What spare do you carry?

[Simi 60]

. Why would I want to spend a bunch of time installing an old part I know I'm gonna have to take out and replace in a few days?
BD

You could use the same argument on replacing "wear items" in the first place
Why would I take off a working part and replace it when.....
In my 50 years I have only ever had one fan belt break
I have never had a hose split
I have never had an engine cause trouble because its oil and filter wasn't changed on the hour
I have never had a fuel filter blockage.

Why then should I carry spares and be concerned?

 

[Lou_tribal]

You could use the same argument on replacing "wear items" in the first place
Why would I take off a working part and replace it when.....
In my 50 years I have only ever had one fan belt break
I have never had a hose split
I have never had an engine cause trouble because its oil and filter wasn't changed on the hour
I have never had a fuel filter blockage.

Why then should I carry spares and be concerned?

Maybe because sometimes sh*t happens and better be ready than worry

L

 

[mvweebles]

There are only a few highly critical items for a diesel. Water pump shafts do occasionally break, probably due to crevice corrosion at the seal after sitting for a long time. When it does break, will be under load and you won't have much time to shut down without damage. More common are leaking seals and diaphragms (lift pump) that can also ruin your day.

Not everything falls into category of run new and put old into spares, but engine pumps certainly do, as does a starter motor. Hoses and belts do too. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

As mentioned early in this thread, I recently had a DOA [new] macerator pump - having no way to empty a holding tank for even a few days let alone a couple weeks (more remote location) is a problem . Having stuff like that happen definitely altered my approach to carrying vs installing spares. But to each their own. Many morning cruiser nets start with someone looking for a spare something or other.

Peter

 

[FF]

"How often do you replace impellers? Why does a car impeller last forever?"

One virtue of keel cooling is the engine factory water pump seldom needs repair.

Much of the horror of rubber impeller pumps can be solved with a Y strainer installed AFTER the pump, so it catches the pump debris as it fails. Works for noisemakers too.

 

[mvweebles]

"How often do you replace impellers? Why does a car impeller last forever?"

One virtue of keel cooling is the engine factory water pump seldom needs repair.

Much of the horror of rubber impeller pumps can be solved with a Y strainer installed AFTER the pump, so it catches the pump debris as it fails. Works for noisemakers too.

As an observation, some boats with keel cooling still have wet exhausts and thus do not avoid the issue of impellors. Many recreational trawlers with dry-stack exhaust have massive blowers to evacuate heat so you're swapping one failure item (impellors) for another (blowers).

BTW - attached is a picture of the guts of a typical coolant recirc pump on a car. It's a vane pump vs an impellor pump. Much different animal as it relies on centrifugal force vs displacement change via a malleable impellor. Vane pumps are also used in AC "March" magnetic pumps. I am not sure why they are not used as raw water pumps except to say the engine manufacturer has no idea whether it will be mounted below waterline. To be fair, one burp of air on a vane pump risks killing the prime.

Peter

 

[O C Diver]

Two years ago I ordered a replacement lift pump for my Perkins 4.236 from TAD. They have my engine serial number and all the particulars. Pump came and had all the right numbers to it. Looked like the right pump until I tried to install it. Wasn't off by much, but enough. Similar issue with the stop solenoid assembly and bracket the year before. Doesn't happen often, but it does happen.

Classic risk assessment. Probability of a mismatched spare is fairly low. If you're cruising the ICW and staying in marinas, the impact is pretty low. Venture far afield, the impact grows substantially. Just depends on your appetite for risk.

Peter

I get the theoretical need in your mind set to keep the worn out, 10 year old lift pump because your new one may not fit. What I can't abide is you cruising down the Baja peninsula on a used worn out lift pump because a new one (in addition to your worn out one), took up so much extra space in your boat. I'm trying to visualize you crossing the Columbia River bar with confidence knowing your single engine boat has a lift pump that you determined was no longer reliable.

Ted

 

[mvweebles]

I get the theoretical need in your mind set to keep the worn out, 10 year old lift pump because your new one may not fit. What I can't abide is you cruising down the Baja peninsula on a used worn out lift pump because a new one (in addition to your worn out one), took up so much extra space in your boat. I'm trying to visualize you crossing the Columbia River bar with confidence knowing your single engine boat has a lift pump that you determined was no longer reliable.

Ted

As written before, my boat sat for 12+ years with very little use before I decided to finally set off to Ensenada. The Perkins 4.236 itself dates from the 1980's (no idea why it was replaced). With exception of a slight 'lope' at idle, engine ran just fine. But I decided to replace all hoses (and clamps), belts, and pumps. Not rebuild them, but replace with new from TAD. In all fairness, the pumps for this engine are not too expensive - raw water pump is around $450, lift pump is under $100, coolant re-circ pump is around $200 as I recall.

So while my spares are now items I prophylactically replaced, I have every expectation to believe they would provide continued service, just not as long as new. I suppose that if I one failed and I were in a convenient place to have one shipped from TAD, I'd get another new one. If not, I could install the old spare and have the new part shipped at my next convenient port.

Given my trip of 500 nms from San Francisco to Mexico non-stop on an old boat that had sat unused for years, I doubt anyone would argue the logic of proactively replacing all pumps even though they were operating fine. At some point, maybe 7-years down the road, I'll do it again just because, as you say, there'd be strong reason to believe the spare pumps - now over 20-years old and having sat for many years, would fail due to aged seals and such.

I'm sure this speaks more to my mechanical abilities than anything, but I have not had the best of luck with rebuilding pumps, otherwise it would make sense to rebuild them before putting them into spares' inventory.

Peter

 

[BDofMSP]

You could use the same argument on replacing "wear items" in the first place
Why would I take off a working part and replace it when.....
In my 50 years I have only ever had one fan belt break
I have never had a hose split
I have never had an engine cause trouble because its oil and filter wasn't changed on the hour
I have never had a fuel filter blockage.

Why then should I carry spares and be concerned?

The correspondence to my statement makes no sense to me, so perhaps I was unclear. I'm absolutely advocating for proactive maintenance. Why? Because I have a part that is known to wear, and I want to replace it when it's convenient for me and before any damage occurs. Doing that is a pain in the butt (for me) so I'd like to do it just once rather than twice.

My spare belt is another identical new belt, not the old one I took off from before. Because if it breaks at sea and I need to replace it, the effort is the same to replace it with a new one that I can count on vs an old one that I know darn well is at the end of its lifespan, so I'll have to do the job yet again soon.

The PO to my boat had a horde of old impellers, belts, hoses and such cluttering up the ER. I threw them all away and bought new ones. And yes I verified the replacements.
BD

BD

 

[Hippocampus]

Peter points to a different mindset which is common among cruisers. Will explain using sail which I’m more familiar with but it’s the same with power.
You see coastal boats with original standing rigging. Sections replaced when they look bad. Blue water it’s replaced in its entirety every 7 years regardless of what it looks like if wire and 10 years if rod. The thinking is you can’t see all crevice corrosion nor know break strength. Failure in weather is catastrophic. Similarly there’s a service life for power and any mechanical device. Regardless of how my engine is running the turbo comes off and is serviced on schedule. A rebuild or replacement occurs. I don’t care how my impellers look. They’re cheap. Picking bits of vanes out of the cooling system is something I can’t do underway so impellers are changed every other oil change. My mixing elbow is taken off and examined as is siphon breaks. Heat exchanger flushed. You get the thinking. You try to replace or service things BEFORE they fail.
This thread speaks to spares you use when things break. But most cruisers think of spares they need for preventative maintenance. I replace belts when I see wear or dust. It doesn’t matter if I see that down east coastal Maine or in Bequia. I’ve never had a belt break. I’ve replaced belts when I thought the alternator output was going down. Belt looked fine when in place. Could have just moved the bracket for more tension but replaced it. When off and compared to new saw a few cracks and it was stretched a wee bit. Different attitude when it’s difficult to get parts or impossible. When you leave on passage you’re usually set up with everything. It’s when you’re coastal you are more likely to get complacent and end up waiting for parts.

 

[psneeld]

The word practical may be an alternative word to complacent.


I have had belts last forever and relatively new ones de-laminate shortly after install...


Which is worse a belt breaking in the middle of a long passage at sea? Or in a nasty, rocky inlet on a coastal cruise?


You never know when something will go. My starter on a engine rebuild went after less than 1000 hrs, this one is going on 3000. How do you know when things will fail?


I believe some airlines and last I heard USCG aviation was using vibration analysis to determine the life expectancy of some parts. It is way more effective than "time", plus often resulted in less maintenance man hours changing and wasting valuable parts.


So sure, if something looks bad or has some indication of an issue...absolutely...but many parts are designed to go much longer than I hear many using them and all too often...a replacement at some point falls way short of it's expected lifespan.



After years of commercial service and seeing from obsessive to lackadaisical maintenance routines, without some form of determination other than "time".... it's mostly a crap shoot. So complacency in my book isn't the only description and not appropriate in every case.

 

[Iggy]

I have not read every single post.

But I do carry tools and extra parts. I also carry an extra chartplotter just in case the boat gets hit by lighting. Its an older unit that I keep in a box.

 

[rslifkin]

The word practical may be an alternative word to complacent.


I have had belts last forever and relatively new ones delaminate shortly after install...


Which is worse a belt breaking in the middle of a long passage at sea? Or in a nastly, rocky inlet on a coastal cruise?

Definitely option 2. You'll never entirely avoid failure risk, but for things like belts, replacing periodically at least avoids the end of life failures. There's always a risk of the new part being defective though. Items like belts that are easy to inspect get a condition check while I'm doing fluid checks before the first start of the day.

Spare-wise, with things like a belt, I install my spare at replacement time and then put a new one into the spares storage (after confirming the new one is identical to the spare I'm using).

 

[psneeld]

True but it is still a guessing game on many parts that some change every other oil change and yet others get several to a half dozen years out of them.


Oil changes are like hours in that many boaters conform to a schedule...but some change often, some not so much...so which is the "practical" gauge?



Also...some, probably most system failures are really more annoyance than dangerous...so even prioritizing (that will vary from vessel to vessel) is "practical".

 

[AusCan]

My spares are similar to most others. A few additional items I have on board are a spare damper plate, auto pilot, solar regulator, gasket paper.
I also keep a very good selection of stainless nuts, bolts, washers, screws etc.

The most common failure item for me has been bilge pumps and switches. I don't leave the berth without a spare, even though I've added built in redundancy.

The last failure I had (yesterday), I didn't have a spare for. My windlass motor appears to have died. Further investigation required.

 

[slowgoesit]

"How often do you replace impellers? Why does a car impeller last forever?"

One virtue of keel cooling is the engine factory water pump seldom needs repair.

Much of the horror of rubber impeller pumps can be solved with a Y strainer installed AFTER the pump, so it catches the pump debris as it fails. Works for noisemakers too.

Another advantage of installing the strainer described above is that if you incorporate looking in the strainer basin as part of preflight, or better yet, after engine shut down, you don't have to wait for a rising engine temp to inform you that you need a new impeller. I helped a buddy troubleshoot his "new to him" boat some time ago. He got a significant price reduction because one of the engines ran really warm during sea trial. Owner was hesitant about WOT. It finally came out that that engine "always ran hotter" than the other engine. Not dangerously so, but a significant amount. Anyway, First thing we did after purchase was pull end cap off of heat exchanger, and you could have stocked a store shelf with all the part numbers we took out of that end cap! Removed all the blade parts, exchanger looked Bristol inside. Pulled end cap on other engine, and it had a similar amount, but just hadn't affected the engine temp as much. So around 5 hours of work total, including installing down stream strainers, solved his cooling issues. More than paid for by the price reduction he got!

I never ran into that problem with my first two boats, but then they both had keel coolers, which is my preferred setup. Unfortunately, the boat we are buying doesn't have keel coolers . . . Why don't more boats have them?!? I can't possibly see how they are more expensive than heat exchangers, raw water pump, etc.

 

[Cruising Sea Venture]

We carry approximately 650 different spare parts on Sea Venture. Probably overkill, but then again we have spent 2-3 months without seeing a dock. Really don't want to be 1,000 offshore and thinking "I wish I had". Mostly are spare parts have been used to help other boaters.

Maybe just as important, we maintain an Excel Spreadsheet with all the parts listed, what they are for, where they are kept, etc. It really helps when wondering "Do we have, and if so where?".

Many years ago we got what I think is really good advice relating to spare parts, and that was to install them. So if you have say, a spare starter, do not put the new starter in the spare parts storage, instead, install it on the boat and take the old starter and put in your spare parts storage. That way, you probably won't need the spare given the new one is on the boat, plus you will figure out all the tools you don't have to do the job, which bracket was moved on your engine, etc. and you will now be experienced in changing that part - so if you do have to do it when not planned, you will know exactly what you are in for.

All the best,
Jim Addington
M/V Sea Venture
www.CruisingSeaVenture.com

 

[High Wire]

It might be better to list the things that have failed in my last 6 years and 1400 hours.

Delco alternator internal voltage regulator drove volts up to 17.5 and I suspect ultimately killing a pair of 8D AGMs. Replaced with 105 amp ARCO alt and 6 golf cart batteries.

Alt belts. The new alt pulley took 10 MM belts and was slightly smaller diameter. They didn't last long pulling 105 amp. Changed pulley to 13 MM and increased diameter to the original 3 inch pulley. Now belts going 400 hours between adjustments.

Jabsco raw water pump seal leak was slow enough to replace pump at the dock.

Jabsco Electric macerating head. 2 heads failed twice. Heads replaced with Raritan, now have 3 orphan rebuild kits. Send me a PM if interested.
Perkins Exhaust adapter corroded after 36 years and leaked out all of the engine coolant. Pulled cyl head and replaced all valves, seals, springs, hoses and gaskets.

Westerbeke 8BTD would not start after storage. Ran ok going into storage. Found all 3 cylinders at 270 psi compression. New gen.

Simpson Lawrence windlass jammed trying to retrieve anchor during a blow. Something broke inside. Bolts would not come out to open it up. New windlass.

Jabsco holding tank macerator pump impeller. It stopped pumping when only 3 vanes were left out of 7. One occasion when I had an entire brand new identical spare replacement pump on board!

If I think of anything else, I'll add on here.

 

[Hippocampus]

Have the spreadsheet as well. Very helpful. Also have a list for suppliers in various cruising grounds and list (with critiques of whose good and who is not so much. All helpful techniques.
Beyond that have printed out the drawings of the boat with key things labeled as to location.
One for through hulls.
One for firefighting.
Another for key engine parts.
Another for Med supplies and inventory of them.
And so on.
Also for the typical schedule of watches.
These are posted at the nav station or on the salon TV.

Weeks before passage cook and vacuum bag one and one half times the expected food we with consume. They are bagged as individual servings and then laid down in layers in the freezers. There’s a list of what’s there and what date to be eaten and what with what sides. It’s taped up in the galley. There’s a snack food drawer for watch standers. Do to wanting to keep unfrozen bake goods intact they are the only thing not stored in a totally orderly fashion and put on top of other things but all lockers are labeled.
It’s the details that are a passage fun and stress free. Every trip I’ve learned a new trick from crew or from experience refined the way I do things. It’s an endless journey but great fun.

 

[mvweebles]

Mealtime will be a big difference between sail and power. For the most part, passages under power are pretty boring. Fuzzy slipper boring (Beebe aluded to this)l. Meals are a highlight. Vacuum bagged meals need not apply except under difficult conditions. If the Pilot Charts are close to correct, should be well under 10% of the passage. Otherwise, stew, beef stroganoff, muffins for breakfast, maybe a breakfast strada, strong coffee, fresh bread, you get the idea.

"What's for dinner?" is almost as hot a topic as when does the next NOAA/NWS synoptic wx charts roll in. I used to keep one onboard clock set at UTC just to catch the scheduled weather dispatches. Easier now than back in the Wx Fax days I suppose. But still, a highlight of the day.

Peter

 

[guy with a boat]

Weeks before passage cook and vacuum bag one and one half times the expected food we with consume. They are bagged as individual servings and then laid down in layers in the freezers. There’s a list of what’s there and what date to be eaten and what with what sides. It’s taped up in the galley. There’s a snack food drawer for watch standers. Do to wanting to keep unfrozen bake goods intact they are the only thing not stored in a totally orderly fashion and put on top of other things but all lockers are labeled.
It’s the details that are a passage fun and stress free. Every trip I’ve learned a new trick from crew or from experience refined the way I do things. It’s an endless journey but great fun.

Unless you are sailing or camping, you don’t need to eat frozen meals your whole trip. One of the many wonders of passage making under power is that you can cook full meals and eat fresh food. As Weebles said, meal prep is one of the ways to fill time when under way, and great food adds greatly to the pleasure of the trip. Trawlers can be very civilized and that’s a good thing.

 

[Hippocampus]

Totally agree food is important on so many levels. Especially for morale and socializing. Part of our crew intake includes food preferences and dislikes. We’ve tried to have at least one meal together daily as it’s often the best stories and discussions occur over a meal. Have found I eat better on passage then when not as the admiral pays so much attention to this cooking elaborate and complex meals. It’s not infrequent to have one person eating stroganoff while the others eat Indian with nan bread or have other mismatches. It’s not infrequent to have someone wanting two servings or just eat very lightly another time. Even skipping the main course. Have baked bread underway which gives a wonderful smell throughout the boat or cooked a roast. Still, have found on a short handed boat with people having different likes and dislikes our program has worked well. Have also found there’s morning doves and night owls which is reflected in when people want to eat. Although we try to match watch schedules to baseline circadian rhythms seems you always get people who want to eat later/earlier than the rest. Appreciate your sharing your experience about this. Life is continuous learning and evolution in your thinking. Thanks.

 

[PNW Drifter]

Spare tire. With me always!

 

[sailr1]

Spares

Interesting variety of parts are carried onboard. I am curious as to how these parts are protected onboard vs salt water environment, heat and humidity (corrosion, rust, shrinkage, etc.... thank you.

 

[DrissZougari]

Here is my short list of parts that are always on my boat (beside TowBoatUS, Tools and a Cell Phone);
-Spare impellers (x1 for generator, x1 engine impeller)
-Spare belts (x1 for generator, x11 engine)
-Fuel filters (x2 for Racor, x1 for engine, x1 generator))
-Oil filter (1 pair for engine)
-Oil (x1 gal for engine, x1 quart for generator)
-Coolant (x1 gal)
-Diesel (x1 gal)
-Steering fluid (x1 quart)
-Trans fluid (x1 quart)
-Assorted hose clamps, cable clamps, etc.
-Assorted light bulbs
-Assorted bits of wire
-Wiring connectors
-Assortment of hardware
-Stuffing box packing (and packing extractor)
-Beer (x2 cases)

 

[backinblue]

Here is my short list of parts that are always on my boat (beside TowBoatUS, Tools and a Cell Phone);
-Spare impellers (x1 for generator, x1 engine impeller)
-Spare belts (x1 for generator, x11 engine)
-Fuel filters (x2 for Racor, x1 for engine, x1 generator))
-Oil filter (1 pair for engine)
-Oil (x1 gal for engine, x1 quart for generator)
-Coolant (x1 gal)
-Diesel (x1 gal)
-Steering fluid (x1 quart)
-Trans fluid (x1 quart)
-Assorted hose clamps, cable clamps, etc.
-Assorted light bulbs
-Assorted bits of wire
-Wiring connectors
-Assortment of hardware
-Stuffing box packing (and packing extractor)
-Beer (x2 cases)

Seems like a good inventory. Just curious how often you need any of it.

 

[garychurch]

Easy question - hard answer.

1. Maintenance - Generally one set of spare filters (gas’ oil and water) and 1-5 gallons of oil (engine, transmission, hydraulics). This assumes comprehensive maintenance (oil changes, etc.) is done at marinas and/or boatyards.

2. Critical Non Major Repair - This includes extra fuses, lights, plumbing fittings and parts. Miscellaneous nuts, bolts, screws, etc.

3. Critical Major Repair - Collision plugs and mats, impellers, voltage regulator, alternator, bilge pump(s), motors (water pump) - This depends on cruising agendas. Coastal areas not so much, trips to the Bahamas or Caribbean sometimes as much as you can afford or can carry.

4. Tools, tools, and more tools - Whatever you have parts for you need to have the right tools to repair or replace them. Cheap tools may be good for a one time use, but get good tools if you can afford them. And don’t forget to keep them cleaned and oiled. Salt air promotes rusty tools.

Good luck.

 

[slowgoesit]

Spare tire. With me always!

Just curious, where exactly do you install that Spare tire on your boat when the item it's a spare for fails?!?

 

[SteveK]

I have a multi screwdriver with all the bits, but last trip came to realise I am missing a single use robertson green handle, add to shopping list. sometimes it is quicker to have the right tool at hand instead of stopping to assemble it.

 

[OldDan1943]

SMILE We can have all the spares we want and need plus all the necessary tools but, on a 34ft boat, where do I put them and how do I remember where I put them? LOL

 

[Lollygag1]

$100 in $5's and 10's for tip money (fuel dock, pump out etc).