Essential kit & tools

[PYoung]

Hi All. I am now officially the owner of ‘Mist’ BC23, I think number 5 (finding out)

I am currently putting together a list of tools and equipment I may need to have onboard to cover myself in case of emergency repairs etc.

I would love to hear what other people have in their boats and what you have found to be absolutely essential.

Thanks all

Pete

[Graham W]

Pete,

Welcome and congratulations!

What follows isn’t strictly relevant to a BC23 (especially the bit about oars) but might give some idea of what’s needed, with an emphasis on safety.  If on a sail & oar raid in my BR20, I take the barest minimum dictated by the raid’s safety rules, which in the case of Sail Caledonia is:

A bucket secured to the vessel by a lanyard and at least one other method of bailing (in my case a Whale pump fixed to the outboard transom plus a hand bailer with more than one use, if you get my drift)
Anchor, warp and chain suitable for the vessel (I take a lightweight Fortress and lead-weighted line, no chain)
Sufficient oars and rowlocks to propel the boat against a strong headwind (I take two pairs of surprisingly long oars and the oarsmen to wield them)
2 warps of 15 metres for use in the canal locks or for being towed (I also take one much longer warp)
Drogue or other device capable of slowing the boat in cramped conditions where oars cannot be used (they mean in locks)
Foghorn
Distress Flares, 2 x hand smoke or (preferably) floating smoke, 2 x pinpoint red (or laser flares). Flares to be kept in a sealed water-tight container securely attached to the vessel by a lanyard and accessible in the event of swamping.
Fire extinguisher (for vessels with engines or cooking facilities, so I don’t take one)
Buoyancy aids (not lifejackets) with whistle for each of the crew.
1st Aid kit.
Spare dry clothing in a water tight container
Survival bag or Thermal Protective Aid.
Food and warm drink for long exposed races
Small tool box
Bosun’s bag with (soft) shackles / pins / cordage (especially small diameter Dyneema and a suitable fid for splicing)
Sufficient fenders to protect one side of the boat

+ a good size boathook ( which doubles as a whisker pole)
+ a paddle for close quarter manoeuvring
+ a fully charged iPhone and/or iPad (for navigation, weather, countdown timing at race starts, music etc)
+ a hand held VHF (for listening in on race officials)
+ a camera with zoom
+ electric outboard and battery, fully charged
+ whatever fixtures and fittings go with the boat, which in my case includes a 12V lithium battery, GPS/fishfinder and Tacktick wind system with two displays

The electric items are recharged at the end of each day, so I don’t take spare batteries.

If I’m not racing, then all self discipline evaporates and you wouldn’t believe the amount of stuff that I cram in the boat.

[plasticpaddy]

Out of interest Graham how have you mounted the Tactick. Ws looking at something like this for my BR20.
Also how do you use the boat hook as a whisker pole
Sean

[Graham W]

Sean,

The Tacktick wind transducer is on a bracket on top of the mast and is easily detached for trailering.  Because of my gunter rig, it is blanketed when sailing downwind and then doesn't register properly but is very useful on all other points of sail.  One of my displays is mounted on a board at the aft end of the centreboard case and the other is on the aft face of the foredeck.  They are demountable too - the advantage of everything being solar-powered and wireless. 

I usually have the aft display showing a full 360° and the forward one in close hauled mode.   I've also recently wired up a Tacktick wireless interface that links up with my GPS/fishfinder using NMEA 0183.  This produces a version of true wind that can potentially be shown on all three displays.  The whole system new would cost a small fortune but it's possible to build it up piecemeal by buying secondhand and refurbished units.  These sometimes appear on eBay.

The boat hook is a 1.6m Trem fixed length aluminium one with a strop on a hole drilled through the handle https://www.sheridanmarine.com/product/trem-aluminium-boat-hook.  When goosewinged, I hook it through  the jib’s clew outhaul and attach the strop on the other end to a bullhorn cleat at the base of the mast.  I then tighten the jib sheet against it.  It’s the perfect length, which I only discovered by accident.

[PYoung]

Pete,

Welcome and congratulations!

Thanks Graham! Also thank you for your very concise and useful list.

I am slowly getting round to equipping Mist for her maiden launch in a couple of weeks.

I am also in the market for a handheld VHF, can anyone recommend one?

[Rob Johnstone]

Grahams' list is pretty comprehensive - however he missed out a dustpan and brush. It's unbelievable how much accumulates in a BC23 cabin, especially if you dry out on sand. The upside is that if you get one of those "closedin" old fashioned dustpans, you don't need a hand bailer.

[Graham W]

Ha!  One of the many advantages of not having a cabin is that if you want to banish grit and dust misery, you can just leave the aft bailers open and hose the boat down when you get back to base.

[Graham W]

Pete,

Make sure that whatever VHF you choose, it has DSC and GPS built in, mainly because this gives you a one button distress signal feature.  Here’s an old video from Icom that explains it in more detail https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ga6WdGkaeNM.  You may find the presenter’s highly mobile eyebrows a bit distracting!

I’ve got an Icom M91d, which is no longer made but has DSC/GPS, works well and also floats.

[PYoung]

Pete,

You may find the presenter’s highly mobile eyebrows a bit distracting!

Ha, Thanks Graham. I believe his eyebrows are remote controlled.

[Graham W]

A new Icom handheld has just come out that now also incorporates an AIS receiver - the M94DE.  It's a bit like having a radar, as long as nearby vessels are broadcasting.  For example, you could see trouble coming from the French trawlers off Jersey yesterday as most of them had their AIS transmitters on.  You could also see them going back to Granville en masse in the afternoon when they had made their point.  All shown for free on this website (or the equivalent app) https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-2.1/centery:49.1/zoom:11.  It was also interesting to see the effects of the recent blockage on the Suez Canal.

Anyway, a bit off the point.  The price of the new Icom will make you raise both eyebrows!