Tools & Gadgets

MARINE INSURANCE REDUXI have been reading with much interest your articles about marine insurance this year (April and May 2006).

It was mid-July 1990 on the Caicos Banks, a stretch of shallow, gin-clear water extending for about 70 miles east to west in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Along with a dozen other cruisers whod chosen to thumb our noses at hurricane season (ah, those were simpler times), we were pausing in Providenciales before heading south. …

The Optronics QR 2001 comes out on top, followed by models from Brinkmann and LSI. And the Garrity is bright, lightweight option.

For good old fashioned reliability and brightness, we like Rayovac's Roughneck. Pelican's Super Sabrelite is a good choice for portability, and either of two LED models would make sense for your ditch bag.

Several new offerings prompted this renewed look. For versatility and quality we like four particular models, and among those, the Leatherman Wave is our best buy.

The SureFire L1 Lumamax and the Tektite Expedition Star take Best Buy honors. Incandescents may not pale in comparison, but they're fading fast.

One crimp or two? In our test and survey, we again find that the well-made multi-purpose tool will suffice for most wiring jobs. If you have more serious work to do, try Klein's #1005 crimper and Ancor's 702030 automatic stripper.

The revolution continues. LEDs serve a growing range of uses on board.

With boathook, mop, squeegee, and net attachments, telescoping poles save space aboard and are quite handy. The MPS Perfect Pole's no-look locking mechanism helps it earn top honors.

We looked at 11 pre-packed sets of tools. Some were OK. None would be enough on its own.