The best ability is availability

Nothing beats being able to take advantage of excellent beach hunting conditions.

Here in Florida we are approaching hurricane season, after stocking up on hurricane supplies I make sure all my treasure hunting equipment is also ready to go.

I intend to be ready for anything and I recently did a thorough inspection of all my metal detecting equipment.

I try to do this at least twice a year, starting with breaking down my metal detector shafts.

Then I inspect the nylon search coil fasteners, arm cuff and arm cuff straps on all my metal detectors.

I always keep a spare nylon search coil bolt / nut and arm cuff strap in my vehicle when I go detecting.

When I travel abroad I also take these two items, because if you break or snap either of these your metal detecting plans are over.

Have you ever tried metal detecting without an arm cuff strap, or tried to find a nylon bolt and nut close to the beach? 

The same applies to hunting inland, little things you often take for granted can really mess with the best thought out metal detecting plans when they break.

Get in the habit of checking your search coil cables and search coils for damage.

Your search coil cable is vulnerable to cuts or wear close to the search coil, especially if you search around rocky areas or beaches with obstacles protruding out of the sand.

It is always better to find and take care of any problem ahead of excellent beach hunting times. 

For example during hurricane season when beaches are often eroded, or during the busiest tourist season. 

You want to be available to hunt, not forever think about what could have been because you had an equipment failure and you did not have a back up plan.

My recent equipment inspections revealed significant wear inside the ears of one of the search coils I use the most.

I replaced the worn rubber teardrop washers with thicker new ones at the end of a lower rod, preventing a potential problem down the road. 

I also took the step of replacing a frayed arm cuff strap on a different metal detector. 

One thing I can tell you from experience, annoying equipment failures always happen when you least expect or want them to.

Regular metal detecting equipment inspections help prevent you from missing planned beach hunts.

My wife calls my car the metal detecting ark, because I always have two of everything in it when I go metal detecting. 

Two metal detectors, two search coils, two battery packs, two scoops, two pairs of dive boots, two Pitbulls, two of anything that makes me available to be out in the beach searching instead of driving home because I was not prepared.
The best ability for a beach hunter waiting for the chance to search a great area during prime beach hunting times, is availability!