Oh, and Smack, I would never leave the dock without glassfibre and resins to fix things. There are a heck of a lot of things that can be fixed with GRP.
Okay - point taken Oma. I'm not at all saying these things are useless or insignificant. I'm just saying that they are not
necessary to getting out and cruising - even for fairly extended periods - especially if you are going to be around areas where you can get help (Carib islands, etc.).
For example, how many square inches can a GRP kit (or how ever much material you carry) take care of? Is it sufficient (and intended) for fixing serious, life threatening problems that couldn't wait until you get to port where you could get help? Or is it more intended to fix stuff that just needs fixing but can wait a while?
I'm just trying to set some context here for people thinking about what it takes - minimally - to get into cruising up to a few weeks like the OP asked.
For example, the case Dog mentioned above for the underwater epxoy kit was in freakin' New Guinea! They hit a reef causing massive damage - the boat sunk - then an entire village helped re-float and cradle the boat while they airlifted in some supergoop.
Does anyone's current GRP kit cover that scenario? Should the cruiser have known how to build their own cradle out of kerosene wood with a machete in case the villagers had been busy during mango season? Should they have been carrying all the gear necessary to deal with rebuilding a hull on a reef?
It comes down to this: Should someone really not cruise until they have all these skills and gear? I mean, I know Pidgin - so I'm way ahead of the game when in PNG - but c'mon!
Then there's the "Dismasting of Maude" (sounds like a made-for-tv-movie). And the point Dog made was that she was only 200nm from her destination (essentially coastal cruising). Okay, but it sounds like it was a catastrophic rigging failure since the conditions were pretty benign. My assumption, therefore, is that if this were not Maude and instead was some poor cruising schlub, the point of the story would have been that he should have inspected his rigging prior to leaving Tallahassee and that he obviously had it coming. Again, not really a great example for the point of this thread.
So, again, it's about context. As has been mentioned herein - learning all this stuff takes a long time. BUT, it's fun, important, and extremely rewarding. And it gives you a great deal of confidence - AND saves you a great deal of money over time. No argument at all.
But, back to the OP's question, it's not
necessary for cruising around for a weekend, a week, or even longer.