• PLB - Personal Locator Beacon. Not overly expensive; it will send a signal up to satellites with my position and a distress call. I have never (thankfully) had to use it, but I'm not going to be one of those lost at sea with no one having any idea where I am.
• Hand-held VHF radio - This is a good backup for boats that have one (especially if they don't have one in the cockpit and you have to hail the marina for your slip assignment) and a must-have for boats that don't have one.  I keep the charger with it in case I need to top up the batteries.
  
• Sailing knife - ropes are made by twisting strands and, thus, will coil around extremities.  Having a sailing knife with you (and on you connected with a lanyard) is not only handy, but can cut you loose if you get tangled in a line or need to cut a line free in an emergency.  This comes out of the bag and attaches to my belt every sail. Once I'm back on shore, it goes back in the bag.
  
• Small First Aid Kit - I like knowing that if I need some first aid, the supplies are there, in good condition, and not expired.  I added some ibuprofen, Benadryl (for allergic reactions), and seasick meds.  Not a lot of each as I rarely need them, but I'm glad they are there when I do.
  
• Flashlight - I grab it when jumping in the dinghy. Too many times I hear, "we'll be back before dark" and then find that my flashlight is what gets us back to the boat safely.  Also, I know it works, where it is, and how to get to it quickly.
• Binoculars - I keep a small Celestron pair of binoculars (there is a nice compact one) in my bag.  I was on a charter and the boat did not have any and we were in a high traffic area. Mine came in handy. On boats with binoculars, this provides a second set of eyes and I'm not fighting anyone to see what's out there.
• Sailing gloves - actually, they are finger-less work gloves from Home Depot.  After having a sheet get yanked through my hands in a storm and causing severe rope burn, I ALWAYS wear gloves. 
• Sailing hat - I keep a Tilly hat that is waterproof and has a brim that unsnaps to cover my ears.  It also has a chin strap and a strap for the back of the head so it doesn't get blown off.  It's needed to keep sunburn and sunstroke at bay.
• Light windbreaker - I picked up a Marmot windbreaker that just breaks the wind and keeps out the rain and sun. I wear it when I get chilly at the helm from the wind, but the temperature is still hot.  It rolls up nicely and fits easily into the bag.
• Sunglasses - For when I forget my usual glasses.
• Glasses keeper - to keep my glasses on my head.
• Camp towel - this very compact towel is great when you need to dry off from a rain or errant wave. This is more a "nice to have", but is so small and light I threw it in the bag.
• Headlamp flashlight - another "nice to have", but helpful if you need light but you need your hands to work on something.
• Spare battery pack - I use this to ensure my mobile phone will work when I need it.  It also can charge via solar.  It is primarily in there so I have power for my phone in the event I need to use my phone for navigation.  Not all boats have chart plotters!  I also have appropriate USB cables to charge my phone.
  
• Multi-tool - another "nice to have" but I'm finding that it comes in really handy on other people's boats when you find they don't have any tools on board!
  

Some years back, I was sailing with my good friend, Skip (that's him on the left). He is the guy who got me into sailing and we ended up going into a boat together. We purchased a 1985 O'Day 35 sloop.  I still have her, though we moved her to Boston from Lake Michigan when I moved out East.

We would do destination sails around the holidays to maximize our vacation time. Upon coming back from Sheboygan, WI on our way to Milwaukee, WI, Skip noticed the bilge was running every 15 minutes. Normally, our bilge would run twice a day.

We were motoring back because I have a deal with Poseidon.  Anytime I wanted to do a destination sail, he would cease all wind OR put it on the nose.  This was one of the times he just killed the wind. To this day, I don't know what I did to offend Poseidon...

Skip has been sailing since he was 14 out of Marina Del Rey, CA I think. Anyway, he was the older, wise sailor from whom I got my sailing bug and most of my experience the first few years. He was the one that made sure we had a survey when we purchased the boat and played "bad guy" while I negotiated the price.  So when he said the bilge shouldn't be running that much, I listened.  

So we slowed down and I took a look in the bilge and engine compartment. The stuffing box was dripping like it should and I could see the damp trail as it rolled from that, under the engine and into the bilge.  Frankly, I couldn't see anything.

This took about 25 minutes and Skip reported that the bilge had not run while I was down there. Cool. So up I went to the cockpit. We resumed speed and silently mused on that for a bit.

Well, 15 minutes later, the bilge ran again.  Skip called it out and said he wanted to take a look. So we reduced speed (and engine noise so we could communicate) and he went down to look. He checked the same things I did and saw the same things I did.  This is where Skip was brilliant.

He called up to resume speed. I resumed our speed to almost six knots.  Then I heard Skip yell "slow down!" I did that. Then he called to speed up.  Then to slow down.  And then he came up.

"One of the thru-hulls is leaking. I think it is the one tied to the scuppers." The scuppers ie drains from the cockpit, take water that gets in the cockpit and drains out to the sea via a hose connected to a thru-hull fitting.  That thru-hull is above water unless we motor over 5kts.  Then the stern squat brings the stern down and covers the thru-hull opening which lets the water in.  So we reduced our speed and the bilge was quiet.

Upon arriving in Milwaukee, I squeezed to where I could get to the hose under the cockpit all the way at the stern. It was then that I found that I can get a little claustrophobic... Anyway, I tugged on the hose and it FELL OFF.  Now I can see daylight through the thru-hull fitting.  Basically, I have a hole in the boat just above the water line.

One of the things the surveyor said when we bought the boat was that there was only one clamp on the hoses on the thru-hulls and there should be two to ensure no leaks.  Well, that was one of those items that wasn't high on our list to deal with and here it was biting us in the backside. In all honesty, we really didn't think that the second clamp was a "need to have". Note to self; review the survey and address any other issues and don't be cocky!

Fortunately, we had a couple of clamps and I was able to overcome my claustrophobic feelings and add the second clamp and secure the hose back onto the fitting, tightening both clamps. I went to the starboard side and pulled on that hose and, it too, fell off. So I added a clamp and secured that.  

What I learned; pay attention to the survey. There is a reason we pay good money for that information. Be persistent.  Once the bilge stopped I figured it was just a weird anomaly. Skip was not so easily satisfied. Also, connecting the speed of the vessel to the source of the bilge issue was great troubleshooting. Even though you might assume that there can be no connection, Skip realized that we were moving slower when the bilge stopped going off. That was brilliant. We've been friends a long time, and I think of him as the "Old Man of the Sea".  I often forget that he is also renown neuroscientist!...

For those of you using BoatProject, we have a template called "Survey Inspection Items". To view this or to copy it to your vessel, add a project, choose "From Template" and type "Survey Inspection" in the search field.

Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments below. We'd love to hear from you! Rich