cavelamb wrote:

Timely topic for me.

We are trying to equip our sailboat without sinking her at the dock.
That's a pretty decent startling point.

No way to take the shop aboard. Even a hiobby level garage based shop.
No drill press, band saws, chop saw, welding stuff, angle grinders, etc.
There just isn't room or displacement to do Noah's Arc of Tools.

So we do the best we can.

Organizing stuff is the biggest challenge. There is no place to store
everything together, so the tools and materials get spread out.

I found a bunch of small zipper bags (9" long x 2 x 3) that neatly hold
small tools.

Wrenches (SAE and Metric), sockets (1/4" drive, 3/8" - metric and SAE),
drill bits (separated large and small) and driver bits, hex wrenches, etc.
Dorothy got some "fabric paint" at the crafts store and neatly lettered
the bags. These are packed into tool bags - as logically as possible.
It makes finding the tool you need quickly a lot easier. Makes it easier
to re-pack them as well.

Add specialty tools for the engine (29 HP Yanmar diesel and a small diesel
gen set)

Cable cutters that can actually cut up to 1/4" stainless cable and
"BB" chain links.

Come-Alongs A couple of smaller ones and a honkin' heavy duty one.
I think I want another big one specifically for hauling in chain anchor rode.
Use them like nippers to the capstan - like in the days of wooden ships (and
iron men).

ratchet straps - 1-1/2" and 2" strap - in various lengths, but a few extra
long ones that can go all the way around the hull.

"Yankee" screwdriver with extra flat and Phillips blades.

A hand operated drill - (brace?)

Several sizes of fine files for smoothing nicks in aluminum mast or boom.

Multimeters and light bulb style continuity testers.

Power tools are a problem.
In emergencies you might not have power to run them!

So I have two Ryobi battery powered hand drills and 4 batteries.
(on aboard and one at home - but if we go cruising, both will go)

Two (hand powered) wood saws and a hack saw with extra blades.

Line and cable tools.
Fid and rope splicing tools.
Cable clamps for the rigging cables, nicopress tool (big squeeze - not the
little bolt operated one), thimbles, collars, etc.

Epoxy sticks that cure underwater - 1 dozen.

We have no pneumatic tools at all on the boat - yet.
Not sure we will - but time will tell.

If we move her down to the coast, I plan to add a small Honda generator
(~3000 watts) and a tiny Honda gas powered pump - 1" hose (from Northern Tools).

These are portable life insurance.

Even though they are gasoline powered. The outboard on the dinghy is gas too,
so there is already some gasoline aboard. (outside - on the fan tail - with
extinguishers handy!)

Still looking at a Hooka or "super snorkel" set up for working on the
bottom. Gas powered? or Electric? The electric one draws 830 watts
(10.5 amps - 120vac 60 cycle) I think that's the stopper on electric.

On and on, the list grows longer and heavier...

The question, of course, is what will you actually NEED - vs want.
They are quite different.

Richard

First off since I didn't see the original post, are we talking hobby
workshop or fix the boat in the middle of nowhere shop, as they have
quite different requirements.

Second off, on your hookah setup, in the interest of saving space and
weight, I'd suggest you home-brew this one as a combo unit, combining a
small Honda gas engine with both a small water pump and a small oilless
air compressor with filter to feed the hookah. This should save weight
over two separate units. For the hoohah part you just need a suitable
oilless compressor with filter, and a normal SCUBA second stage
regulator on a long hose.

Also, 830W is 6.9A, not 10.5A which is probably starting surge. Either
way, a Honda EU2000i will run that, My EU2000i runs my camper A/C of
similar spec just fine.