SOUTHWINDS PRODUCT REVIEWS Recently SOUTHWINDS started offering products to sell. At the St. Petersburg Strictly Boat Show, I found some unique products and I liked them so much, I decided I would start selling them (see page 14). They are reviewed here.
The BridgeNorth Bailer: Unique Boat Hook Boat hooks are essential onboard a boat, but most of the time they sit there waiting to be used. Now someone has come up with one that does a lot more— and it is strongly built. Dip the end in the water, pull the handle back and you have a loaded gun full of water. Pushing the handle back in creates a powerful stream of water. Cleans your anchor, your deck or whatever else you like. Get the bird crap off. When your friends get too close sailing by, you’ve got a great squirt gun that fires 50 feet easy. As a bailer, you can pump out your dinghy, your bilge or whatever else needs water removed. You can walk around with the water and pump it elsewhere. Comes five-feet and eight-feet long—extended lengths. Five-footer is great for the dinghy. Not only that, it locks in place and can be used as a boat hook.
5-footer $46
8-footer $56
Available in the SOUTHWINDS Marine Store, Page 14 or at www.southwindsmagazine.com.
18
January 2007
SOUTHWINDS
The Personal Retriever
If your boat is over 16 feet, you are required to have ready a throwable lifesaving device in case someone falls overboard. There are many types out there and they all have advantages. But the best one for throwing a distance is this one, the Personal Retriever. It is shaped like a Frisbee, but is a Coast Guardapproved Type V PFD. It comes with 100 feet of line. I couldn’t throw it that far, but nothing I have ever seen can be thrown even near this far. The line wraps around a spool on the underside. You unwrap five coils from the device, secure the end to an object or yourself and throw. It flies beautifully and easily. Retrieval and rethrow is minutes. Time for training to become an expert: One try. The Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, lifeguards, boaters and first-response teams around the country are carrying and using the device. Just don’t let your dog play with it.
$129
www.life\safer.com
Available in the SOUTHWINDS Marine Store, Page 14 or at www.southwindsmagazine.com.
www.southwindsmagazine.com