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Piranha Line: Abrasion-resistant line with super low-stretch dyneema.

String Up Your Sails
I hope you don't have any wire halyards on your boat anymore. Modern halyards have evolved way beyond the days of meathooks and rust stains. The best alternative is line made of Spectra or Dyneema, which stretches less than the 7x19 wire that was once used for halyards. Until recently, all braided lines have shared similar construction characteristics, a strong core inside a protective sheath that added little to the overall strength of the line. At a recent boat show, I met the guys importing Paraloc lines from Europe, R&W Rope Warehouse. In Paraloc's Piranha line, an abrasion-resistant, hand-friendly polyester sheath is woven and interlocked with strong, super-low-stretch Dyneema. This means that halyards won't suffer damage from slippage or heat from friction between the core and sheath when they're left under tension in rope clutches or other cleats. The company also makes low-stretch polyester lines that appeal to the more budget-minded boat owner.
$4 per foot for 7/16-inch Piranha, (508) 995-1114, www.mamutec.com

The Clamp Jacket from PYI

Save Your Hands
Sometimes the smallest things are the ones that I find most useful on the boat. I can't remember how many times I've sliced my hands on a metal hose clamp. The pain and the blood as well as the unsanitary properties are enough to make me wish that the Clamp Jacket from PYI had been available earlier. A simple bit of rubber that slips over the sharp exposed end of the hose clamp, the Jacket's a guaranteed skin saver that's also resistant to heat up to 300 F and to most of the fluids found in an engine room.
$6 for 25, (800) 523-7558, www.clampjacket.com

Cheap Sextant by Celestaire

Celestial Navigation on the Cheap
You could go and buy a beautiful brass sextant for $2,000, and after the pain of spending that much money wore off, you'd no doubt cherish that fine instrument. But if you don't feel like parting with the dinero, there are alternatives. One is what Celestaire bills as the Cheap Sextant. It's a cardboard affair that comes as a kit and takes about an hour to assemble. In no way is it an all-weather instrument, and it won't be much use for stars, but the manufacturer claims that it's accurate to within 8 minutes for sun shots.
$25, (316) 686-9785, www.celestaire.com 

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