The West Marine tool kit was one of 11 pre- ûpackaged sets we examined. Only the Sears ûCraftsman is not designated for marine use, ûbut its tools are superior to those in most of ûthe other sets.

While running to a nighttime fishing spot last fall in our 22' test boat, the all-around white navigation light went out. Loosening and tightening the base of the pole upon which the light is mounted had solved the problem before, but this time it was stuck and couldn’t be unscrewed by hand.

So we stopped the boat and pulled out the $40 West Marine toolkit (model #290058) we had plucked impulsively from the shelves while fitting out the boat. Its 10" Channellock-style (or tongue-and-groove) pliers seemed like a good match for the job, but they failed us miserably. Every time we tried to clasp the pole’s base and rotate it,…