Wondering what to get the cruising sailor (or liveaboard) in your life this holiday season? Most of us boat folk are minimalists, which makes us notoriously difficult for gifting. There’s no room for excess on board!
We took a break from publishing a gift guide last year, sending it only to blog subscribers—which generated some email so we’re back, baby! We hope this guide with our handpicked recommendations helps relieve a little holiday stress. Remember, Amazon’s Black Friday begins early.
Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links. No cost to you, and super helpful for us. Learn more at our values statement; we only make recommendations that we support 100 percent. And if we know of a small business you can support instead, you’ll find that linked here, too. If we miss one, don’t hesitate to let us know!
Clever Cameras
Motion-activated cameras with sound and alarms. Notifications gave us peace of mind during travel for Annapolis and the low-light image capture was amazing. Bonus: microphone and speaker let you talk (to your cat, even) through the camera!
Troubleshoot a diesel engine or wiring issue by identifying hotspots with Flir’s One Gen 3 camera. (Also fun for cat pics!) Caveat: Our friend and surveyor Marga Pretorius points out that this model is not strong enough to see into laminates and detect moisture in the hull of a boat.
Great cruising vlog features: Level the horizon (for that sunset time-lapse from the cockpit). IPX8 rating means you can take it snorkeling. Way easier to mount with magnetic attachments, and more! Leveling up POV video with this on Totem.
Low-light, weatherproof camera
Security and a nav aid. Spend $2k (or $20k) on a fancy-schmancy marine version, or about $60 for this copycat and use your MFD as the display.
Quality of Life
Perfect cubes even if it’s tossed around the freezer. Our friend Susan says “We’ve gone through a lot of ice cube trays with lids but none have worked until this.” Count us in!
Easy methods to substitute for eggs, plus a selection of classic egg recipes re-interpreted to be eggless. Why cruisers need this: It may not be possible to buy eggs in remote locations. The eggs you can buy might be bad (the last dozen eggs I got in the Marshall Islands were moldy inside the shell) and are probably costly. It’s at least a month before I may find eggs for sale. And why not be healthy and compassionate? You don’t need to be vegan to appreciate this cruiser-created cookbook.
By sailors, for sailors, perfect for this sailor! I was gifted a pair earlier this year, and they now live on my face whenever I’m outside. Polarization lets me see into the coral-strewn water here, optical clarity is #chef’s kiss, coverage is excellent (super sensitive eyes here), and grey tint is perfectly dark in the tropics. Bonus: The frame is 85 percent recycled fishing nets. The Vallon store has a pre-holiday 25% off sale, sitewide, until December 3.
Hydrotac means I can wear Malizias and read a book at the same time. Less than $20 for a pair, they adhere inside lenses with a drop of water. A second pair converted my snorkeling mask. Way easier and cheaper than prescription lenses.
Water Time!
Vision more complicated than my stick-ons? SeaVision masks are made in St Petersburg, Florida, and get rave reviews. Built to last, they can adapt lenses to your fave mask, too.
Needed this a few days ago to get Jamie’s attention underwater about a shark swimming nearby (because sharks are gorgeous, and I didn’t want him to miss it). This makes either a rattle (for snorkelers) or clang (divers tap on the tank). Thumbs up on this and the mask from the dive aficionados aboard SV Motu.
Go Green
Washable, reusable replacements for paper towels, these do exactly what they are supposed to, plus they come in fun colors and prints. I haven’t used paper towels in over a year and don’t miss them a bit! We’re linking to the maker site, Marley’s Monsters, so you can peruse the other goodness they have.
Koonie makes another product better! “I got tired of looking for compressed air cans,” said our friend Travis. We’re tired, too: Ditch those refrigerant/propellant cans for good.
On-Board Toolkit
The size of a pencil, this charges via USB. Fortuna crew connects it to a power bank for portability.
May not sound sexy but it’s incredibly useful. Our workaround in the past has been a thin, flexible cutting board held in place. This is much better!
Make your installs look pro-level! This clever device from Klein Tools is a level, an angle finder, a relative angle reference. Its magnetic bottom keeps it in place.
Jonard’s wire stripper has an adjustable wire depth. Get it right the first time when stripping small-gauge (large-size) wires for, say, battery bank wiring. This and level (above) tips from the current refit underway on Atargatis.
What’s Jamie getting?
I’ve fallen in the habit of sharing Jamie’s gift in this annual post. This paragraph was mysteriously missing in the copy he proofreads for me. (No spoilers, friends!)
16-foot cable reaches into deep dark corners to inspect tanks, the hull behind your generator, and other inaccessible dark corners on board. LED lights at the camera, that connects with Wi-Fi to your smartphone. (I nearly spilled the beans recently for a project where he might have used it!)
Timeless Favorites
These gift ideas never go out of style:
All Turkish towels are not created the same! We’ve used Marmara bath towels for nearly a decade. The standard size makes great hand or dish towels. Currently 25% off on their site (linked).
Bone conduction headphones retain ambient noise sounds while listening to that audiobook on night watch. SHOKZ became instant favorites on Totem.
MPOWERD’s 44-foot length is great for casting a gentle glow in the cockpit.
AND… A discount on our services!
Gift your friend, a loved one or yourself an hourlong consultation with me and Jamie! We are offering a limited number of our “try-us-out” coaching sessions at 50% off. We can do a lot in an hour. Learn more about how we get people happily cruising here, then get in touch for a custom gift certificate—until they run out!
Still struggling for inspiration? Our guide collection and gift ideas (16 posts) can be found at this link.
