PREPARING FOR GEAR FAILURE
With Rubicon 3’s fleet of expedition yachts covering around 60,000 miles each year between them, I learned the hard way which systems are likely to fail. They broadly fall into two categories: things that should or shouldn’t move; and things that should or shouldn’t be wet.
Things that should move
Anything which has moving parts can eventually wear out. Pumps and electric motors are two of the most common pieces of equipment to fail. A seized electric motor isn’t serviceable at sea, so we carry spares and swap out the whole unit. It can be expensive investing in spare water pumps, starter motors and alternators, but if you’re cruising remotely you’ll save money in the long run by not having to ship parts around the world.
The rubber parts of diaphragm pumps will also degrade over time, becoming brittle.
Things that shouldn’t move
There are many things on board which aren’t designed to move, but with time, corrosion and frequent loading and unloading become loose. Deck hardware, spars and standing rigging are often susceptible to crevice or galvanic corrosion.
These items are expensive and difficult to replace so your best approach is to maintain them well, ensure that you have redundancy in the system and carry materials for jury-rigging.
Having a supply of soft shackles and a length of Dyneema will provide a short-term solution to many issues.
Chafe is always an issue. A spare halyard could be used for many different jobs. Hoses and electrical cables in engine bays are often damaged too. A cheap hose connector can be used to join damaged sections and lengths of electrical cable could get you out of trouble.
Things which should be wet
Any impeller-driven pump needs to run wet. A blockage on the inlet will result in a shredded impeller, so spares are essential. Wherever possible, carry the full pump service kits.
These include paper gaskets, spare cover plate screws in case you drop one in the bilge and a seal kit, as well as the impeller. Other things needing lubrication include windlasses, winch parts, the stern gland and rudder bearings.
You can’t always carry spares for all of these but regular servicing will identify parts which need replacing before they fail.
Things which should be dry
The biggest cause of electrical failure on a yacht is corrosion from the damp, salty environment. There’s only so much we can do about this once we’re out there: the time when you notice your deck fittings are leaking usually isn’t the time to start re-bedding them.
You need a good supply of cable terminals, waterproof grease and (dare I say it?) duct tape, so that you can stem a leak and make good any corroded connections until there’s an opportunity for a longer-term fix.
handheld GPS in case your chartplotter fails; beefy chain plates and spare mast-head halyards to replace standing rigging; ways to charge your batteries should your engine fail.
Some items on board are almost impossible to source in the average chandlery. The more expensive engine spares are one of them: alternators, starter motors, head gaskets. They may not be things you’d replace yourself, but they are things a good mechanic could fit for you if you can provide the parts.
It’s easy to forget the accessories which make up the whole job, focussing on the big-ticket items. If you’re changing out an injector you also need to replace the copper washer it sits on. Wherever possible carry the spare part and its accompanying accessories like O-rings and gaskets.
It’s worth having a supply of emergency ‘bodge it’ items like plywood, Sikaflex, epoxy and glassfibre matting. Underwater setting epoxy is particularly useful, for obvious reasons… If you’re cruising remotely ask your local GRP specialist to put together an emergency pack for you.
Self reliance
The spares you carry need to reflect what’s available on shore. In the Solent you can source most things within 24 hours; in Northern Europe, the Med and the Caribbean you’re never too far from a good chandlery, but it may be a few days away. Once you venture further afield to the high latitudes, South America or the Pacific you need to be much more self-reliant.
To help you identify which spares you need, we’ve grouped them by three areas: coastal, where you have good facilities ashore; offshore, where you may be a few days away from support; and remote, where it might take weeks for parts to arrive.
The most important thing you carry isn’t your spares, however, it’s your tool kit and your skillset. Without them many of your spares will be useless. Invest in the right training and equipment and it’ll save you time and money in the long run.
If there’s one thing I’ve learnt about the inventory though, it’s that it will never be complete.
We can never carry everything we need for all the disasters we might face, but ingenuity and imagination will often provide what our stores cannot. After all, the wisdom of the inventory is not knowing what we do need but removing what we don’t. Anything superfluous makes the important stuff harder to find.
Sailing is an exercise in minimalism: consciously and unconsciously when we set off from land we’ve already made the edit. There’s no room for sentimentality on board, we take with us what we need.
So start your tools and spares inventory by making a pile of what you don’t need and you’ll start to see what’s important. I’m starting with those 14mm spanners.