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The emergency fix drawer
If there is one certainty when sailing, it is that unexpected problems or gear failure will inevitably happen at the most inconvenient and potentially stressful moment imaginable. Very often a rapid ‘first aid’ response is needed to prevent an unfortunate situation becoming a serious threat to boat or crew.
When speed is of the essence, there is little time to hunt through lockers for appropriate tools or consumables to make an emergency repair. To give myself a fighting chance, I have a dedicated drawer, easily accessed close to the Nav Desk, filled with ‘quick fix’ items; tools, bits and pieces that will hopefully enable me to fashion a temporary, if rudimentary, solution to stem any immediate danger.
Within this ‘one-stop shop’ I keep a multi-tool, knife, and small ratchet screwdriver with assorted heads. Also included are tapes of all description (duck, electrical, gorilla), bungee cord (what can’t you fix with that?), lengths of line, seizing wire, batteries, and a couple of sail ties.
It may not be the neatest storage space on the boat, but I’m confident I can quickly find some form of suitable item to help remedy many, if not most, emergency situations.
Electrical and Gorilla tape can bodge a host of repairs, plus a range of other tapes, including sail tape
A small ratchet screwdriver with a variety of interchangeable bits covers most bases
A basic sewing kit for sails and canvas will stop rips becoming worse
Don’t forget plenty of batteries in all the sizes you use on board
It’s worth including a basic glue and epoxy kit for filling holes quickly, along with a spreader with which to apply them
Correct line set-up
Fairleads are designed to give your mooring line a fair lead. This fairlead is at risk of losing control of the stern spring which is trying to rise up out of the jaws. Running a
