The Gift from Practical Boyfriends
By Jeannine Patané • 1 May 2007

     One of my friends believes I have an interesting string of boyfriends, and her favorite muse out of the lot is described as, “The Swedish potato farmer.” It’s been many years since I’ve dated Nils, but the gift he gave me for our first Christmas together has been continually on my mind.
     Nils gave me a finish hammer and a chisel. The present may be odd to most, but I was tickled to get tools. He explained the choice; “You’ll use these two tools the most when you build your house. You’ll use them for almost everything.”
     I'll be damned if he wasn't right. Now I find myself using a chisel for almost every project on the yacht. When I first came aboard, I was asked to do carpentry projects, yet there was no proper set of chisels in the tool locker. It’s a basic hand tool that every boat should have. Miguel, the chief engineer, and I went on a tool and supply procurement run. I dropped a few essential items into the shopping cart that would not only help me but should also benefit the boat and crew for future projects.

“We’ve been doing so much with so little for so long, that sooner or later, we’ll be able to do anything with nothing at all.” —Keith P.

     You would think that a boat worth millions and an owner worth billions would have an ideal tool locker to accommodate the vessel’s needs. That’s not the case for most boats, though. Trades people or yard workers do most renovation work while the boat is on the dry, so boats generally don’t have the need or space for elaborate tool collections.
     In my case, I was going underway as crew/handywoman, tackling plumbing, air con ducting and carpentry between my watch keeping and engine room checks. This is a great way to think ingeniously and make do with what you have, and a hammer and chisel can take you a long way.