Tools & Gadgets

Practical Sailor’s annual wrap-up of the year’s best sailing equipment looks at our favorite top-rated products from November 2007 to November 2008, including the Facnor furler for light-air sails, Scad Solo external holding-tank sensor, Pelican Recoil LED flashlight, and Adventure Medical’s first-aid kit for coastal cruisers. In the boat maintenance category, Interlux’s Micron 66 bottom paint and Spray Nine’s waterline stain remover garnered Editors’ Choice picks. Foulie sets (jacket and bibs) by Gill and Helly Hansen were tapped as Practical Sailor Editor’s Choice in apparel, and a host of marine electronics made the list, including the Icom CommandMic III remote mic and Garmin GPSMap 545s 5-inch chartplotter sounder. Jeppesen was recognized for its top-notch electronic chart updating services. Other top gear picks were the Acco proof coil mooring chain and the Achilles HB315-LX fixed-transom inflatable dinghy.

David Boye, the Arizona knifemaker whose unique folding boat knife of cast dendritic cobalt won our June 2000 sailors knives bench test and was a reference standard for our March 2004 revisit, recently introduced a new model Basic 3 Cobalt knife. These knives doggedly retain a cutting edge when going through tough, blade-resistant materials like rope, cardboard, or even old rugs. Others give up long before the job is done. In our experience, Boyes cobalt knives last much longer-and when they finally do slow down, they can be resharpened with just a few strokes on a medium stone. The difference, we reason, is in the metallurgy. Boyes cobalt blades are "cast to shape and retain the pristine crystal network of highly dendritic (branching) bonded carbide throughout the blade, which aids in cutting and maintaining the structure of the cutting edge," according to the maker. Most knives are from steel that originally contained a similar crystal microstructure, but then underwent rolling, stamping, or forging to shape. This process breaks down the original carbide microstructure of the metal. The carbides at the edge are then no longer rooted into the overall microstructure. Complex heat treatment is then applied to develop properties such as hardness and toughness.

According to German toolmaker Wera Tools, much of the corrosion we find in the cross-hairs of our Phillips-head and other stainless-steel fasteners is a result of cross-contamination during the tightening process when traditional, carbon-steel tools are used to secure the fastener. Small bits of the carbon steel are embedded in the fastener, and the particles form galvanic cells that quickly corrode or leave a pit. Solution? Stainless steel tools-the logic being that using stainless on stainless, there will not be any contact corrosion, and therefore no rust.

Practical Sailor testers are constantly schlepping tools between the Practical Sailor workshop, our own garages, and—of course—our boats. So we’re always on the lookout for a toolbag that makes said schlepping a little easier. Enter the Original Nantucket Diddy Bag, which we came across at a recent boat show. It is the first tool bag we’ve seen that is reversible and convertible. Designed by a Nantucket carpenter, the bag’s well-thought-out design is practical and versatile. With 36 various-sized pockets (including a hidden one in the bottom), the bag makes tools easy to find and keep organized—no more digging to the depths of a cluttered tool bag.

Cruising sailors who venture to the fringes of civilization, or to attractive but perhaps unsanitary foreign ports, or even to unfamiliar marinas, often have reason to view the sources of their drinking water as dodgy. Unless theyre willing to carry bottled water or have a watermaker on board, they catch as catch can, and sometimes what they catch isn't any fun. Boiling water and adding chlorine or purification tablets is a standard way of dealing with potential drinking water problems, but sailors may also want to consider a simple, relatively inexpensive gadget that trail-hikers, mountaineers, and other land-oriented adventurers have known about for the past few years. The SteriPEN, one of Readers Digests 2007 "25 Products That Will Change Your Life" and Wireds "25 Gotta Have Gadgets of 2008," kills water-borne viruses, protozoa, and bacteria with ultraviolet light, wrecking their DNA.

When youre tight on storage space but still want to be prepared to protect your hull when docked in a blow, consider inflatable fenders. They often offer the same protection as conventional fenders without the storage headaches. Practical Sailor inflatable boat bumpers from three manufacturers: StowAway Boat Fenders from DACA Innovations; Aere fenders from Pratek; and Easystow Fenders from Seoladair. All were subject to abrasion tests and compression test. Long-term testing is under way to determine resistance to UV, chemical, and biological deterioration. Stay tuned to see which of these docking aids is the toughest inflatable fender.

For a control in our soon-to-be-published test of acrylic-type gelcoat restorers, we polished one panel on a 1972 Oday Javelin with 3M Finesse-It II and waxed it. PS has long prescribed Finesse-It II ($20, www.defender.com) for polishing, and the final gloss matched the panel with the best acrylic "miracle cure." We also tried various polishing tools fitted with wool buffing pads: the Waxmaster ($30, www.westmarine.com), the drill-mounted 3M Superbuff wheel ($17, www.defender.com); and a 7-inch variable-speed polisher from Chicago Electric ($30, www.harborfreight.com).

Headlamps compliment rather than compete with traditional hand-held flashlights. Lighting of more than one kind is invaluable on board, and headlamps have the advantage of freeing up the two hands of the sailor who always seems to need a third. Our test focused on LED headlamps that claimed water resistance and featured a crosshead strap for comfort, and did not require a battery recharge. We tested 17 headlamps from six manufacturers: Icon from Black Diamond, a rock-climbing and skiing gear maker; the HeadsUp Recoil 2680 from Pelican, maker of all things watertight; and Vizion from Underwater Kinetics, along with four headlamps from Petzl, five from Princeton Tec, and five from Streamlights. Our top picks were based on wearing, testing and using these headlamps for months. Best Choice honors go to the Black Diamond Icon, a lightweight lamp thats versatile and loaded with features. Recommended products include the feature-laden red-filter-equipped Petzl Tactikka and the lightweight, Lithium-powered Streamlight Argo HP. The Pelican outshone others on pure brightness.

Testers evaluated 25 different flashlights. Among these were products from Inova, Underwater Kinetics, Tektite, Sea Fit, Streamlight, Garrity, Pelican, Dr. LED, and IQ Lights. The goal of this test was to find a flashlight that was compact, light, and provided superior spotlight and wide angle illumination for objects in close range. Unfortunately, no light we tested answered all of these requirements. The winners proved to be units that excelled at one. We also discovered that size still matters, and more batteries means more power, more light, and more life. The best marine flashlight is one that suits your needs. A well-equipped sailor needs a few different flashlights to cover all the bases: one thats a dedicated spotlight, one that lights up the lockers, one that serves the needs of bright, wide angle floodlight, and lastly a tiny pocket light used for in-the-cockpit chart reading or other instances when you need a quick light but want to preserve your night vision.

In the last decade, tool manufacturers have drastically improved their standard products. Today, all of the major manufacturers offer professional-grade power tools at reasonable prices. My personal choices are based on a wealth of experience with literally hundreds of tools owned by myself, my employees, and subcontractors. It boils down to reliable and versatile tools. The must-haves include: Hitachi angle grinder, Porter Cable Orbital Sander, Fein Multi-master, Dremel, Makita 14.4-volt drill driver, Makita 9.6-volt angle drill, and an 18-volt Milwaukee reciprocating saw.