boat gift ideas

this is the stuff I give my sailor friends for their birthdays

~ Captain Ray Roberts

World class gift ideas for boaters

At some point your sails will tear, your engine will fail and you will find yourself adrift at Sea.

And in that moment, it will be the little things that maintain your crew’s morale.

Below, I present to you… the little things.

YETI Rambler insulated beer holder

It may be possible that you already own a few neoprene beer coozies.

But, you probably don’t own a YETI, insanely insulated, stainless-steel beer coozy.

I can’t afford a full size YETI cooler, I would need to take out a second mortgage on my home….but I can afford one of these.

I use this thing when fishing near Cabo San Lucas in mid-summer (very hot!)

Set of 4 unbreakable, cocktail glasses for the boat

You know the deal. Friends come on board. They have a great time. They drink all your booze. A wave hits the boat and your friends lose their balance. They spill their drink and drop their glass. Wine stains your fiberglass and broken glass scatters everywhere.

This is avoidable (not the drunken friends part, just the broken glass part).

Here is a set of 4 durable cocktail glasses. Each has its own nautical designs (Anchor, Compass, Life Ring and Helm).

Garmin GPSMAP 78 handheld, color screen

This waterproof unit has done more to keep me safe than any other item on board. In 2018, I navigated the passage from Seattle to Juneau. The Garmin handheld was the only GPS used for the entire journey.

My girlfriend just gifted me this latest version for my birthday. It has a larger color screen, which is pretty nifty for marine charts.

Make sure you have one of these on board. This handheld Garmin also serves as a nice backup for a mounted chart plotter.

Click here to read more product details on AMAZON.

Totally Bamboo Anchor Serving and Cutting Board, 12″ x 12″

When chopping up veggies and preparing meats for the BBQ… wouldn’t it be nice to look down and see an anchor?

We thought so…

This cutting board is 100% bamboo (a strong wood for a cutting board).

Pretty darn kewl!

Boat Dock Bungee Tie (Pack of 2)

This dock bungee eliminates a lot of hassle from your life. Keep this attached to a cleat on your boat. When you pull up to the fuel dock, just cleat down the other end on the dock and BAM…you’re tied off.

I keep one on my dingy too.

They’ve got this in many colors. Very cool!

Såk Waterproof Dry Bag 10L Grey

Ok, let’s say you are tired, possibly drunk…and your boat is anchored out 100 yards from the shoreline.

The bar just closed and it is time to get in your kayak and paddle back to your floating home.

You’ve got your wallet, your phone and a bag of groceries on you. All of that must make it back to your boat and ideally it will arrive on the boat in a dry condition.

This dry condition must be achieved even if the kayak tips over…

For this moments and many others… I recommend this dry bag. It works!

These dry bags are available in many colors.

Boats on the Bay – a children’s book

This book is a gem.

I’ll be gifting the book to my 6 year old niece for her birthday. Abbey will love it.

Boats on the Bay is a gorgeously illustrated, full-color picture book that is about all the kinds of boats you might see on a busy bay. Readers will recognize barges, kayaks, fireboats, dredgers, and more against the iconic San Francisco skyline.

The book is written by a Sausalito author, named Jeanne Walker Harvey. Target audience age is listed as 4-8, but I could imagine framing some of these pages and hanging them around my home (and I’m 42).

Portable fan that runs off your DC circuit.

My sailboat is currently anchored out near La Paz, Mexico. This section of Baja turns into a hot oven for half the year.

We need air flow in the cabin.

This fan plugs into our DC cigarette lighter port and gets the job done.

It is small enough to stow away easily.

Beer coozy for captain and first mate

When on board, there are 2 things that are absolutely necessary:

  1. everyone must know you are the Captain
  2. your beer must remain cold

This simple gift satisfies both necessities.

Thanks for frequenting my boating gift page!

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