Maintenance and DIY

Vision QuestLooking for one pair of go-to shades that will serve you equally well on the water, at the club, and on the ski slopes? Kaenon’s new Kabin model features simple-yet-elegant Italian styling and is made of injection-molded TR-90 plastic for durability and minimal weight. The Kabin’s ultra-grippy nose pads will hold the glasses securely on your face, and the

Edited by David SchmidtWinter WarmerEarly-season sailing’s burly temps and biting winds demand extra-warm clothing, like this Solo jacket from Arc’Teryx. The Solo is an insulating layer intended to be worn under a shell or foul-weather jacket; it relies on ThermaTek insulation, a hydrophobic, hollow-fiber filament that packs big heat, for its minimal

By David SchmidtUnsightly is the rig with massive wads of rigging tape glommed onto the spreader tips; worse are sails that have been “punctuated” by uncovered spreaders. DeWAL Industries’s pressure-sensitive Dynaglide MT rigging tape, which is made from pure Teflon to yield an extremely low friction coefficient, easily adheres to spreader tips, turnbuckles, lifelines, deck

Edited by David SchmidtSILENT DRIVERThe Tiller Trimmer is a simple self-steering device for tiller-steered boats. Mount it on your tiller, run a control line from one side of the cockpit to the other through the Tiller Trimmer, and you can lock the tiller in place by tightening the unit’s control knob. The device, made of N6 Nylon, has a ball-bearing Delrin sheave that

Purosol’s enzyme-based Sport/Marine cleaner is formulated to break down organic salts without harming coated lenses or displays. The manufacturer claims that Purosol breaks down the bonds that allow salt, dirt, and grime to adhere to a surface, without damaging antiglare coatings or a display unit’s porous screen. $7.95. Origin Laboratories, 626-568-1100,

Edited by David SchmidtPROBLEM SOLVERAn override on a winch can become a big problem if you don’t have the right solution. The Spinlock ZS/OPEN is a mobile jammer that allows you to transfer a loaded line or sheet onto a different winch to fix the override, rearrange a bad lead, or deal with a spinnaker peel. Simply attach the Spinlock unit to the loaded

Need to shed light on your engine without tapping your house batteries? Meet Black & Decker’s cordless Bright Bar and Mini Bright Bar. The units can provide focused light, area lighting, or 360-degree lighting, depending on the space that needs illuminating. They use long-life LED bulbs, which are reported to provide up to 10,000 hours of bulb life, and have an adjustable swivel-hanging hook for

Weatherly GearFoul weather often demands only a thin layer of protection, yet many sailing jackets are heavier and bulkier than needed for inshore racing or coastal cruising. The lightweight Atlantis Microburst shell is designed for use in light rain, wind, fog, and mist. It is available with or without a hood, has oversized pockets, an athletic cut, armpit zips for shedding excess

Busted fresh-water hose? Leaking oil line? Thanks to Harbor Products’s self-amalgamating, silicone-based Rescue Tape, these problems are just a few wraps away from being solved. Rescue Tape forms a permanent seal, is waterproof and air-tight, insulates against up to 8,000 volts of electrical current, can resist 700 psi of pressure, and can survive temperatures up to 500F, all of which make it a

Hanging it out on the wire is one of the most exciting aspects of dinghy sailing; being thrown forward and taking the full-value “around-the-world” ride around the forestay is one of the scariest. Using a fixed footstrap can lead to serious injury in the event of capsizing or pitchpoling. The new AquaStrap is a releasable footstrap made out of high-grade polymers; it can be screwed or riveted