• If you log in, the ads disappear in the forum and gallery. If you need help logging in or getting registered, send request to: webmaster@southernairboat.com

Tool box Kit ?

AlaskaTours

Well-known member
What do you guys keep in your tool kit on your boat ? What is a must have in your box ? Extra parts ? Starter ,plugs ect. ? Just trying to get a good tool box set up for the boat for this spring

AlaskaTours.
 
I keep a nice assortment of stainless nuts-n-bolts (nylock nuts) in the bottom of our tool box and it has save our butt more than once.

Recently added a couple hacksaw blades to it after we saw a boat slip into a tree branch and the cage and composite prop got messed up. Hacksaw blade would have been better to cut the dented cage frame and cracked prop tips off. But the chainsaw did a bang-up job!

Some scraps of solid core copper wire are always handy for emergency elecrtical stuff, and for extending a bungee, tying something down, tying something up, or even a tourniquet if need be.

Plastic zip ties and lots of 'em.

And most important of all,..... Plastic cutlery!

matt.
 
Dont forget Hose clamps, several of them. They can be used for exhaust repair, or to secure what ever. More zip ties. A machete. And by all means, DUCT TAPE. :lol:
 
well it depends on your boat but a machete is darn handy, a set of wrenches, a set of sockets and rachet. I carry a spare elect. fuel pump and hose clamps and fuel line. lots of nuts & bolts and washers. Duct tape, insect repellant, a flash light, a portable gps, water, rain gear, jackets, towels, and other stuff depending on the trip or time of year.
 
Thats a good start. Never thought of Nuts and bolts..I keep a chainsaw handy as it is mostly river up here and lots of nasty log jams. And people are few. I keep a starter ,Alternator, And a spare prop under the floor in my boat as far as the major items . And duct tape :D Alaska is the number one selling place of duct tape. Or as we call it 100 mph tape. Had a friend fix his super cub on a sheep hunt with duct tape. The grizzly that found the plane did not like his plane in his space..But thats another story.
 
I like cntry list, and that hacksaw is valuable. Makes nicer cuts than the chainsaw.

Another item is baling wire. Have tied some things together with it before. Can of WD-40 and maybe starter fluid to dry things out.

Electrical tape works for short term repairs on radiator and oil cooler hoses holes. Works better is you have starter fluid to clean the hose, and then cap it with a hose clamp.

A piece of the same diameter oil cooler hose and/or radiator hose about 6 inches long. Cut into 3 inch strips, then split, and clamped in places with hose clamps can sometimes stop a leak in a hose - use it like old fashion pipe clamps.

There is a cloth tape called bulldog, used alot in seismic operations. Forget the name of it, but it is fairly weather resistance and stick really well. Have seen a cage idled in with it taped together.

Jumper cables come in handy at times, but need long ones to reach from boat to boat. And they are hard to store.

If you are really doing long trips with little chance of having people chance meet you, a fuel pump, light weight starter and alternator fit easily in some water proof containers. Lots of boats had them around the seismic field. Usually in the truck, but on the Alaska Gold Forum, some of those guys talk about 100 mile trips up/down river. In my book, 15 pounds of parts would be just as useful as its equal weight in fuel (2 gallons) in remote country.
 
I didnt see anyone say J.B. Weld but I have seen it repair a radiator out in the field so you can get home in a pinch. I like all the above items too but get some J.B. Weld

A few Ides to keep in mind

*Bungee Cords
*Zip Ties
*Basic Tool Kit
*Flare Kit
*Water Proof Matches
*Machette
*Emergency Drinking Water
* A change of clothes
*Q-beam
*Cell Phone
*Sun Screen
*Bug Spray (DEET)
*First Aid Kit
*Whistle

Good Luck hope a couple of these things Help.
 
marshmaster pat":2iwdqgkw said:
Another item is baling wire. Have tied some things together with it before.

That's what I use the 12 ga. solid copper wire for. It's not as strong, but a few more wraps and add in a zip tie or two and I think it's as strong (enough). But the big plus is that you can't re-wire your bilge pump in the middle of a lake with bailing wire. Tossing some wire nuts in with it is a given.

Would you ever use bailing wire to hold a split prop together? That'd be about the only advantage I can see of bailing over insulated copper wire.

matt.
 
Good call about the JB weld Faron. That item must have chewed it's leg off to get out of the steel trap which I call my brain. LOL (I wish)

But that makes me think of another thing and that is a calm mind and level headed common sense! Priceless in a crisis and all the tools in a toolbox are worthless without a sense of creativity.

I keep my cell phone in a waterproof plastic box good to a depth of 100' submerged. http://www.swps.net/pelicancases.html Nice selection of waterproof casef for all needs. Good prices too. cntry - that's where your camera case came from.

matt.
 
I keep a clamp tool on everything I own (clamptite). Clamps anything including Hydralic hoses . A guy I know here in Trapper creek Alaska sells them, I think he invented it .
http://www.akcooltools.com/.
I would tell everyone this is a must not just for your boat but car , Atv,tractor ect. It beats having 5 or 6 clamps in the box.
 
I always try and throw a couple pounds of fried chicken, apple pies, or something in the boat before I go out.
One look at me, and you'll know that the panic does'nt really set in, till the groceries run out!

Seriously though, a good tool / spares kit in your boat is not a laughing matter. Something every airboater should consider, and update often.

Nice topic Alaska.
 
Alaska - that tool link is fantastic. Both those tools (the clamp thing and the rope tie-down/winch thing) are on my list of tools to get soon. That is some very creative thinking to come up with those ideas!!!

Some .040 stainless welding wire looks like the ticket to use with that tool.

Cajun - Have you seen this one yet? ;)

thanks for posting that link.

matt.
 
It did not take me long to discover that aircraft sparkplugs require a 3/4" spark plug socket - hard to find. I and others have been real glad one was in my toolbox. I also carry a few universal 8mm plug wires and spare plugs for my 0-540 and also for a SBC. A few friends run injected aircrafts and they seem to regularly wash out plugs. I use zip ties & JB Weld more than anything else, though.
 
Matt ,
The clamptite is the tool of all tools ,I also use .040 stainless welding wire . The other tool is great if you can fiqure it out :?: He gave me one of those because I bought 5 clamptite tools . Still have not got the hang of the other one yet I just use my winch :D . I just want to be prepared . I plan on a 200 mile trip this fall for caribou. Maybe 100 if I can not get a freind to go. I'm thinking of putting my inflatable raft in the boat on that trip.That way if all else fails I can float back to the truck :D

On another note I vaccum sealed all my spare parts so they will not rust. That way if I need them I know they are going to work..Unless you guys have parts store like us..And they give you the wrong parts :shock:
 
I usually keep an assortment of tools on the boat and now keep an extra v belt, hei distributor cap with coil, and a spare plug wire. RTV silicone, epoxy, jb weld...i keep all that too...as well as a small bottle of stop leak for the radiator. I also keep a spare starter, flex plate and more tools in the truck at the boat ramp.
 
Jdotson I figured it out LOL that boat of yours has three pieces of tail way too much for you. We used to say that about the ec121 planes they had three vertical stabilizers and we would always tell the young pilots to be careful because three pieces of tail was hard to handle.

You did add a hacksaw to your tool box right. LOL just kiddin but you knew it was comin now.
 
I will be putting my hack saw in the boat before the next trip. I did put the three tails back on the new cage! I can always keep my modified blades as spares.... :laughing5: I won't be getting near low hanging tree limbs any time soon. I don't think my funds at ass national is enough to cover another mistake like that!
 
Airboatcapt2":myk0c8vx said:
I didnt see anyone say J.B. Weld but I have seen it repair a radiator out in the field so you can get home in a pinch.

For field fixes, you might want to get some of the JB Kwik. Sets in 4 minutes. Part number 8276

Also, how about a telescoping magnetic pick up tool? Might help you fish something ferrous out of shallow water.
 
Back
Top