Personal Gear & Apparel

Hard-core dinghy sailors affectionately refer to their drysuit as the bag, and until recently, its been an appropriate, descriptive nickname. But in our last look at drysuit technology, we recognized the contribution to comfort made by breathable fabrics that do a great job of keeping water on the outside and still allow water vapor to migrate across the semi-permeable barrier. In past testing, we liked Gills drysuit and Ocean Rodeos Soul suit.

Practical Sailor editors have put together some gift-giving-or gift-getting-ideas for the sailorly crowd. Here are some perennial favorites and new products weve evaluated that most sailors would be happy to find among their holiday loot.

There are times when getting to the top of a mast is a far easier solo proposition than hunting for help. The first time I saw a middle-aged man go it alone, he hoisted a 3:1 block and tackle, rigged with 5/8-inch line, up a jib halyard. At the bottom end of the rig, he attached a bosuns chair. He simply pulled on the haul line, hand over hand, to the elevation he needed, then doubled the haul line through a convenient part of the chair and tied it off. With the 3:1 purchase, he was muscling one-third of his weight.

During the 12-month period from September 2013 through August 2014, Practical Sailor evaluated dozens of boating products, ranging from autopilots and water heaters to hose clamps and sanitation hose. The following products not only earned Practical Sailors Best Choice rating, marking each as the best in its category, but they also earned a spot on our list of 2014 Editors Choice products. To be named to the Editors Choice roster, a product must excel in Practical Sailors tests, and clearly stand out above others in its field.

About 20 years ago, the conventional sailing moccasin started losing ground to more specialized footwear for sailors, but only recently have major sports apparel companies like Adidas and Puma entered the on-the-water footwear fray. Boat shoe style has come a long way since Paul Sperry-whose namesake company, Sperry, originated the nonskid grooved-sole moccasin-carved a zig-zag pattern into an old gumshoe back in 1935.

I had a bit of a problem last month when we scheduled our latest shoe test. PS Managing Editor Ann Key, our premier shoe tester who has become something of a sailing-shoe expert over the last eight years, was expecting her first child. Anyone who is familiar with our medieval shoe-testing device would understand why I had to find a substitute-and why no one else in our office immediately volunteered.

Summer arrives this month, and hopefully, the long, sunny days will include some time for summer reading. Practical Sailor editors have compiled our biannual list of worthwhile marine titles for just that purpose. This years summer reading list starts with a scientific look at something all sailors know-being on or in the water enhances life-but the book answers how and why. An entertaining new release on curious nautical knowledge and the strange history of nautical terms also grabbed a spot on our list, as did long-time sailing writer and editor Herb McCormicks book on the lives of Lin and Larry Pardey. The other titles range from a history of sailing warfare to a Scotland cruising guide; two distinctly different memoirs; a Matinicus, Maine-based fiction mystery; and a book on teamwork derived from lessons learned in the 1998 Sydney to Hobart race tragedy.

Early into the 645-mile race between Marion, Mass., and the island of Bermuda in 2009, trouble brewed aboard the C&C 40 Corsair. The bizarre situation that the crew of Corsair faced is described in detail in a 2011 article, Lost at Sea, written by Diane Kelly in Ocean Navigator magazine. It all began when the navigator, 75-year-old Ron Chevrier, started acting strangely.

Has Practical Sailor reviewed sunglasses since the 2009 article? The feature wed really like to have is to be able to read our chartplotters screen without removing sunglasses. A review of that particular feature would be extremely helpful.

Looking for a holiday gift for the sailors on your list? Here are some new and gift-worthy products to consider.