Category Archives: Backup Equipment and Tools

What’s In Your Toolbox?? How about self gripping tweezers??

I’ve packed long nose tweezers in the toolbox for quite a while. It’s easy to spot jobs under deck of the boat where mere fingers will not do.

At the Club last Sunday I happened to see these in use – narrow nose self gripping tweezers. Ideal. You see those little ratchet surfaces near the thumb grips – that’s how they lock themselves closed.

It’s funny how you can assume tools like this must be really pricey. If you look on amazon you’ll find them for around £6-£7 a time. Amazingly from the Amazon fishing tackle section. Dead cheap frankly. You can get them in differing lengths 6, 8, 10 inches and more. I figure that as well as self gripping, the sheer lengthy if these is dead useful. Takes up very little space in the toolbox either.

If you have a Marblehead anyway, this is a way to work in those long thin under the deck situations.

What’s In Your Toolbox? How do you cut dyneema cleanly??

A candidate for the beginner’s toolbox?

Have you tried cutting dyneema with a nice clean finish? It’s pretty difficult… when you try to slice it sort of scoots down the blade.

It seems the answer is “dyneema scissors”. Try keying that into amazon and see what you get…. quite a few!! It seems that the scissor blades have slight serrations – and that helps hold the dyneema in place as you cut.

Don’t Mix Aluminium and Stainless Steel.. and a New Verb

I think this is pretty well known isn’t it??

A fellow new member, SM, at Datchet had a December problem of being unable to remove his rig after racing and put it down to a possible corrosion at the mast step. It is conceivable isn’t it? I’ve attached a little article about it below.

SM also introduced me to a new verb, as in “I had to dremel it out”. This got me going, I must admit. It turns out that a dremel is a little re-chargeable battery powered multitool – all sorts of bits and drills can go on the end. There’s a few different brands with similar, but not a bad thing for at least one club member to have in his car boot on a race day. About £40-£50….

Try this link below. Could be good birthday present idea!

https://www.cromwell.co.uk/shop/power-tools/multi-tools/7760-15-multi-tool-electric-8000-25000opm-3-6v/p/DRE2672764F?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIoPLb64ndgwMV1YlQBh0XmwnGEAQYAiABEgLmMPD_BwE