I was talking to a friend of mine at a party about how many tools he had on board his boat. The conversation turned to tool storage. I was very glad to tell him all about how the Veto Pro Pac MC tool bag was the end of my long search for a perfect solution. This reminded me that I had intended to write a review and ask others about their tool storage.
Here we go. All links are provided for convenience only. I am not affiliated with any of the companies or products.
This bag has room for all the normal hand tools needed on a boat and is not too big or bulky to find a place to live. I had tried others, like Husky and Custom Leather Craft. These were nice bags too; they just did not do everything I wanted. I wanted it to be closable without having to rearrange the tools, stand up on its own and have easy access to the tools without digging through it. I looked at the XL models and they seem to be very large. I wish I had known about Veto Pro Pac when I was a remodeling carpenter. The larger bags would have been great. Anyway, the MC fits my needs very well. It is extremely tough and is very well built. The water proof bottom is perfect for a boat tool bag. The rest of it is very water tight as well. It has been dowsed in water several times and nothing got wet inside. I don’t think it would protect against full submersion for long periods but it would probably do well if dropped in the water and retrieved quickly.
The only drawback to this bag that I have found is the retail availability. It took me a long time to locate a dealer in Houston, Texas that actually carried the full line. I buy a lot of things on line but, if you are like me, you want to see it and put your hands on it before spending the extra money it takes to get one. I finally found the whole line at Tommy Tool Hardware. You can’t find this quality bag at Home Depot or West Marine. Yes, they are pricy but worth every penny.
I can highly recommend the Veto Pro Pac MC bag. I would have more than one of the various sizes if I did not live on a boat.
Here are some pictures of the bag next to a Ryobi drill for size comparison.
What tool storage do you have on your boat?
I have 3 tool boxes. Box one is for general tools. Box 2 is for socket set, wrenches etc. The third is actially a zipable lunch box.bag which carries the most often used tools. These tend to be smaller tools and lives in the chart table area of our E42.
Since we live aboard in the Caribbean, there is always something to tinker with.
I carried more than that in stainless screws, nuts, bolts,etc. I had a spare motor from which I carried a spare transmission,starter, heat exchanger, water pumps, etc. ((Not the motor)) When we quit sailing Consort I sold enough parts to purchase a new car to tow behind the MH. Under the settees and below the drawers is storage and on the stbd is a removable panel that access a seldom used storage that runs the length of the settee. I raised the waterline twice.
Thanks for the info. I am using the storage under the settees for spares as well. The tool bag is just the tip of the iceberg. I plan to write about the aft shower conversion soon where I store my stainless screws, power tools, shop vac and more.
How did you come to have a spare motor for the boat?
We too converted tge aft shower inti tool and spares storage, because as good as the E42 is, there isn’t enough space for stuff. We removed the grab rails and used them as the handles for the boxes.
We also added two dock boxes to the aft cabin roof to house mooring lines, liquid spares and the Honda genset.