Tricks of the tools
If there are two power tools that every boat owner should have on board they’re a battery drill and a multi-tool. Here’s why...
Using a drill to power your winch
Electric winches are really useful. I have one on the boat but I have five other manual winches, which are great but take a lot of effort to wind them – especially with the big sails on board GDY Kids. I started to look around and came across an old handheld electric drill made by Milwaukee. But it was big and extremely heavy. All my power tools are powered by an 18V Makita battery, and I have a charger that serves them all. I called Makita and told them I wanted to use a drill to turn my winch. They were surprised, but I listed my power requirements, and they suggested a new brushless motor drill they’d developed which might work.
I bought the adapters – the winch bits – from a manufacturer in the US. The good thing about the drill is that it comes with a very long handle that I can put on, giving me resistance to the turn, because it is very, very powerful!
Believe it or not, it works like a dream, and altogether the drill cost $170 compared to the cost of thousands for an electric winch!
It’s fast – too fast! In ten seconds I can hoist someone up the mast so you need to control the speed. It’s reversible, too, which is handy if you’re using a two-speed winch and need to change direction. It also has an LED lamp so you can see where the winch is in the middle of the night.
I recommend keeping your power tools in separate bags. Wait for the sales, then you can buy a whole load of bags for just a few dollars each from any hardware store.
The multi-tool that even surgeons use!
The other tool I love is my oscillating multi-tool. Attaching a new blade is really easy. In my former life I invented medical technologies for orthopedic surgery. They used tools exactly like this to cut bones! Surgeons like them because they are very safe. On a boat you can use them for polishing and cutting all sorts of different things. Mine uses the same battery as my drill so it’s very convenient and does a wonderful job.