It is my contention that the difference between a house and a boat is that if something breaks at sea, you have three choices 1) fix it, 2) replace it, or 3) do without it. At home, you call the plumber. At sea, you need some basic tools to survive if you don 't want to do without.

In my opinion, WD-40 and duct tape are two essentials. According to the old adage, "If it doesn 't move and it should, use WD-40. If it moves and it shouldn 't, use duct tape." WD-40 restored our frozen steering column mid-Atlantic and duct tape held our dodger together in a gale when it broke apart.

According to one interesting website, WD-40, duct tape and vice grips can handle almost any household job. http://artofmanliness.com/2012/03/12/the-walt-kowalski-toolbox/. But what about on a boat?

What 's your favorite use for WD-40 and duct tape? And are there other secret or not-so-secret weapons in your arsenal?


Other secret weapons: gorilla glue, liquid wrench, barkeeper 's friend...

Vice Commodore, OCC 

There was a garage just north of Victoria, Vancouver Island, that used to post a saying of the week, to amuse its customers. My favourite was "If you can 't mend it with duct tape, then you haven 't used enough of it". Perfectly true.

I have two Maxwell hatches. The design of the catches is appalling. They leak when I 'm bashing to windward. Until I get around to making better catches, I duct tape some polythene over them before an offshore rough passage. If I remember.

You could add 3 in 1 oil to the list. I 've just serviced my winches, and it 's the best thing for the pawls.

You could also add Selley 's All-Clear sealant, if you 're anywhere near NZ or OZ. It will seal anything that silicon or sikaflex will, but unlike them it lasts forever in the tube. There must be a world-wide equivalent?