Tool Reviews [Master Thread]

[toddster]

Three cheers for the good ol' Sears Craftsman Pressure Washer! Just for starters, it cleans off bottom slime and old ablative paint without harming the barrier coat. Of course, if one is not careful, it can also take off decorative stripes, decals, and the skin off your toe. The potential for a Homer Simpson "D'Oh!" moment is high.


Last summer, I spent a week scrubbing the accumulated gunk out of the non-skid on the port side (facing the dock). Lichen, tar?, forest-fire residue... It was a lot of work and significantly eroded the non-skid in some areas. Today, I did the starboard side with the pressure washer in an hour with not much work. Significantly less damage to the non-skid. Even the areas I previously scrubbed came out a couple of shades lighter. I should have just wheeled this thing down to the dock last year!

But wait, there's more! Effortlessly blasts away the dingy gray layer on weathered hand-rails and hatch boards! Blasts that mysterious black gunk out of vinyl winch handle pockets! Finds gunk hidden underneath overhangs and tracks. Shoots bees out of the air! Well... this thing sits in the shed for months at a time, so you can't put it away with fuel in the tank or it will just gum up the carb. Gotta use it all!

Oh dear, I've gone full-Homer on this one, haven't I?

 

[sharonov]

...The most used tool that has been on now 3 of my boats - 17 yrs old is a Dewalt Corded/ cordless Battery Powered Shop Vac. I can't say how many times this little unit has paid for itself over and over. Being off the hook and cleaning up a spill, or just plugging it in and using it as I do work on the boat or keep the floor clean in the cabin... Well worth the $100.00 I spent on it so many years ago. This thing has been priceless!!!....

+1 on this Dewalt vacuum. Actual part number I got is DCV581H. Replaced useless Black&Decker handheld vac. The only complaint is that it will not charge the battery - need to use external charger. Since my other tools are Dewalt it is not a big deal.
Also this thing doubles as a dinghy inflator!!! If you ever tried to pump dinghy with a foot pump on a rolling foredeck you understand what a relief it is. Just get a correct nozzle adapter. For my Achilles, the conical adapter from VT1215 Vacuum Micro Cleaning Kit works well. Note that the vacuum will not build enough pressure by itself - the last few pumps are still done by a foot pump.

 

[william.haas]

So this weekend I was searching for a BIG flat head screwdriver and asking around. A friend told me to go check their boat and I discovered an interesting tool storage method. He has 3 inch diameter PVC pipe with a closed and sealed fitting on one end and an inspection port/screw plug on the other. The pipes are labeled as to their contents.

I use @Christian Williams method of tool bag rolls and like it, but I thought this approach was clever.

 

[WindHorse]

Nice to hear that the Rigids are a hit. Personally, I love my m12 set of Milwaukee tools...

 

[1911tex]

I have to tell you about the most used 2 tools I have on my Ericson by far....if not almost every day, once a week:

First: An incredible power washer that takes all of <15 minutes to wash down the entire boat with zilch for effort..throw one end in the bay...and pull the trigger...no buckets, no plugs, no hassle; if you want suds, drop the end in a bucket of soapy water, then drop in the bay to rinse...plenty of pressure, more than you will ever need !
Second: An incredible hands free 4 way flexible lantern with super bright power that has lasted me 2 days continuous use before recharge...flexible and absolutely invaluable in cabin or below deck, every nook and cranny..!

The secret to both is the same switchable power source:

20V Power Share 4.0Ah Hydroshot Portable Power Cleaner

The Hydroshot from WORX is a the leading power cleaner on the market. The WG620 20V Hydroshot sprays up to 320 PSI for easy outdoor cleaning. Shop today.

www.worx.com

20V Power Share Multi-Function LED Flashlight

Worx 20V Multi-function LED Light with 1 Battery

www.worx.com

I have no connection with the manufacturer Worx, only a consumer. I use the 40v battery plus keep a charged spare.

 

[Loren Beach]

incredible power washer that takes all of <15 minutes to wash down the entire boat with zilch for effort..throw one end in the bay...and pull the trigger...no buckets, no plugs, no hassle; if you want suds, drop the end in a bucket of soapy water, then drop in the bay to rinse...plenty of pressure, more than you will ever need !

The stated 320 psi is a lot lower than the rated 1300 to 2K psi of many electric AC pressure washers. It's nice to know that it does a good job. Handy tool to have... !

 

[Christian Williams]

would Tools be appropriate as a sub-forum

For me it would clutter things up. If I need to find a topic here, I use Google. There is no way my brain starts with a sub-category, and I really don;t want similar topics excluded since they often offer clues to the search.

For somebody like me, bio-style claddistics is backwards. I don't want subjects grouped by commonalities, as to place them in a system of identification. I want general categories that can be searched by clumsy keywords.

This whole issue is a good one today, given the new power to sort big data. It may be that younger generations have have knowledge tree with a different root system from mine.

I have learned to use Google search with entries such as this: "woman psychologist with bruce willis in monkey movie"

Believe it or not, that brings up: Bruce Willis and Madeleine Stowe in Twelve Monkeys (1995)

 

[1911tex]

The stated 320 psi is a lot lower than the rated 1300 to 2K psi of many electric AC pressure washers. It's nice to know that it does a good job. Handy tool to have... !

Loren you are correct if you are trying to get rid of built-up mildew and mold over time off the deck and cockpit; however if you had occasion to routinely use a brush swabbing dirt off the deck and pushing the dirty water off the boat, especially after a rain and before guests arrive.....this washer makes a quick effortless job in short order. Just a thought that works. And more important...not wise to use more pressure than necessary around or even close to hatches and ports.....!!

I have a 2500psi pressure washer for our home patio and even that takes a concentrated effort twice a year. It's all relative...and depends on the relative!

 

[p.gazibara]

Such a topic!
I would lump the tools we carry into three distinct groups

-power tools
-hand tools
-chemical tools

-power tools: I purchased a ryiobi $200 toolkit in 2014 when I bought my first sailboat. It came with a drill, sawzall, impact driver, light, circular saw, and oscillating saw, and battery charger with two batteries. I found the circular saw and sawzall mostly useless on a boat. The drill, impact driver, oscillating saw have been used heavily. Over the past 7 years.

To add to the kit, I bought an angle grinder, flush trim router, vacuum, and jigsaw. Conveniently, they all share the same battery and charger. I also purchased a battery operated dremel, and the only corded tool, and electric bread knife to fill out the power tool kit.

-Hand tools: After arriving in NZ, I started working as a marine electrician. The tools we carried across the Pacific suited me for 90% of the boat work I did for over a year and a half. My tool bag contains

Two sets of phillips head and flat head screwdrivers one craftsman set, and one set of insulated electrician drivers. Important to have small flatheads to make small electronics wire connections.

One set of square head screwdrivers, when working with stainless screws, these are the best. They firmly hold the screw to the driver for those awkward one handed boat yoga jobs. I use the square head screws wherever I can. I hate flat head screws.

One screwdriver that accepts interchangeable driver bits

One set of Allen keys

One set of metric and one set of imperial spanners, 1/4” or 6mm up to about 1” or 20mm

Three razor knives, one small, one standard, and one scraper

One large crescent wrench

One small hammer

Tape measure and set of digital calipers

Pair of scissors

Pair of crimpers and pair of diagonal wire cutters

Pliers - needle nose, standard, and adjustable.

Small torch lighter

Safety glasses/earplugs

Headlamp

Small set of metric/imperial sockets and ratchet.

Chemical tools:
Glue kit and assorted tools. Very important on a fiberglass boat.

One bucket containing epoxy resin and hardener and the pump kit. One squirt bottle of alcohol and one of vinegar. Paper towels, and a set of plastic scrapers/stir tools. Reuse-able rubber gloves. Container of microspheres and container of colloidal silica.

With these three kits, I was able to build an interior in Cinderella, plumb and wire the boat. Remove the old yanmar and install a custom electric propulsion system. Unstep and rerig the mast, install a windlass, build an anchor locker, fit a solar power system and sail halfway around the world. I also recently cut the interior fiberglass headliner pan out, tabbed the bulkheads to the hull, made huge backing plates for all thrudeck fittings, and insulated/cut and fitted a new headliner.

It’s amazing what can be done with $1000 worth of tools.

-p

 

[Christian Williams]

Paco mentions screwdriver sets. You bet. Screwdrivers are often taken for granted as one-size-fits-all, but it doesn;t. A huge variety of lengths and heads is necessary in the kit, and the recognition that we need to find the right one. With the popularity of powerful electric drives this is more important than before--especially when driving fasteners into fiberglass or extracting old ones from corroded metals. Bugger the head and it's a real setback.

Two types worth taking note of in the category "Phillips head". (from Wikipedia)

Phillips II[edit]​

Phillips II recesses are compatible with Phillips drivers, but have a vertical rib in between the cruciform recesses that interacts with horizontal ribs on a Phillips II driver to create a stick-fit, and to provide anti cam-out properties (the ribs are trademarked as "ACR" for Anti Cam-out Ribs).[citation needed]

Frearson[edit]​

The Frearson screw drive, also known as the Reed and Prince screw drive, and specified as ANSI Type II Cross Recess, is similar to a Phillips but the Frearson has a sharp tip and larger angle in the V shape.[19] One advantage over the Phillips drive is that one driver or bit fits all screw sizes. It is often found in marine hardware and requires a Frearson screwdriver or bit to work properly. The tool recess is a perfect, sharp cross, allowing for higher applied torque, unlike the rounded, tapered Phillips head, which can cam out at high torque. It was developed by an English inventor named Frearson in the 19th century and produced from the late 1930s to the mid-1970s. The Reed & Prince Mfg. Company of Worcester, Massachusetts, was put into bankruptcy in 1987 and liquidated in 1990. Another entity called Reed & Prince Manufacturing Corporation, now of Leominster, Massachusetts, purchased some of the assets including the name at the liquidation sale.[29]

 

[Loren Beach]

Trivia: those little #6 bronze screws that hold our long thin teak trims, covering the stapled edge of the headliners, are Frearson's. I bought a box of new screws, and also bought a bit to go with them. It works much better than my old small size phillips bit ever did.

 

[N.A.]

This thread is quite helpful!

I was about to ask for a general list (as I am getting tired of going to the hardware store/Amazon for yet another tool, every time I am in the middle of a new project), but p.gazibara answered before I even asked.

Crimp tools:
In case it is useful, I have had to crimp some things (a very foreign concept to one used to soldering anything that matters). I found a very nice discussion (which will warm the cockles of any engineer's heart) here:

Marine Wire Termination - Marine How To

Marine Wire Termination - Tools of the Trade MHT Recommended Tools: The products below are our top picks for crimp tools. RecommendationsI include; PRO GRADE, MARINE GRADE, & PENNY SAVER GRADE. Every tool recommended BELOW, we have tested here.

marinehowto.com

That site recommends the following tools, which I have gotten and tried, and work remarkably well:

Wire cutters:
- site suggests Klein High-Leverage Cable Cutters Part No. 63050, but I went cheaper and got Channellock Cable Cutter, Shear Cut, 9-1/2 In. which seem to work great.
Wire strippers:
- Ideal Stripmaster Part No. 45-092 (or 45-292)
Crimper: the site made a good case for better crimpers, and sells two [note: I have no link to this site, other than having bought one of the tools there]:
- DIY Modular tool with DHSD 8-22 die set if you need single-crimp for marine terminals. This is the one I got. ($79 total, for single-crimp heat-shrink terminals), https://shop.marinehowto.com/products
- Pro HST (or the cheaper DIY HST) are supposedly even better; at same link. They only do single-crimps, though. The modular, as the name implies, allows you to have multiple crimping tools in one, which is why I got that one.

Coming from a different specialty area, I certainly did not know the details of crimping, and in fact viewed it (apparently incorrectly) as strictly bush league. All my professional life I have used much cheaper strippers, and diagnonal cutters that do not do as nice a job (though a fine one for wiring boards). But these shear-cut cutters really leave a flat edge, nicer for the crimping process, the strippers strip without stretching/thinning the insulation (or stretching and work-hardening the wire), and the crimpers seem to do a nice job (if you crimp slowly, which seems to be the extra trick. This is easier given that they are ratching crimpers, so if you pause/go slow, you don't risk losing the grip).

 

[Mr. Scarlett]

Maine Sail's crimpers look like they're awesome, but only available in the USA. Has anyone found a good set for heat shrink terminals anywhere else i.e. Amazon?

 

[Frank Langer]

Maine Sail's crimpers look like they're awesome, but only available in the USA. Has anyone found a good set for heat shrink terminals anywhere else i.e. Amazon?

Yes, I did find them on Amazon a year ago. You'll get much better crimp results if you buy a ratcheting crimper, which I did find there at reasonable price. I'm not on the boat today so can't confirm brand, but it got good reviews, so you'll likely find it out similar without difficulty.
Frank

 

[Shankara]

Maine Sail's crimpers look like they're awesome, but only available in the USA. Has anyone found a good set for heat shrink terminals anywhere else i.e. Amazon?

I just got some of these from Wirefy: 270 PCS Heat Shrink Wire Connector Kit Electrical Insulated Crimp Marine Automotive Terminals Set https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GXQMP6...abc_YGY0QZ8V2FQ5VESEM5Y7?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I also got crimpers and strippers of the same brand. Seems legit.

 

[Christian Williams]

Love these remarkably cheap Japanese-style pull saws at Home Depot. Very narrow kerf, sharp as razor. Yes, believe it or not there are wood-saw jobs on our boats, and I just replaced mine.

Vaughan 10-1/2 in. Pull Saw BS265M - The Home Depot

The Vaughan 10-1/2 in. Pull Saw is designed to cut on the pull rather than on the push stroke. The blade is crafted with spring steel to help ensure strength, is plated to help resist rust and has specially

www.googleadservices.com

 

[peaman]

I don't recall seeing this thread before, but it looks like a great thing.

Last season I was doing a lot of wiring work with new instruments. Others have noted how useful a fish tape can be for running not only wiring, but hoses and anything else. I had only ever seen steel fish tapes before, so I was happy to find the 20 foot long Klein fiberglass fish tape with a clear all-plastic housing, and the tape even glows in the dark, which helps when looking for it in a dark bilge or whatever.

 

[RCsailfast]

Love these remarkably cheap Japanese-style pull saws at Home Depot. Very narrow kerf, sharp as razor. Yes, believe it or not there are wood-saw jobs on our boats, and I just replaced mine.

Vaughan 10-1/2 in. Pull Saw BS265M - The Home Depot

The Vaughan 10-1/2 in. Pull Saw is designed to cut on the pull rather than on the push stroke. The blade is crafted with spring steel to help ensure strength, is plated to help resist rust and has specially

www.googleadservices.com

Thanks Christian. I am in the middle of bright work, a sailors right of passage, which will include replacing a lot of teak plugs. The handrails are in the garage being stripped and the stove/ counter cover in the basement with a loose catch rail requiring the plugs to come out also. The saw looks perfect for cutting them flush without damaging the surrounding wood.

 

[Loren Beach]

The saw looks perfect for cutting them flush without damaging the surrounding wood.

I have been using a saw like that for trimming plugs for many years. I find that it helps my unsteady hands, having chosen which side of the saw blade will rub against the surface, place a piece of blue tape on the blade on that side to slightly space it upward just a tiny bit.

 

[Pete the Cat]

Nice to hear that the Rigids are a hit. Personally, I love my m12 set of Milwaukee tools...

I have Milwaukee, too. Multi tool, and cordless driver and drill. Charge fast and seem insdestructible. Not really more expensive than Home Depot Ryobi and I have not had good luck with Ryobi batteries.