Boat tools…what do you carry?

Cash.

-It’s insurance to buy another boaters time to drag you back to the dock; or any other inconvience that you have to ask help for.

-Cash can buy quick help when you don’t want to take the time to wait for free help.

2nd method of propulsion that can always get you back to the dock.
-Kicker motor on bigger bodies
-Enough charge in your TM on small bodies
-Go up stream in case your lower unit disappears, float back.

Always respect situations where there is no help, cell service, etc and be extra cautious.

Can’t have too many tools if you have a rickedy old boat.
Like everyone said. Do your Preventative Maintenance.

Zero tools other than my fishing pliers and scissors. After reading this thread though I will toss together a bag and keep it in the boat.

FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

Cash.

-It’s insurance to buy another boaters time to drag you back to the dock; or any other inconvience that you have to ask help for.

-Cash can buy quick help when you don’t want to take the time to wait for free help.

2nd method of propulsion that can always get you back to the dock.
-Kicker motor on bigger bodies
-Enough charge in your TM on small bodies
-Go up stream in case your lower unit disappears, float back.

Always respect situations where there is no help, cell service, etc and be extra cautious.

Can’t have too many tools if you have a rickedy old boat.
Like everyone said. Do your Preventative Maintenance.

All of this. Especially live by the ‘fish upstream’ rule when fishing a river.

Ran without one for a while, first trip after putting a kit together I needed the socket set that was part of it. My wife got tangled up in the tm prop, 8 miles from the resort just after we got to the spot I wanted to fish. Sure was nice to pull the prop and fix right there instead of running back to the resort.
Also carry pull cord, extra fuses, electrical tape, I keep the spare impeller in the boat though that’s not am on the water fix job, tow rope, emergency oar, flares, flashlight, spare prop, tp, spare plug, screwdriver, crescent wrench.

After getting hooked amd immediately getting hook ripped out by the pike the lure was also stoll attached to this spring I realized I did not have a first aid kit in the boat, need to get that added.

Being honest, which has gotten me in trouble, would ya JD oblige me to a thought?

Seems you really dig on the fishing life, even so much in your “mid-life”(as you stated, maybe even jokingly), you got yourself a real nice rig. Real nice rigs got pretty big fancy motors and other crap. I’m not sure about you, but maybe some guys here(including me), other than the obvious things on motors, would have a tough time fixing anything on the water, especially on the big four stroke, fuel inject, hose here, hose there, filters, etc. etc.

This isn’t to say not to have some tools aboard to fix the easy things, but its always “man” intuition, perhaps even our Boyscott honor, of always be prepared.

Well, not only mechanically prepared, but I like to think when I reach an age, or financial level, I’d also be able to take care of the people on board, not just the motor, or rig. If i had some old friends, old/new business partners, wife friends and husband( we all know which ones im saying, the ones you may not like all that much), and for some strange reason the boat goes down, and we are waiting for help, if I had a real nice bottle of irish whiskey, or some scotch, something similar for the ladies, hidden away for just a situation, couple real glasses, seems the wait for the rescue, and ride back would go smoother.

Maybe you don’t appreciate a good drink, just get something along the lines of what im talking about. I’m a big fan of the cliche saying “its not the destination, but the journey”. Fish are awesome, but if $hit hits the fan, it would be nice to pull out of your back pocket that card nobody saw, and still have a great time, and just another good story along the way.

Cheers and tight lines

Good thoughts Hammie. I can fix a few things. Bit of a motor head as a youth and mechanic for Uncle Sam in the Army. I think you’re on to something in your thoughts above. I like the idea of some fine whiskey (But I’m a Jack man myself) so we can all go down in style. lol, but if I am not mistaken, if my boat does fill with water, it still floats at the waterline. Not 100% certain though.

Anyhoo, you are right…it is more than just about preparing for mechanical disasters. At the time I was asking the question, I was just getting all my compartments squared away in the “new to me” boat and thought, I have no tools in the boat…I wonder what everyone else is doing?

And as long as we’re being honest, the real big driver for the bigger boat was not so much that I wanted fish over fish, but I wanted to first be safer when boating…for me and my passengers. I’m not sure that even with a life preserver that I could swim to shore in a 6 foot wide river…And I’m six foot two!

Secondarily, with the larger boat and all the crap that goes with it, it also affords me a chance to get some bucket list lakes off my list that my smaller Jon boat could not safely do. You know, take in the different scenery, sights, sounds and smells. I’m racing towards 50 and haven’t been to Leech Lake yet! That will change this weekend. And Yes, I’m a life long native of MN. Just got in a 25 year rut with working too much and not taking some time to explore what is around me.

I still fish as poorly in the new boat as I did in the small one. And I agree, the journey is much more fun than the weigh in at the end of the day.

That’s awesome man.

I’d list the lakes I haven’t seen yet but its embarrassing.

Having that epic battle inside now of working too much now to have the nice things later in life, or attempt to enjoy some now and some later. Seems to be a pendulum that:s impossible to balance.

Glad your at the point now you can enjoy. Your rig is sweet and the fish weigh ins will come around eventually, we hope!!

6’2″ swimming in 6′ river, hilarious!

Sheer pins and a small piece of 2X4.
Headlamp for hands free night time working.
Extra prop.
A quart of oil, not a tool but…
As Grouse stated, a 50′ strong rope.
A $20 bill if I need assistance, run out of gas etc…

nhamm wrote:

I’m not sure about you, but maybe some guys here(including me), other than the obvious things on motors, would have a tough time fixing anything on the water, especially on the big four stroke, fuel inject, hose here, hose there, filters, etc. etc.

I would agree, that you’re not going to fix or replace a lot of things that can go wrong on newer outboards.

Back when I did a lot of Canadian trips, fixes were a necessity and the tool box grew accordingly. That’s not necessary in most of MN.

But what a tool kit IS going to give you the ability to do is fix the little things quickly so they don’t shut down a day of fishing or leave you stranded and facing a long tow.

The last time I fixed my own boat a hose clamp on the fuel supply hose broke and the resulting air leak and fuel leak was not allowing the outboard to run properly. A spare hose clamp and 15 minutes and we were back up and running. As an added note, STAINLESS hose clamps. Always!

The only dead-in-the-water fix I’ve assisted with recently was not my boat, but another boater on the St. Croix who had his alternator tensioning boat come loose. I saw that he had the engine hatch open and went over to assist. 10 minutes and a socket set was all he needed, but it saved him a long tow and a wasted afternoon.

Other fixes are just convenience, that’s true, but I’m out there to have fun, so the convenience of being able to get back to the fun is worth a little prep time.

Grouse

Normally I just carry a 9mm and I’m not talking sockets here.

Brian Klawitter wrote:

Normally I just carry a 9mm and I’m not talking sockets here.

You’re a badda$$!

FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

Cash.

-It’s insurance to buy another boaters time to drag you back to the dock; or any other inconvience that you have to ask help for.

Didn’t catch this before I posted. I had to get towed many years ago and diidn’t have cash to offer the guy, I vowed to never lat that happen again.

I second those that have said the key to trouble free boating is good maintenance and I’ll add “knowledge of your equipment”. This site and others are great for educating yourself about common boat/motor issues. I read every post I see about this issue even if the motor/boat brand and age differ from mine. I also go online and look at engine parts diagrams and u-tube vidios just to have a better idea what things look like and how they work on my rig. The internet is a great “tool” to help you keep your rig running.

One thing i don’t think was mentioned but will affect your fishing trip…

WHeel Bearings.
Can’t fish if you can’t get there.

I keep spares in the boat.
Make sure you have a jack to change and tools to change it.

I grab my hubs to check for heat nearly every trip; especially after getting off the interstate. Wheel bearings can be damaged from a big bump. Service annually, but check for heat regularly.

Worn wheel bearings on a sunday afternoon up nort….Good luck.

Few buddies of mine have had to buy a new trailer from a dealership on their way to the Rainy due to wheel bearing failures. That ended up being a very expensive trip for those boys!! Regular PM and if you have spares, you never need to risk it by driving on bad bearings.
Some people bring the entire hub assembly instead of just bearings.