Spare Parts....which ones, and how many?

Which service items are likely to be due whilst you are on your trip, ie Main Engine Service due in 50 Hours. You'll need your service spares as well as maybe one set of breakdown spares.

You can't carry and don't need one of everything, somethings you need lots of, sadly this is an experience call. If you've had the boat a while you'll know what's gone wrong before or what seems a bit fragile. Another thing to consider is how important is the item of kit? If your water heater needs new elements is the only down side showering in cold water. If that's mission critical for you then obtain one or fit a new one before you go.

Further to items already listed, I'd consider the following spares and tools in addition to a good normal tool kit of spanners, sockets, pliers etc (apologies for any duplication and in no particular order):

Jointing material for making gaskets of various thicknesses
Rubber sheeting
Nav light bulbs.
fuses (various) if fitted rather than circuit breakers.
Tie wraps/zip ties
O ring kit
Stainless nuts, bolts & washers
Portable battery charger
Jubilee clips
Strong magnet on string (something important always gets dropped)
Bilge grips (not everything is magnetic)
Stilsons
Water pump pliers
Scraper (old gasket removal)
wire brushes steel and brass.
Grease
WD40
Hylomar
Dielectric
Multi meter
Impact adhesive
PTFE Thread tape
2 part 5 minute epoxy
Superglue
Good torches and plug in hand lamp (light on the job makes everything easier)
Spare Duracell batteries all sizes
Good quality scissors
Duct tape
Electricians tape
Velcro/dual lock
Buckets, funnels.
Coolant
Engine anodes if fitted
Thermostats
Wooden bungs
BSP pipe fittings
Self tapping SS screws
Silastic/Silicon sealant
Mechanical seal & impellor for watermaker
Spare spark plugs, 2 stroke oil, filter (oil & fuel) and maybe spare prop for tender.
Thick Rubber gauntlets (hands in sewage kind of protection)
Diaphragms for toilet pumps
CSI style thin gloves (hands in oil kind of protection)(can't think of name)
Rags
Paper towel
Beaded hand cleanser
Oil absorbant mats
Stanley knife & spare blades
Valve gland & shaft seal packing
The workshop manual for your engines and generators in adddiditon to the owners manuals you prolly already have.
Good quality battery drill with spare battery
Good quality set of drills (split point cobalt for SS)
Jabsco type drill pump and hose

It depends on the boat and how hard it is to get parts. BUT

Engines/Generator (each engine)
1 spare impellor
set of belts
secondary fuel filters
primary fuel filters
plenty of oil, possible oil filters

Spare bilge pump and float switch

spare a/c pump
spare freshwater pump
electrical end and boot (shorepower)
lightbulbs
electrical kit
wet exhaust hose, various sizes 3'+ length

for starters

Yes to the hand held GPS & VHF. As Capt. J said,"It depends on the boat and how hard it is to get parts". It also depends on your usage and the crews ability/willingness to do repairs. If you're heading for Antarctica, one of everything. If you're doing day cruises or island hoping and a breakdown and waiting for parts only means staying dockside for a few days not so much. Do you have an engineer or are you seriously into fixing your own stuff? If you're the type to just make emergency repairs to get you back to the dock where you'll call in the mechanic then I'd recommend spare fuel filters, belts, light bulbs, spare batteries for all flashlights, radios,etc., electrical tape, 'Atomic Tape' in case a hose breaks, clamps, cable ties and a spare starter. Also, a block of wood to keep the shaft of a down engine from spinning. From there build your list depending on need, space, ability, willingness and wallet. As a general rule, when something breaks I like to have it replaced and the broken item repaired and kept as a spare. It's a safe bet that when you break down though it will be the one item you're not carrying.

Hi,

I think they are commonly called surgical or latex gloves, the Germans however have their own description "Aids Hand Shoes" is how it sounds.

Hand Shoe being how they say Gloves.

As a proud member of the Shade Tree Mechanic Society, I applaud the lists of necessary spares by the posters here. It would be difficult to imagine a required repair needing any additional bits, but I have two:

1)Baling wire. Don't laugh. There are numerous applications where duct tape or tie wraps won't quite cut the mustard. The type sold at Home Depot for less than ten bucks comes in a spool that will last forever.

2)Spare blender motor

I asked our Engineer that very question one day and his answer was quite unique:

"Anything that will fit in the palm of one had, and most things that you can carry in two"

it depends on how the boat is equipped, not jsut where you cruise. for instant, how many redundant systems do you have? take the fresh water pump for instance, I prefer having two pumps already installed so you can jsut switch over. in that case, carrying a spare water pump isn't that critical. otherwise, it is as loosing the water pump is typically a end of the trip scenario.

if the boat has hynautic steering, i carry a gallon of fluid or ATF. most larger boats will have an air compressor on board, if not, a hand pump to add air tot he hynautic reservoir. same if the boat has an hydraulic crane...

spare impellers are an absolute must along with an impeller puller. with a single genset, i'd want to have a spare raw water pump...

having a piece of lexan under a mattress so you can temporary repair a broken window... cheap and easy to store. i also like having some starboard on the boat just in case... and yes, I have basic power tools like drill, jig saw, dremel, sander...

i also like to have some heavy gauge wire, in case i need to do some creative wiring in case of a battery or charger failure. happened in july when the charger failed... running one of the mains at idle to charge the batteries got old very quickly, I was glad to have some 2/0 on board to be able to use teh inverter bank as a house bank for the rest of the charter.

you don't have to be cruisign antartica to need spares, when island hoping getting parts can be a hassle. earlier this year i had a problem with the crane hydraulic pump, and it took two days to get parts into staniel cay. two days where we coudlnt' launch the tender (luckily we didnt' have any guests on board) The crane manufacturer (Quicklift) was great but it still took a day to get the part over to the airport... plus a couple of hundred dollars in courrier, air freight, etc... it was not a part i woudl have carried on board, but if it had been something simple, i'd be kicking my own butt for not having it. and we're talkign about being a couple hundred miles from so fl. not down in central america.

finally organizing all the stuff is critical. often spares have to be stored thruout the boat, i use large plastic boxes and try to group things by type.

The list of parts is great and can be used by all of us. I would add plywood to the list which can have a variety of uses and for the tool kit I find an IR temperature sensor invaluable when trouble shooting temp related problems.

Ah, there's old Murphy rearing his ugly little head again. It's almost a guaranty that the one part you don't carry will be the one you need. On, let's say a 90' not used for charter or serious passage making, how much money would anyone here recommend be tied up on non-emergency (get me to a port) repair items (Lexan being a great example)? It's great to have a spare of everything from shafts & props to belts, but you could theoretically double the cost of a boat with spare parts that hopefully won't be needed or would only leave you enjoying another couple of days in a port waiting. Anybody care to put a number on that?

I agree about the plywood especially, so many uses when trouble starts: along with a tarp or Poly sheeting.

Another bit of kit thats good to carry is a 4' length of stainless steel flat bar. Will not rust, can be used as a pry-bar, backing plates, prop for wedging things up and of course if the crew really screw-up it becomes a great..............

Greetings,
All of the above are super suggestions. Silly as it may sound, I never leave port without a LOT of the above AND 3 or 4 cedar shakes/shingles on board. Easy to split and carve with a sharp blade and have made everything from a "quill float" for fishing to a temporary shim to stop an annoying hatch rattle. Takes up no space at all.
Mr. NYCAP, I can't comment on spares for a 90' vessel but on Savasa I would guess I have about $4000 +/- in spares and knick-knacks (including the shingles and NOT including tools). That includes a heat exchanger, for example, that I changed out and had refurbished for use as a spare.
Peter

For long distance cruising and also for short cruisers I often suggest carrying a spare credit card. Other important spares are a corkscrew, bottle opener and unbreakable champagne glasses.

Don't need the corkscrew:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHTADX5nxT8&feature=fvw

This way works as easily well with the back of a machette or a good sized buck-knife

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZ2vU3lvwx0

Yeah, but then you can't slug it down without cutting you lip.

Try doing that with a Balthazar of good fizz, you're going to get soaked.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAx2TXt1v_I

I'd have been willing to bet that the last guy would end up lapping it off the floor amidst shards of broken glass.