Cool but unnecessary gear/stuff to have on the wish list

[Clivevon]

Originally Posted by Davidhoy

The personal EPIRBs should be in the "essentials" category, in my opinion. Better yet, one of the newer AIS PLBs that will allow you to locate anyone lost overboard using your AIS and chartplotter.

+1. Of course it is normally packed inside your lifejacket so not much good when its in a locker.. British RNLI slogan about lifejackets is "useless unless worn" & I suspect that is the voice of too much hard & bitter experience lifting too many "macho" corpses out of the water...

I have a Spinlock Deckvest (with AIS PLB) which I wear dock to dock (unless moored or anchored - I know, I know..) which i find comfortable enough that I can forget I'm wearing it.

[ol1970]

Originally Posted by John_Trusty

Not to be critical, but that green laser is not going to be popular with the coasties that may come to fish you out of the drink. In addition to potentially blinding people, helo pilots exposed to lasers are off flight-duty for a month, so don't do it.

Maybe you are not familiar with what I'm talking about here, the Greatland green laser is for the ditch bag, and tool for last resort emergency rescue. It is visible from 30 miles at night in ideal conditions and 5 miles in the daytime. It has a diffusion of 3 degrees and can last continuously on for 5 hours and is waterproof. Coupled with traditional flares it gives you a much greater chance if you do end up needing it. This is a tool I'd rather have and not need and I'm 100% confident that a search and rescue pilot will be ecstatic to see it and complete a successful recovery.

[John_Trusty]

PFD "useless unless worn" - talked to an old coastie once about pulling in victim's bodies. Half of them had their flies undone - taking a whiz over the side when they fell in. Just a thought.

[fxykty]

Originally Posted by ol1970

Maybe you are not familiar with what I'm talking about here, the Greatland green laser is for the ditch bag, and tool for last resort emergency rescue. It is visible from 30 miles at night in ideal conditions and 5 miles in the daytime. It has a diffusion of 3 degrees and can last continuously on for 5 hours and is waterproof. Coupled with traditional flares it gives you a much greater chance if you do end up needing it. This is a tool I'd rather have and not need and I'm 100% confident that a search and rescue pilot will be ecstatic to see it and complete a successful recovery.

I’m not sure about colour, but these are starting to be accepted officially as substitutes for parachute flares. And note that parachute flares for SOLAS are always red.

We have one in the companionway for the on watch person and a couple in our grab bag.

[AKA-None]

Originally Posted by ol1970

Yes I tend to agree with this as well and that is our plan, I just rarely see anybody ever using them. Pretty much any safety type item is a non-negotiable must have, and starts with the quality and seaworthiness of the vessel itself. There are probably things out there that I don't know exist so hoping to hear from people here on new ideas.

Isn’t not seeing a plb being used a good thing?

[Noisykate]

Stainless steel bounceable cafetiere. Essential!

[ol1970]

Originally Posted by fxykty

I’m not sure about colour, but these are starting to be accepted officially as substitutes for parachute flares. And note that parachute flares for SOLAS are always red.

We have one in the companionway for the on watch person and a couple in our grab bag.

The reason for being green is it is significantly easier for the human eye to see the green color vs. red and transmit a more crisp dispersion line. They are also more expensive to produce than red which might be why they are not as common, the only drawback is the do consume more battery life, but 5 hours of use, plus a spare battery hopefully is enough!

[ol1970]

Originally Posted by Noisykate

Stainless steel bounceable cafetiere. Essential!

Yep, great call, we take ours everywhere!

[nic26]

One of these

https://www.yachtshop24.com/VICTORINOX-Marine-Multitool

[Reefmagnet]

OK, I just got the perfect thing to add to the list. A tablet holder with a suction cup. just picked a couple up for 20 bucks for the lot, stuck one to the cabin above the bunk and its like WHAM! why didn't I think of this sooner! Perfect for the boat if you have a suction cup friendly roof lining.

[PirateGuy]

I vote for musical instruments. I have a banjo with me now, which someday I might learn to play. A string base and sousaphone would be nice. and the sousaphone would make a fantastic foghorn in a pinch.

[Enfant Du Vent]

Ahoy ol1970:

The most sophisticated safety gear you can afford is ALWAYS the start of a shopping list.

In the "cool but unnecessary" column I would include a Waterford crystal ship's decanter. Needs no battery, never corrodes in salt air, never jams--pours every time, holds a full 26 oz.

Albeit it may need to be refilled frequently.

[Joh.Ghurt]

I was a little unlucky with water toys, although they still might work out.

I have on board:

• One inflatable kayak (single seater)
• One tandem-SUP (for two, obviously, it's quite large with 15')
• One regular SUP (on the larger side to carry my weight well)

They were various generations of plans and life threw me a curve-ball every time. I guess, if things are working out, I either need a second kayak (and the SUPs were bad investment) or another single SUP small enough for the ladies. (In this case the kayak and the tandem SUP were the wrong investment).

No idea what it'll be in the end.

[fugue137]

Originally Posted by Reefmagnet

No list is complete without a 300hp+ jet ski included

On the contrary: no list is complete without the means to neutralise a jet ski at 500 yards.

[fugue137]

Originally Posted by ol1970

The wife and I have a list of fun "stuff" we might want to take with us cruising that I am wondering if anybody has anything interesting/cool to add.

For Example: (Stuff we already have purchased and use/bring with us on trips)
-Foul weather gear
-FLIR Monocular
-Steiner Binoculars with built in compass
-Greatland Green Laser Flare
-Eartech headsets for docking/anchoring
-Fishman battery powered Amp for her acoustic electric guitar concerts she provides at anchor
-Drone for capturing those amazing anchorage images
-All the GoPro/Camera gear you can think of
-LED flashlights/headsets

Stuff that is on our list:
-EFoil surfboard
-Folding E-Bikes
-Personal EPIRB
-Kite Surf gear
-Scuba gear
-Sat phone
-Sextant (always wanted to learn)
-Underwater drone
-Good filet knife for fishing (Wusthof, but open for suggestions)
-Inflatable Paddle boards
-quality fishing gear
-4K projector

Any other gadgets or fun stuff we should add to our list that you have found to be worthwhile and enjoyable?

Why the e-bikes and e-sup and EPIRB and stuff? The most important piece of safety equipment you can ever have is a fit body and mind---which will not only help in the unlikely chance of an acute emergency but which will also help with the things that are actually going to kill you---diseases of inactivity. Besides being annoying for the people around you, getting motors to do your work for you is too addictive for most people to resist and does nobody any good whatsoever. I'll venture that the best safety equipment and the best fun toy may be a tender that rows well enough that you actually want to row everywhere (SUPs are good for fitness but don't serve any other purpose, being so useless for transportation), real bikes, etc. I guess your kayak fits the bill nicely, although I've found a good rowing tender to be far more useful. My dream---and it sounds like you'll have this!---a sailboat big enough to plausibly carry a real 15' rowboat like an Adirondack Guideboat or Whitehall or such.