Spare Parts to Keep Onboard for Emergencies

Stocking up for fall and winter cruising can be challenging. With fluctuating temperatures and a variety of weather conditions, cruisers need to have the right gear and their summer and winter wardrobe changes. For all the effort put into provisioning and supplies, it’s imperative the captain doesn’t forget to pack the spare parts as well.

One of the things I hear most often from Great Loop and Bahama-bound cruisers is how their plans and schedules change due to waiting for delivery of some of the most common, easy-to-store and easy-to-replace parts. When you’re in remote locations or trying to keep up with a group of other boaters, that’s the time your alternator, drive belt, impeller or other critical component fails. It is frustrating to know that if you just had that spare part, you wouldn’t be waiting at the dock for an extra week for it to arrive in the mail.

This past spring, I was helping a friend replace his Northern Lights generator raw water pump. We took off the sound shield covers to access the pump and noticed a coolant leak from the engine coolant pump. As we examined the leak, it looked like he would need to order a pump, gaskets, gasket sealer and more.

As he and I discussed the delays this would cause, he pulled out his “Spares” notebook and looked up the Generator section and then the Cooling category. He scrolled down and found the coolant pump, gaskets and tools required. He had the part number, quantity and location of where he had a spare water pump on board.

This wasn’t really a high failure item, so I was impressed that he had the part. I was even more impressed with the organiza- tion of his Spares notebook and the detail for each item on board, along with where he could find it. Once we replaced the coolant pump and raw water pump, he ordered another spare for each item used to restock the spares supply.

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Assess & Organize

Like my friend, captains should take time to examine their spare part inventories and consider what items to stock or restock for an uninterrupted cruising season. But how do you know what items to bring and what to stock or not stock, especially with limited storage space for provisions, clothing and other gear for the season?

Luckily, it’s not hard to come up with a spares inventory nowadays. With so many resources on the internet, a captain can produce an easy-to-use spares list with the item name, part number, quantity on board and storage location.

I recommend starting with a notebook and sheet of paper or a spreadsheet with similar headings below. Using an online tool of choice to capture the list makes it easy to search for parts and location.

To answer the question of what to bring, I included a common short list, but using simple criteria helps captains make a more granular decision. Every captain should have a plan of where they intend to cruise in terms of location, amount of time and distances to travel.

If you know that fluid and filter changes will be required during the trip, then make sure you bring the supplies needed. Likewise, if cruising to places that may be short on boat parts or with your type and brand of boat, then bring the list of critical and proprietary parts that may be necessary.

Both a visual inspection or inventory as well as the owner’s manual recommendations should be captured in either a spreadsheet or notebook with some key information to track the parts once they are ordered and arrive.

A sample list of spares that most boats should carry are outlined below. The more complex the boat, the more spares will likely be required.

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Critical Spares

• Oil, transmission fluid and coolant; hydraulic fluid if separate hydraulic system

• Filters (primary and secondary) fuel, and oil for each engine

• Impellers for both generator and main engine

• Hoses and belts, clamps for all size hoses on board

• Miscellaneous screws, bolts and nuts

• Hydraulic fittings and plugs

• Spare bulbs for navigation lights, exterior and interior spaces

• Freshwater, washdown and raw water pumps for boat systems

• Engine coolant and raw water pumps for generator and main engine

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Tools

• Various size wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers and wire cutters

• Allen and torque wrenches as needed

• Duct tape, safety tape and zip ties

• Specialized tools like impeller pullers, filter wrenches and manufacturer recommended tools

• Plumper tools such as pipe wrenches, Teflon tape and spare fittings as needed

The ability to fix the most common failures on your boat is one of the great feelings as a captain. But it feels even better when you diagnose the problem, look into your spares inventory and actually have the part to fix the problem. There is value in your spares inventory as you enjoy your boat. There is also value in the inventory when you sell your boat, so don’t skimp on having the right spares on board this cruising season.