OK, I’ll admit that I have more power tools aboard than the average cruiser. That said, I can build a new mast, a dinghy, or a self-steering gear, and that can both make and save money. My $100 drill press alone has already saved me a few hundred dollars just in doing new chainplates for the Islander.
Still, tools are heavy and, since my first choice these days is to reach for a cordless tool rather than a corded one, it might be time to sell off most of my corded tools. For instance, at last count I have four circular saws (three corded & one cordless). I could easily lose two of those saws without feeling any pain. I also have a corded jig saw I have not used in years, two corded drills that are surplus to requirements, and I won’t even get into the number of sanders who only come out when doing haulouts which is the bane of our collective existence, that I’d love to jettison but don’t feel I can anytime soon.
Replacing my corded electric plane with a cordless reasonable facsimile would actually up my game, as would doing the same on the angle grinder front. There is a tiny 12V Bosch planer, angle grinder, and circular saw which I lust for but, as all my cordless tools are Ryobi, it makes sense to stay within the 18V ONE+ battery universe, though the small Bosch tools do cry out for a place aboard the Islander.
The funny thing is that whenever I try and get rid of tools, I find myself doing just the opposite.
Hi, I’m Bob and I have a tool addiction…
I used to be a big cordless fan too, but now I find the only benefit aboard is their quick convenience. Now that capacious battery banks and capable inverters are pretty much standard equipment on board any cruiser, I’m much happier dealing with a more compact, lightweight tool that also happens to have a leash attached so that I’m less likely to knock it OB and I can fish it back out more easily if I do… and I find that I’m rarely more than a cord’s length away from a receptacle except when I’m up a spar anyways.
The tools themselves are a fraction of the cost, and I don’t have to worry about shopping in-brand or replacing batteries that are annoyingly short-lived.
I can even run my little TIG welder quite happily, which goes a long way towards paying for the cruising habit to begin with.
Which TIG welder?
It’s by VEVOR, but the model escapes me at the moment. Chinese. Stick or TIG, AC/DC, 110-220V. I think I paid about US$300-350 by the time I rounded up all of extra fittings to make it work. Weighs less than 25lbs and probably won’t live a very long life in a boat but works great. Small, lightweight argon bottles aren’t so easy to come by….