Be Prepared

Hey can I borrow a screwdriver?
Sure - take your pick.
Anybody got a knife?
Yeah - over here.

Who are these people? They come to the club without the most basic tools and then go cadging around the boat park until they find some sucker like me. Yeah, I'm that one guy that everyone seems to go to when they need to borrow something. My little box of tools lives in my car during the sailing season and I kinda hope that it contains everything that I might conceivably need to fix stuff on my Laser.

Let's see what I have ...

Pop riveter
Pop rivets
Corrosion eliminator
I don't ever recall actually replacing any riveted fittings in the middle of a regatta, but hey, you never know.

Wet and dry paper
Gotta keep your bottom smooth.

Can of McLube
Actually I have a bigger can too in the car. Spray it everywhere you can think. Could write a whole other post on the uses for this stuff. Probably will one day.

3 straight edge screwdrivers
2 Phillips screwdrivers
3 wrenches
Pair pliers

Tool that looks like a pair of pliers but is actually a gizmo for undoing Sunfish sailclips. No idea why I still carry it, except to be nice to Sunfish sailors that like to borrow it.

File

Hammer
I feel bad about this. Always seems like an admission of failure if I actually have to whack something on my precious boat with a hammer. But there are some times when you just have to do it.

Eric Clapton cassette tape
My car doesn't even have a cassette player. But cassette tape is great stuff for a light air wind indicator.

Sail repair tape
Telltales various colors
Marine-tex
Spatulas for applying marine-tex

Epoxy stick
This thing is supposed to be able to fix holes underwater. I've never actually needed to fix a hole underwater while Laser sailing but it sounded like a cool thing to have.

5200 silicone sealant
Tube of gelcoat repair stuff

Tape measure
Don't use it very often but this was my secret weapon for eliminating those heavy air death rolls. Another story for another day.

Scissors
2 knives
Cigarette lighter
I don't smoke. This is for sealing the ends of synthetic lines.

Pens and pencils

Assorted rolls of tape
My big role of duct tape is elsewhere in the car. Which reminds me, must write a post about the sailor's best friend one day.

Spare light bulbs for the trailer
Circuit tester
Aaagh trailer electrics. Hate 'em. That's another subject ripe for further discussion.

Tire levers
Tire repair kit
Mainly for those damned dolly tires that are always flat just when you're in a hurry to launch.

Sunscreen
This is just a backup in case I forget to throw the big bottle of sunscreen into my sailing bag.

Bag of Laser parts
Bailer, O rings, fairleads, centerboard stops ... Almost everything small on a Laser that can break. I have accumulated this mainly through a process of buying two replacements whenever anything breaks on the boat. One to replace the broken one; one for the bag for next time. Of course next time it's usually something else but over the years I've been sailing Lasers I seem to have accumulated one spare part for most bits. Could write a whole other post on "The Day I Broke My ..." and probably will one day.

So what am I missing. Comments please?