the unforeseen problem.
I run residential accomodation and where possible I use professional tradesmen to deal with problems.... but often they occur at hours you cannot get the expert or are trivial enough for a man of my technical ham-fistedness to cope with. For the back of my car I have a 40 piece B&Q tool kit and there is not a single tool in there that I have not used.
For the boat I have one of these.
Halfords 95 piece Tool Set with Aluminium Case Cat code: 136625-0....appear well made tools.
The odd thing is it is a bit like insurance when you have got it you don't
seem to need it..... I have only opened the box twice in the last year.

 

[nickd]

I would recommend buying a cheap tool set to start, and then as you do things on the boat, you will find what tools and sizes you actually need and go and buy quality tools for these.
You will probably find that most jobs on the boat can be done with a a very small number of tools (2-3 spanners, 4 screwdrivers, knife, pliers, wire snips), I now have these easy to hand attached to the underside of the engine cover. The rest are still available but 9 times out of 10 the above is sufficient.

This is the one I started with
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Duratool-69...=sr_1_15?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1326390056&sr=1-15
Still have all the bits and they still all work

 

[ghostlymoron]

Don't forget hacksaw, stillsons, multimeter, WD40 , gaffer tape, insulating tape, vaseline, large hammer

 

[Norman_E]

I have a Proxxon tool set that came with the boat, good quality but not cheap, and a nice starter set with quality sockets. It is now backed up with a couple of tool boxes of other tools.

 

[Croc]

My old Dad...a fitter in the RAF during WWll...reckoned using an adjustable spanner would have you up on a charge.... so they would have probably shot you had they caught you with a Stillson.... but one has to admit they do have their place occasionally.
The Halford's kit I was reccommending is today £49.99....I know the dollar is falling but $500 is still a lot more than fifty quid.

 

[rotrax]

Soon to be pressie time and the boat needs a new tool set.

Yes, I know you can get away with a bag full of bits and pieces but the boat wants one of those nice all in one sets with spanners, sockets and the like for engine maintenance, electrical work etc.

Any ideas where I can get a quality one, without getting a mortgage and buying a Snap-on trolley?

Hi, I have read the other posts and would like to add my 2p's worth. I an a trained mechanic and have enough tools in my home workshops to do just about anything. On the boat however I keep two toolkits. One is kept in the salon and contains all the small tools required for those little jobs that always need doing,along with tape,mousing wire cable ties etc. The other one is in a locker and has the large heavy tools that are used less often but are essential (in my view) on board for emergency situations-hacksaw, boltcutters, heavy pop rivet gun, large spanners, stillsons and heavy hammer, plus lots of other bits and bobs that I would feel uncomfortable without-especialy the "grabber" for retrieving dropped bits. I also have lots of usefull offcuts of tube, bar, rod, studding and plate-you never know! First mate recons I could build another boat with the stuff I have on board. FYI I had a "universal" Draper toolkit in a compartmented folding tray/holder.It was OK but I found it less convenient than the system I use now so I deep sixed it and got two plastic boxes with top trays in a deal from Honebase. It works for me.

 

[Ammonite]

Sorry Vics - couldn't disagree more

The adjustables etc are great (I have several) but you need a decent socket set which includes a good set of spanners (the open one end, ring the other type). There is not enough clearance on on a huge number of fittings to accept a adjustable wrench (just try adjusting the alternator belt on a Beta 20 for one but I could list countless others). I was given one of the huge Draper sets as a kid (the box is roughly 600mm x 300m with sockets and allen keys in the bottom and spanners and pliers in the lid and it's lasted me 25 years so far (including several car and engine rebuilds plus several years of boaty stuff). The sockets and spanners aren't fantastic quality but you won't break them unless you are a gorilla and the socket wrenches aren't great but you can easily replace those when they pack up. I also wouldn't want to leave decent quality stuff on the boat because of the corrosion potential. So I reckon Draper, Halfords etc is the way to go

 

[LadyInBed]

You just dont need all this stuff

Especially ones held together with electrical tape

 

[Momac]

Halfords have some offers on socket sets at the moment.
I got a small Halfords socket set for the boat a couple of years back - for occasional use. It's in a nice strong plastic case and takes up little space.

 

[pampas]

If you have a Diesel onboard the one essential spanner is a decent pipe spanner for the injector pipes

 

[maxi77]

Because with the very best will in the world when working on deck ther isalways the chance of that very annoying splash I have one set of low cost tools I can afford to lose, the rest get built up over time as needs drive.

 

[bignick]

I can't believe nobody has mentioned this one yet...

http://www.keepturningleft.co.uk/video-logs/ktl-vlog-138-ktl-toolkit-offer/

 

[mcframe]

Any ideas where I can get a quality one, without getting a mortgage and buying a Snap-on trolley?

Best advice I ever got (WRT 'bikes) was "Buy a cheap set and replace the bits that break (i.e the ones you use most often) with Snap-On".

Hence I have Snap-On 13, 15, 17, 19mm spanners and Allen drivers - the rest is (mainly) Halfords "pro".

It might be worth planning a couple of "special cases" like impeller-swap and bleed nipples, and having dedicated ring spanners velcro'd where you might need them.