Now in our Projects section, a write-up on OLOH's Yacht Controller. Watching boats pull into…
OLOH Gear – Our Favorite Things: Part I
Every cruiser has a list of their favorite things. Things they wouldn’t want to be without on the water or dockside for safety, convenience, comfort or just plain indulgence. From time to time we’ll be posting some of the items, boat-specific and otherwise, that have really enhanced our life on board.
This set focuses on a few of the peripheral items that help dress OLOH up in addition to having an important function. We paid full price for these items and only write about them to share the love…
Fleece Fender Covers
We have always taken pride in the appearance of our boats and have worked hard to maintain their finish. We hate how fenders, clean or dirty, can leave a rash on the hull. Quality fender covers can help avoid that. We used a different brand of fleece covers on our previous vessels but, while they worked well enough, we always wanted to find something softer that could also be customized with our logo. There was a beautiful downeast-style boat docked in front of us when we took delivery of OLOH which had exactly what we had been looking for strapped to her gunwales. After a quick web search, we were surprised to see how well-priced they were given the apparent quality. The customer service at Maine Coast Marine Products was excellent throughout the entire process and their turnaround time was excellent (thanks Erin, you are a terrific company rep!). Having lived with these covers now for around six months at the time of this post we are very pleased. Any scuffing they’ve suffered has been the result of using them in fixed-dock situations where we probably shouldn’t have and we’ve since moved to using a different set of “beater” fenders for those situations, which we highly recommend. You also wouldn’t want to expose these nice covers to a lock wall.
Fender Hooks
When we got our last boat we decided it was time for yacht-proper fender hooks. The importance of being able to easily adjust your fenders when approaching a dock or once you are safely tied cannot be overstated. Every boater has their own method and there are a variety of products that get the job done (beyond just tying knots) for as little as around ten bucks. But being fans of products of substance that last and look good, we tried out Yacht Innovations’ Fender Hooks. They do look great, are stout in construction and function perfectly. They have a durable, custom applied, UV rated, soft vinyl coating that keeps away the scuffs and scratches. The ones we purchased around seven years ago still look and function as new and we were quick to order an additional one when we acquired OLOH. Not cheap but not crazy (a fraction of the cost of some of what you see out there in this category) and well worth it, in our opinion.
Logo Mat
Every proper yacht needs a proper welcome mat. Around ten years ago, Tim’s sister gifted us with a fantastic door mat adorned with our old boat’s logo which lasts to this day. As the old boat’s name no longer applies it was time for a new mat with the acquisition of OLOH. Mats with any fabric simply don’t work for us as we like to leave them on the dock no matter the weather. The mat we previously had was perfect – made of a vinyl material that didn’t fade or absorb water and heavy enough to not blow away when the winds picked up. We weren’t able to track down the source of the original mat but with the help of Google, we found a vendor that offered what appeared to be the same thing. The description on the website reads, “These mats are constructed of thousands of highly durable, large filament vinyl loops. These mats are entirely self-draining and resistant to algae, mildew, chemicals, sunlight, and abrasion.” We have found all of these claims to be true. We feel they are priced on-point as we know how well they last. Customer service at Logo Mat Central was excellent – thank you Nicole – and the process was seamless with a very good turnaround, even just before the holidays.
Got some favorite gear of your own? We love to know what other people love so please tell us about it.
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