There are two sides to this coin.

In this part the drill has gone on the fritz.

The other the battery goes on the fritz.

IF BOTH GO YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO

The moderately priced drills last quite well these days. OZITO and GMC are quite good although my current favourite is a Black and Decker 12v job that never seems to run out.

Somebody told me you should get at least one boat out of a battery drill.

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Convert an old battery drill
to run off your 12v system
One of the better ideas I have had. Be it on the boat or around the workshop that battery drill can be guaranteed to peter out at the wrong time. In addition the job of keeping the drill charged up when you keep it on the boat is one I have not come to grips with yet.

And, the battery packs don't seem to last as long as the drills do they?

This is not rocket science. Take one battery powered drill. 12v is your top choice but this seems to work with 14v drills as well.

Take a hacksaw and carefully cut through at the bottom of the handle so as to expose the wires that previously connected to the two terminals for the battery charger.
Take a length of heavy duty automobile 12v cable. 2 metres seems to be about right. Solder these two wires onto the wires inside the handle and tape them securely. I used some contact glue to make sure they were secure to the inside of the handle.

Using a resin mix or glass putty or self bonding insulation tape form a cap over the bottom of the handle.

Next you will require to heavy duty 'cigarette lighter' fittings. A socket which may or may not fit into a consol or have a wire with two heavy duty battery clips… and a plug, preferably one with a built in fuze.

Connect it all up and carefully test the apparatus. You may have to experiment with the fuze until you get one that can carry the load.

Now you can drill your little heart out but be warned the torque you will get from this drill will rip the head off many screws so be a big gentle.

There is always somebody. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES TRY THIS TO CONECT YOUR DRILL UP TO 120V OR 230V OR MAINS POWER OF ANY SHAPE OR FORM.