Browsing: Gear

Cruising Life
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Inflatable Takacat: Creative, Fun, Tender

Here’s a fresh idea for a dink or tender or just a fun boat to have around, particularly when space is tight: The New Zealand-made Takacat, a catamaran-style inflatable with an open bow and transom that’s lightweight, compact, versatile and cost effective. The open bow is made for easy boarding from a mothership, or from the water if you’ve been swimming. And the fully removable transom keeps the boat dry, since water can flow out the back, while making it easy to pack the Takacat in two storage bags. Takacats come in six sizes from 8’ 6” to 15 feet…

Cruising Life
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Nemo: World’s Smallest Dive System

Here’s a new way to explore underwater (at least to ten feet underwater) without all the hassle of a scuba tanks. Nemo, from Blu3 (pronounced “blue”), is a ten-pound, battery-operated portable dive system that’s so user-friendly that you can even take it on the plane with you. A U.S. company, Blue3 says that Nemo, with its patent-pending technology, is the world’s smallest dive system. It’s designed particularly for people who are used to snorkeling but want to explore farther underwater. Nemo consists of a buoyant foam rectangle and tube with a custom battery-powered compressor, which pumps air to the diver…

Cruising Life
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New Seakart: Half Jet Ski, Half RIB

If you’re ready for some fun this summer, or any other time, take a look at the new Seakart 335, a hybrid mix of a jet ski and a RIB. The 11’ 5” Seakart has the fun and performance of a jet ski, combined with the capacity and safety of a RIB. Not a bad idea. Power comes from a 110-hp or 180-hp four-stroke Yamaha jet drive. With the 110, top speed is 39 knots; with the 180, it’s 56 knots. The Seakart has a console like that of a jet ski, down to the mirrors, but the steering is…

Boat Reviews
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Sealegs Rolling Out 12′ 5″ Amphib, Smallest Yet

Sealegs, the New Zealand amphibious boat maker, just announced that they are developing a new 3.8m (12’ 5”) Tender, their smallest yet. Sealegs says it is taking orders for the new amphib now and will roll out the first production models in 2022. We don’t have a price yet. The 3.8 Tender, created to fit on larger cruising boats, takes exploration by tender to a new level. With a standard 40-hp Yamaha outboard, the 3.8m has a top speed of 34 knots on the water. But when you roll up to a beach or want to explore a new shoreline,…

Cruising Life
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Elegant New Avionics Electric Bike Hits 36 mph

You probably won’t want to throw the new Avionics electric bike in your lazarette, or take it on the Great Loop. But it sure would be fun to ride down to your local marina or yacht club. The elegant Avionics VM, handmade in Poland in a vintage retro style, combines a steel frame with Jatoba wood for contrast, and it uses state-of-the-art electric power to hit a top speed of 36 mph. A sine-wave controller lets you choose a “force mode” for maximum speed, or a “street mode” for a walk-in-the-park experience. In the street mode, the Avionics has a…

Cruising Life
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New Super Kayak Cat: Inflatable, Stable, Fun

Here’s something new and fun that you might want to take on your next cruise or just keep in the trunk of your car: The Super Kayak, an inflatable catamaran kayak that weighs just 30 pounds and takes only four minutes to set up or disassemble (see the video below). The brain child of Kirk Kirchev, a London product designer, the Super Kayak is now on Kickstarter, with a planned retail price of about $2,100 before long. It is 12 feet long, 3 feet wide and can carry a maximum load of 220 pounds. The modular craft has two inflatable…

Gear
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Weego Offers New Compact Jump Starter

Weego has just introduced a new portable N44s Jump Starter for boats, cars, trucks and motorcycles. It’s based on the success of Weego’s N22 model, and it delivers 50 percent more power for the same relatively low price. All told, the new N44S provides 44 cranking amps in an ultra-compact design. The charger is about the size of most cell phones (just 5.6 inches high) and it weighs less than a pound. The N44s can start vehicles with up to 7L gas engines or 3.5L diesels. It holds a year of standby power on a single charge, and its lithium…

Cruising Life
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Fun New Sea Scooter: Take It Anywhere

The new Geneinno S2 underwater sea scooter seems to have a lot of things going for it. It’s fun, it’s relatively inexpensive, and it fits easily in a lazarette or other stowage space on your boat. Ideal for underwater exploring, filming and diving, the Geneinno has two speeds, with a top end of 2.4 knots. You ran ride it for 45 minutes, and then you need to recharge it from a battery pack. That takes 90 minutes, but you can buy an extra battery pack so you can just swap one out for the other. The sea scooter has a…

Cruising Life
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Endless Summer: YuJet Electric Surfboard

Here’s a new toy that could be a lot of fun for the whole family next summer: The YuJet Surfer, an electric surfboard that doesn’t need surf and that hits a top speed of 24 mph. The YuJet is fun, fast, and easy to ride. You control the speed with a floating wireless hand trigger that has two modes: Beginner, for starting out, and Sport, for full performance, The board, which is just shy of eight feet long, weighs in at 20 pounds with the battery removed, so it’s easy to maneuver from your car or boat to the water.…

Cruising Life
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New Folding Electric Bike Goes 20 mph

Here’s a new high-tech, folding, electric-powered bike that could fit in your lazarette of your boat and then give you a comfortable ride on shore. It has a top speed of 20 mph and a range of about 50 miles on a single charge. The new bike is the Gocycle GXi, just named one of Time’s 100 Best Inventions for 2020, and in ten seconds it folds into a package that’s about two feet high and 14 inches wide. With a frame made from injection-molded magnesium alloy, the Gocycle GXi weighs just 38.6 pounds, and it can carry a load…

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