Optics

A thermal-imaging camera installed on your boat can significantly enhance safety during nighttime operations by clearly letting you see what is ahead and around your boat, even on the darkest or foggiest of nights. Practical Sailors review of Flir Systems Inc.s Navigator II, a thermal-imaging camera that can be mounted on a mast, finds that this kind of camera can aid navigation, man overboard recovery, and security. The equipment comes with a lofty price tag but for some, it will be worth the investment.

We pitted the Nikon 14x40 Stabil-Eyes against the Fujinon TS 1040 Techno-Stabi binocular, which beat out four competitors-priced from $500 to $1,300 and with magnification factors ranging from 10x to 16x-for the top pick in December. This time, the two nearly identical binoculars carry the same 14x magnification rating but do vary a couple hundred dollars in price. Performance-wise, testers consider these two units to be equals. We found no advantage to the Nikon for its extra operating mode as it proved to be of little use on the water. We did find significant advantages for Fujinon in two areas: its superior carrying case and its lower price. However, for normal day-to-day use onboard, IS binoculars are no substitute for a quality 7x50 binocular with compass.

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

Is it really worth dropping a few extra bucks for binos?

Nikon, West Marine top the field of binos under $300.

Optical acuity was very good across the board, but the devil's in the details. Steiner and Fujinon are still superb - at great cost. West Marine and Nikon share Best Buy honors.

For onboard back-ups and excursions ashore, a set of good compact binox are almost required. Nikon fielded a strong team—their Mountaineers are a Best Buy. But the race is also to the Swift.

Two of the most important tools on our night passages through the Java Sea and South China Sea were our Fujinon FMTR-SX binoculars and our ITT Night Mariner 250 binocular-style night vision scope.