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Nautical Gifts for the Boater
Things you can buy for the upcoming season or some
wintertime boating.
I have a problem with modern sail boats & their
shallow cockpits. Most if the time, with grinding or trimming, and
just about any sail boat racing maneuver, unless you are just
crossing the boat, you end up on your knees and it is tough on them.
NightStar  flashlight
$ 20-40 This flashlight will not burn out. It charges with a shake of the hand. Click on the link for more free energy flashlights, windup lights, and an assortment of functional flashlights including glow in the dark. NightStar is an extremely reliable light source that will function after years of storage and exposure to environmental extremes. The simple design uses a highly efficient renewable energy source to power a high-brightness LED. Simply shaking the NightStar for 30 seconds will provide over 15 minutes of light! NightStar is also the only flashlight that performs without fail under the extreme conditions of desert heat, polar cold, or submerged to depths exceeding 400 feet. Battery-powered flashlights just do not tolerate environmental extremes like NightStar. Under $10The ultimate key fob for boaters! When keys fall in the water, Key Buoy self-inflating key ring opens up, releasing an air tube which inflates automatically. The 14" (47 cm) inflated tube extends above the water, allowing you to reach over and pick them up. Key Buoy rises to surface in as fast as 60 seconds. May take longer in deeper water with maximum weight attached. To see photos of the Key Buoy in action, click the "More Info" button. Strong enough for items weighing up to 2.8 ounces (80 grams) such as keys, small tools, deck plate keys. Suitable for single use only, so keep a spare on hand! More Personal Accessories Convertible Mitts  $30-40Warm gloves for the winter and cold water boating. These gloves from EMS have fingerless tips, and a mitt cover that pulls over when you need warmth. Open fingers on the left, pull over the mitt cover and now you have full Mitts on the right. When its cold your hands loose a lot of heat. For these conditions, warm gloves are essential. However, we know how awkward it is to do some boating operations with full gloves. To counter that we have fingerless gloves or three finger gloves, which lets us fiddle with lines, open shackles etc. However, these gloves are nowhere near as warm as full fingered gloves or Mitts. These combined Mitt and Fingerless gloves can be a solution to cold water boating. Using Polartec 200 weight fleece these gloves are breathable and warm. You could wear these under a large pair of waterproof or windproof mitts. More Gloves  Sealskinz under $50For boating in wet conditions try Sealskinz dry socks and gloves Sealskinz Video in action A few friends have these waterproof socks. Since they are warm and dry, they swear by them. The feature of these socks is that they can be worn with just sneakers or deck shoes and you have dry feet. Normally you would need boots to have dry feet. With Sealskinz socks you can have one shoe to cover summer and fall sailing. Sealskinz have multiple layers. The inner layer features a fine Merino wool inner for great comfort and excellent wicking performance and an elasticized instep for comfort and support. The mid layer is waterproof and breathable and the outer layers offer protection. More Footware & Socks Night Vision Cap  $40
This boating hat has built in LEDs, 2 red LEDs
under the cap brim, 2 white lights and one powerful LED that can
help the user see over a longer distance. Operating at night can
mean you are in the dark, so to speak. Not all boat surfaces are lit
up well and so having a source of light is very helpful. This
sailing hat can provide the right amount of light without having to
carry a flashlight or wear a headlamp.
$80 US. One reason for buying the
sail boat racing timer is the look, but the best reason its the
functionality. Some sail boat racers crew and helmsman buy watches
because they look cool and there are some cool looking watches to
fulfill that role. However the reason to look at this watch is that
it will give you a very good reliable countdown timer for the
sailboat races. $60 The sleekLeatherman
Skeletool CX gets you back to basics... very cool basics. The
Skeletool CX has only the most necessary of multi-tool features,
because sometimes thats all you need. With a 154CM combo stainless
steel blade, pliers, bit driver, pocket clip and carabiner/bottle
opener, youre set. Lightweight, low volume, perfect size. The
Skeletool CX: Who says more is better? $85 By all accounts this is the best sailing simulator on the market. Now in version 5 you can race a laser or Volvo Ocean racer. Stentec software and
Electronic gaming developers have introduced V 5 of the sail
simulator. The graphics are cool with realistic boats, channel
markers, waves and backgrounds.
Stable multiplayer server for long distance races
Regatta Watch Racing III : : $150 The 4 pushers are fully protected against shocks.  Stainless steel case and back, Stainless steel pushers, Mineral crystal high resistance, Genuine leather or PU-rubber strap, Movement Aquastar LCD 9000 Functions of the movement AQUASTAR LCD 9000 easy utilization : one pusher = one function , countdown setting from -15min à 0 min, "catch up" function of the next minute (for ex. in case the countdown has been set with delay, it is still possible to reposition exactly while a next signal) works like a chronograph when the countdown is set on 0min., hour and minute indication, indication of the hours and minutes elapsed until 99 hours, night lightning of the dial, double indication of the last 5 minutes of the countdown provided by digital numbers and the 5 balls decreasing by steps of 30 sec. during the last 5 minutes. More Watches Magellan ToughCase $180
There are waterproof cases for your iPhone and then there is the
Magellan ToughCase. The ToughCase will keep the iPhone dry, plus
it will charge the battery and provide GPS. The ToughCase meets
IPX-7 standards (1-meter up to 30 minutes) underwater so it is
waterproof and very durable.
Some of the extra benefits you will get with the ToughCase are; extra battery capacity, Built in GPS, completely interactive which means you can use almost all the iPhone functions without having to open the case. The ToughCase includes an internal battery that charges your iPhone or iPod touch. The 1840 mAh battery will double your battery life based on normal operation. The ToughCase has an integrated SiRFstarIII GPS chipset. Position accuracy is accurate to 10-15 feet. From the Video below you can see how the iPhone will remain functional even while protected and charging. Power Monkey  from $100 Power-monkey is an emergency power supply that can charge any modern device. The Explorer from Power Monkey consists of a solar slave which can charge the Power Monkey charger. The Power Monkey then stores the energy and can be used anytime, to charge phones, PDAs, iPods and more. An excellent device for emergency power, to power your electronic devices. We looked at the original Power Monkey last year. The power stored in the device can charge your electronics. Power Monkey has 96 hrs of emergency backup for cell phone. They claim is the monkey will hold its charge for a year without leaking. HX750s VHF handheld radio The HX750S costs around $150 while the HX850S costs $250. Three year warranty. Standard Horizons HX750s is a 6 watt VHF that floats. The 750 is a cheaper version of the HX850S which also floats but has an internal GPS. Apart from the floating capability and waterproofing, the HX 750 VHF has a long lasting lithium ion battery. I used the VHF over a week and only needed to charge once. The radio comes with the charging cradle. The volume and squelch use digital numbers rather than knobs, and so are easy to replicate. The keys are easy to use and the lock feature stops accidentally changing channels when handled. The speaker is large enough and clear enough. The H/L button changes from normal (6watt) to high, medium and low (1 watt) power settings. The backlit screen is easily read. This is not the smallest radio so you need a large pocket to keep the radio on you. The 30 liter carry on bag does not compress like my backpack so will not stow in some places. However this is what makes it good for some travelers. Because the backpack sides are rigid you can put overnight clothes in and not have them come out rumpled. For the boater that travels this is ideal for overhead and overnight travel. The bag is quite Light to handle and with contents will be easy to lift up to the overhead, Unless you are carrying lead. There are Handles on 3 sides to help handling. There are 3 external and internal pockets for organizing bits and pieces and a couple made in neoprene. Once on the ground the handle pulls out easily the wheels hit the ground and off you go. It comes in carbon only so unfortunately it will look like all the other bags on the conveyor belt. Cost is $125 which is much more than the normal Henri Lloyd backpack which costs $69. The advantages however for the traveler are neatly packed clothes. More waterproof bags
Over $200 Zyon Sailing Around $250 These polarized sunglasses are perfect for water sports. The lenses are polarized and photo chromatic, saving your eyes from glare while letting you read your boats LCD instruments and adjusting to brightness. Popular with professional cyclists and snowboarders and tri-athletes, Rudy Projects glasses have some of the most technical lenses and frames out in the sporting market. Fed up at not being able to read your instruments with Polarized sunglasses? Sanyo waterproof Dual HD Camera  $400, very cheap on Amazon right now The Xacti range of HD, waterproof cameras are called dual. This is due to the ability to take photos and video. This is a great advantage as some video will not capture detail, where a photo will. These Dual Camera Xacti cameras record photos and videos to SD cards. features: The camera is waterproof to 3 meters 30 x optical zoom 2 mega pixel photo 720p HD video |
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