Jonny_H
regular
Reged: 15/08/2006
Posts: 1511
Loc: Liveaboard - following the sun...
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As the countdown continues I'm in the process of making lists of all the spares on board. I've got a good array of screws, rivets, nuts, bolts, washers, spare cable, battery terminals, shackles, pipes, jubilee clips, etc, etc.
When it comes to the engine we've got half a dozen of each filter, spare set of glow plugs, half a dozen impellers and half a dozen belts, a spare set of water pump screws and spare oil. I am about to order a spare alternator - anything else I should get?
We've got spares for the bilge pumps and I am about to order a spare fresh water pump.
Anything else significant I should take? I am conscious that many things won't be available off the shelf overseas and will need to be ordered / shipped from home. However there is a limit to the amount we can spend on spares that will likely be ballast in some dark corner of a hard to reach locker.
I think we've got most areas reasonably covered - however I keep reading of people with bust engine water pumps or starter motors, but how far to go?? Should we carry more spares, or more epoxy/jubilee clips/cable ties and some intuition?!
Jonny
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www.freewebs.com/jksailing
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Swagman
regular
Reged: 01/02/2005
Posts: 1208
Loc: Both self and boat in UK for t...
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Hi Jonny,
Not meaning to sound flippant but if you ask this mob then suspect everyone who has had an issue with one bit if kit will suggest you carry at least one of them as a spare.
We burnt out two starter motors a few years back. Have carried a spare ever since.
Lost some tiny delrin balls once from one reticulating mastrack car - and carried a pack if new ones ever since.
Sods law will say once you've got spare you'll not need to use them, so IMHO you choose what you can afford to carry and hope this law works for you also.
Good luck
JOHN
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Boring cruising blog at http://www.yotblog.com/swagman/2246
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Jonny_H
regular
Reged: 15/08/2006
Posts: 1511
Loc: Liveaboard - following the sun...
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Thanks John.
Funnily enough one engineer who was looking at an oil leak on our engine pointed out that we have awesome access to the alternator and starter motor and therefore suggested we would never need to replace them because we could get to them so easily - conversely the oil sump drain did break, which needed half an hour of dismantling of the engine just to be able to touch!
We have been buying a bit extra of everything (cable, hose, split pins, jubilee clips, ball bearings for mast cars  ) as we need them to stock pile spares.
I'm hoping to sail as we are (with already lots and lots of spares weighing the boat down) and see how we go. Just wanted to canvas people on the items that really are hard to get and really are essential (fresh water pump for instance is one I've already ear marked).
Thanks
Jonny
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www.freewebs.com/jksailing
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grumpygit
regular
Reged: 29/07/2007
Posts: 28
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Hi
All the parts you have for the engine are of no use at all if it will not start.
So top of the list should be the suggested starter motor, this is always good stock. After that a way of getting power (jump leads) to your engine battery say from your domestic bank in case of failure You could go on and on with this subject, best to keep practical without been paranoid !
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SirSnoozalot
regular
Reged: 25/05/2008
Posts: 830
Loc: East Coast UK
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Yeah. This can all get a bit "nightmarish" knowing what to carry and what not. I'm in the same position as you Jonny - trying to formulate a loading list of spares and "things I might need" and I think your "more epoxy/jubilee clips/cable ties and some intuition?!" takes pride of place. I even thought about taking a small Lathe, but then realised I don't know how to work one.
I noticed that Naval Vessels take a stock of timbers and stuff for damage control, shoring up bulkheads and the like, along with some ferrocement, sacking, tar, and chicken wire. But then they are bigger than us, and more likely to get shot at.
I imagine I might get labeled as the stereotype Brit Abroad, because top of my list is four crates of Typhoo Tea Bags.
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Tranona
regular
Reged: 10/11/2007
Posts: 1377
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You won't need jump leads as I am sure you will have installed a parallel system for the batteries. However, I would dump the spare screws for the water pump cover by fitting a Speedseal. Then you will be spared learning the useless skill of "hunt the 4mm set screw in the bilges in a rolly sea". No connection other than a satisfied customer who no longer needs to demonstrate that useless skill!
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jonic
regular
Reged: 12/03/2002
Posts: 912
Loc: Balearics
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Jonny
Your list is pretty good already, and it really can go on on and on. In general we have found most things can be bought or shipped from somewhere even when you think you are far away. I needed a new autopilot in Bocaron Puerto Rico and asked a local for the chandelier's. I went down a street full of chickens and wild cats to a "store" that had a few bits and pieces, a wooden counter and a Westmarine catalogue attached to the wooden counter with a bit of string. The catalogue WAS the chandelier's. But I ordered a Raymarine pilot and settled in for a week or two, only to have a Fedex guy track me down in the local laundry two days later carrying my new pilot.
However we carry fuses, nav lamps, various cables and connectors, a spare engine waterpump, spare altenator, morse control cables, fuel and oil filters, oil, belts, domestic water pump, hose lengths, O rings, blocks, shackles, halyard lengths, neoprene sheet, sail tape and stitching gear, magic repair tape, and loads and loads of epoxy putty, WD40, cable ties and hose clamps. You seem to be able to fix just about anything with the last four.
Don't stress about it too much as you can build supplies along the way down through Europe, often at a cheaper rate than in the UK, and my kit is the result of 5 yrs buying along the way.
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www.JRyachts.com
specialising in Dufour yachts and long distance cruisers
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jonic
regular
Reged: 12/03/2002
Posts: 912
Loc: Balearics
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Forgot to add, remember that cruising is just fixing boats in exotic places  
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www.JRyachts.com
specialising in Dufour yachts and long distance cruisers
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Conachair
regular
Reged: 24/01/2004
Posts: 471
Loc: Canaries
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Wish i had your inventory  What else? Head gasket maybe? I found favorite consumables thin on the ground after Brest, for me it was poly sulphide sealant and owatrol oil. More generally an led head torch with red filter comes in handy down below at night. And maybe a stock of your favorite thai curry paste
Brest has very good chandlers if you you head that way, I found chandlers a bit limited in atlantic mainland spain and portugal though fishing boat chandlers are great if you find one and cheap too. Canaries has good stock of most things. And of course you cn never have enough stainless screws! But don't worry, it's all part of the fun wandering around some foreign port with map in one hand, broken bit of boat in the other, you always get there in the end and meet many interesting people along the way.
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KellysEye
regular
Reged: 23/07/2006
Posts: 737
Loc: Curacao
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I think we carry just about everything mentioned. The only things I would add are:
- spare rigging wire (appropriate sizes and longest length for each size) and stalok fittings.
- also, if you intend to ocean sail with an autopilot (and it isn't at least one size bigger than that recommended for your boat size/weight) a good set of spares but ideally a complete spare unit.
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