Tool Reviews [Master Thread]

[Prairie Schooner]

A smaller handheld bilge pump has been on my wish list for a while. Our three-foot-long pump does the job of emptying what the electric pump doesn't get into a bucket, but inside the saloon the size is really clumsy. Far more than that, something that has always irritated me about these pumps is when I finish the task, no matter which way I rotate and 'empty' them, they seem to pull a stream of icky water from another dimension and spray it in the worst places. It drives me nuts.

Recently I sprung for one of these:

Breakaway Bilge Pump

The Breakaway Bilge Pump is a modular, easy-to-clean pump with a strong aluminum shaft, 8-gallon-per-minute capacity, and ergonomic handle for comfort.

www.seattlesportsco.com

It doesn't include hose which is fine because I added the clear vinyl section. Now I can tell if it's trying to hide a load ready to dowse the upholstery! Having used it a few times, I'm very pleased with its performance. It can be completely disassembled and they offer replacement internal parts. I took the yellow sleeve off ours. This pump is more pricey than other offerings, but seeing what's inside is definitely worth the extra cost for me.



I'm not going to take the big hand pump off the boat, but this one has a sure home on Kismet.

 

[bsangs]

A smaller handheld bilge pump has been on my wish list for a while. Our three-foot-long pump does the job of emptying what the electric pump doesn't get into a bucket, but inside the saloon the size is really clumsy. Far more than that, something that has always irritated me about these pumps is when I finish the task, no matter which way I rotate and 'empty' them, they seem to pull a stream of icky water from another dimension and spray it in the worst places. It drives me nuts.

Recently I sprung for one of these:

Breakaway Bilge Pump

The Breakaway Bilge Pump is a modular, easy-to-clean pump with a strong aluminum shaft, 8-gallon-per-minute capacity, and ergonomic handle for comfort.

www.seattlesportsco.com

It doesn't include hose which is fine because I added the clear vinyl section. Now I can tell if it's trying to hide a load ready to dowse the upholstery! Having used it a few times, I'm very pleased with its performance. It can be completely disassembled and they offer replacement internal parts. I took the yellow sleeve off ours. This pump is more pricey than other offerings, but seeing what's inside is definitely worth the extra cost for me.


I'm not going to take the big hand pump off the boat, but this one has a sure home on Kismet.

For many of the reasons you mentioned, I abandoned the hand pump for the small amount of water that gets left behind in the bilge, and switched to my portable wet/dry vac from Worx. Takes the same batteries as my boat tools and fans, and gets the bilge bone dry. With no gushing surprises.

 

[frick]

BTW: I just saw that this month's Good Old Boat has an article on making tool rolls.
I switched to tool rolls, from the bulky blow-molded case a couple of years ago, and I have to conclude that they are not for me. At least not for general purpose tool storage.
I do like that they are comparatively compact, fit in almost any storage space on the boat, and can be well-organized.
My chief beef is that every time I want one tool, I have to get out all the tools. In most cases, getting the tools out becomes the biggest part of doing the job.
Maybe other people's boats are so well maintained that they don't need a tool every day?
I'm looking for something equally organized but more random-access. But that is a bit off-topic.

I always used a square tool bag for my most often used tools. It sat firm upon the deck and was easy to use.

 

[Christian Williams]

I started with bags. It was dark inside them. They were crammed full. Finding something was awkward and required time. They required storage.



I rigged a locker for tool organization. It was crammed full. Everything had to come out to find something.

...

Tool bags work best for me. Screwdriver-like things in one, pliers-like things in another, and a bag separating metric and Imperial spanners, with ratchets isolated. Unrolled, they display selection of kindred items.

...

I put a shelf in a large cubby to provide room for bulky stuff, hammer and so on. The tool rolls are easy to access on top shelf.

 

[Prairie Schooner]

I'm super chuffed to have found this wrap at a local tool consignment store.

 

[Kenneth K]

Came across a new tool today while buying something from Amazon.

It's called a Handee Clamp--kind of a long reach tool for nuts, bolts, etc. I thought it might be useful for getting to nuts under the sea hood, or such related projects. I don't own one, though, so I can't vouch for it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01AE2D9D8/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=A4GSBIK73VBP9&psc=1

 

[Joliba]

Here is something I patented over 10 years ago but never marketed. I still have a couple prototypes left and find them very useful.
Universal Screw Holder for Screwdrivers
Mike Jacker

 

[Pete the Cat]

Here is something I patented over 10 years ago but never marketed. I still have a couple prototypes left and find them very useful.
Universal Screw Holder for Screwdrivers
Mike Jacker

Have you ever marketed the patent? Seems like something I would buy a box of. I now keep a little wad of butyl tape and stick it on the end of the screwdriver. This has the slight advantage of being able to see the screw as it is turned in--to make sure it is threading evenly and straight, but I can see use of your device. FWIW.

 

[Joliba]

Never produced or marketed it. I also had an improved design that was covered by the patent as well. I let the patent lapse.
However, I still have a couple of my prototypes that frequently come in handy.

 

[Nick J]

I have the answer to the greatest tool.... a hand impact driver! I know I'm late to the game. Before posting this, I did a quick search and found multiple mentions of such a device, but it wasn't until I needed one that I fully understood how great of an invention this thing is.

After learning of such a device from the SVC Skallywags YouTube channel

. I jumped on amazon and ordered one. The first try was a Lisle 30200:

(https://www.amazon.com/Lisle-29200-Hand-Impact-Tool/dp/B000P0TZ9W/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1SAQWUTFFADS3&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0iYzDMSTnfS0EtEveBkYrstQ6yLGnohiXfqT7QbabAttnyRSupgKW8pF1ct9GpITgKDo266QeSfYKY5xNDo-VXKMegVkmMQ-JDbgymE_3fO_VLqkeZoAWDH2rt-5IEQ9Zz_fIpqhgaz5cB9P2X-AJ-CPBSHsif3PCduF4ZixvgvCiW4rrucHaudtBLOuvF5ehuHubzY3MS1QnB4QcLBNcHLAUc-7AqGJyjsCTLgopaknHr6E7A7ndcOBPfqpA9WsTGivJZmd1hhUppsuZhdU3nLZxgQtzcgxaNmqnSZ2h1zcWrAjVPuTWb4Sb-h4jFGYAc5RO1BBADNiLX9EpuDBeU1zeTVYbkdWCY9odrm5HNU.BzMaDd3b2hHRf8_zWWRfLwyykaEThIZ5I86i2PvIOhQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=lisle+30200+impact&qid=1738366968&s=automotive&sprefix=lisle+30200+impac,automotive,153&sr=1-1&th=1)

It didn't do anything. It didn't work on the corroded mast screws or any other ones I had around the house. Even hand tight screws wouldn't budge, so I returned it and tried this one: .

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004IKTTH8?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

It's brilliant. Pure simplicity at its finest and I love every thing about it. I don't think I could have removed this boom kicker bracket without it.

 

[ConchyDug]

If you wanna turn your screw extraction game to 11, I present the screw knocker.

https://www.yardstore.com/short-screw-extractor-screw-knocker-old-man-4?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=21547677011&utm_term=&utm_content=&gclid=Cj0KCQiAhvK8BhDfARIsABsPy4gmxrlGYoVyL7X5DzvypUYg7d_DwBm7GLzpCoTNFOJ7INVvUGTevsEaAgDPEALw_wcB&gad_source=1

Slap that puppy on a pneumatic rivet gun with a regulator, start at low pressure as you get comfortable controlling it. Hold the bit on the screw head tight. Wear ear plugs it's loud.

 

[bgary]

I have the answer to the greatest tool.... a hand impact driver!

I have a friend that calls his impact driver "an amazing amount of destruction in a hand-held tool". Largely because.... if the screw is really stuck (long-time marriage between steel and aluminum).... smacking that thing with vigor has a good chance of twisting the head right off the screw, leaving a much bigger problem when you have to figure out how to get the body of the screw out without any way to grab it.

Ask me how I know <O_O>

So, even with such a tool, things like heat and penetrating oil are still your friends.

$.02

 

[Nick J]

I have a friend that calls his impact driver "an amazing amount of destruction in a hand-held tool". Largely because.... if the screw is really stuck (long-time marriage between steel and aluminum).... smacking that thing with vigor has a good chance of twisting the head right off the screw, leaving a much bigger problem when you have to figure out how to get the body of the screw out without any way to grab it.

Ask me how I know <O_O>

So, even with such a tool, things like heat and penetrating oil are still your friends.

$.02

Good point. I have been heating the screws up then applying penetrating oil and walking away for a day and repeating a few times before using the impact driver. It's worked well on the 5/16" flat head screws that hold the boom kicker bracket and reef track. I'm worried about the panhead screws holding the gooseneck bracket on the mast and other various hardware..

 

[Kenneth K]

Good point. I have been heating the screws up then applying penetrating oil and walking away for a day and repeating a few times....

Have you tried an electric impact driver? The ratcheting impact will knock-knock-knock away at the stuck screw, but it won't do it hard enough to damage the head.

 

[bgary]

Have you tried an electric impact driver? The ratcheting impact

Interesting idea. I've thought about using an electric impact driver *without* a bit.... just press the vibrating chuck against the stuck screw to see if it rattles it loose. Or something.

I've also heard that *cold* can be useful when dealing with dissimilar metals. The example I heard for years was to use point of those "canned air" things at the screw head and keep squirting it until it freezes. In theory, the stainless screw should shrink a tiny amount. I've never tried it out of concern it would make the screw brittle, but... food for thought, I guess.

 

[Kenneth K]

Interesting idea. I've thought about using an electric impact driver *without* a bit.... just press the vibrating chuck against the stuck screw to see if it rattles it loose.

I've read that any rattling or vibration can be helpful after applying a penetrating oil--it helps open the tiny voids between the two "frozen" metals and allows better penetration of the oil.

I recently used my DeWalt impact driver to remove the frozen screw at the top of the halyard cage on the mast. It was a straight-slotted screw, so after 2-3 tries by hand, I had already started rounding-off the screw slot. The DeWalt zipped the screw right out after about 4 clicks of the impact ratchet.

 

[bigd14]

I've read that any rattling or vibration can be helpful after applying a penetrating oil--it helps open the tiny voids between the two "frozen" metals and allows better penetration of the oil

This may be obvious but I haven’t seen it mentioned- run the impact driver in both directions.

 

[Alan Gomes]

I've read that any rattling or vibration can be helpful after applying a penetrating oil--it helps open the tiny voids between the two "frozen" metals and allows better penetration of the oil.

Indeed! What I have found is that tapping the part with a hammer (i.e., not wailing on it but tapping enough to vibrate the part) can do wonders. One way I've done it is to employ a flat bladed screwdriver, putting the blade against the part and tapping the end of the handle after having applied the penetrating oil. Again, i don't use so much force that I might damage anything but enough to vibrate it to get the oil in the nooks and crannies.

Oh, and speaking of penetrating oil, apropos of nothing (as Loren would say): If I'm working anywhere near where the penetrating oil (think PB Blaster) can get on rubber parts, I prefer to spray some oil into a cup, so I have it as a small amount of liquid to work with, and then apply it with a small brush, such as a brush used for applying flux when soldering copper pipe. That gives me complete control, so I don't overspray and get the oil where I don't want itl.