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.