Reliable weather data fed to your iPhone

Marine Product Reviews just reviewed a great iPhone App that any boater with an iPhone or iTouch should check out.    The NOAA Buoy Data Reader is from Verona Solutions and the app presents data from NOAA weather buoys near you based upon your current location.  The app presents you with every NOAA weather buoy in your area in both a list format and on a chart of the area.  You then select the buoy that you’d like data for and you can see data for the sea conditions for that specific buoy.

Great features include being able to add buoys to your favorites list so you can quickly get data for the buoys that are most relevant.  The iPhone app will default to showing the buoy list of map view.  You are also able to enable an auto retrieve of your location and specify the radius that you’d like buoy data for (example see data for all buoys with in 100 miles).  You can also see buoy data for NOAA buoys outside your current location by searching city and state.

The data that you get includes the specific location, wind direction, wind speed (in knots), wind gust speed, significant wave heights (if available), dominant wave period, atmospheric pressure and pressure tendency.  All data indicates the specific date and time that the data is from.

The NOAA Buoy Data Reader iPhone app is easy to use and we found it to be stable. This iPhone app is a great resource for any sailor or boater who wants actual weather information for their vicinity.  It’s an app that helps you be informed and stay safe on the water.  For $2.99, it’s had to beat the price.  It’s also fun to see what is happening real time in other areas or at buoys out at sea in stormy conditions.

The NOAA Buoy Data Reader app is compatible with the iPhone 3.0 or later or the iPod Touch.

Learn how to select the right binoculars for you

Buying a pair of marine binoculars is a big decision. Figuring out which pair of marine binoculars to buy is a challenge, they are expensive and there are so many styles, features and price points.  Buying binoculars for your boat is a relatively expensive purchase that you expect to get years of use from.  So making the right choice is important.  You can buy marine binoculars ranging in price from $49 to >$1000.

Marine Product Reviews has developed this buyers guide for marine binoculars to articulate what to look for in a marine binocular and to help you understand which binoculars are right for you based upon features, quality and price.

The buyers guide identifies these the considerations below as the most important in determining which marine binocular to buy:

• Magnification
• Lens coatings
• Durability
• Light Transmission
• Prisms
• Focus
• Bearing compass
• Range finder

Here are quality marine binoculars at different price points:
<$100:
Raiatea Waterproof 7×50 Center-Focus Binoculars
Huahine 7×50 Center-Focus Binoculars
Maui 7×42 Compact Binoculars

$100-$300:
Tahiti Waterproof 7×50 Center-Focus Binoculars with Compass
FUJINON Mariner XL 7×50 Binoculars

Antigua 7×50 Waterproof Binoculars with Digital Compass

>$300:
STEINER Marine II 7×50 Binoculars with Compass
STEINER Navigator Pro 7×30 Binoculars with Compass

NIKON Sports and Marine 7×50 Binoculars with Compass

Check out the MarineProductReviews marine binocular buyers guide.



SkyMate Wind Meter - a great hand held device

The Skymate Windmeter is a great basic wind meter.  It’s accurate, high quality and relatively inexpensive. The WM-100 SkyMate wind meter is lightweight (only 3.4 ounces) and compact and is a great instrument if you are looking for basic wind speed information.

The Skymate Windmeter WM-100 has the signature Speedtech jack knife case which offers great protection when you aren’t using the wind meter and also provides a good way to hold the Skymate windmeter when you are using it.

The Skymate windmeter meaures wind from .8-89 MPH and measures wind speen in a wide variety of units including: Knots, MPH, KPH, Ft/Min, M/Sec and Beaufort and it is accurate to +/- 3% when aligned with the wind’s axis.

The SkyMate wind meter has high quality impeller components, it is water resistant (to 4 feet), it is shock proof and it floats.  We found the user interface to be intuitive and the LCD display is easy to read.

The Skymate wind meter has a lithium battery included that provides for 400 hours of use.  The Skymate WM-100 battery is also replaceable and the WM-100 wind meter comes with a 1 year warranty.

Bottom line: If you are looking for an intrument to measue basic wind speed, that is eliable, quality and reasonably priced (~$90), Marine Product Reviews reccomends the the Skymate WM-100 Windmeter from Speedtech.  If you are looking for a great wind meter with a few more bells and whistles, check out the WindMate 200 wind gauge, which is also from Speedtech. Also, find product reviews for other marine gear and products at MarineProductReviews.com.

Now is the time to start thinking about your holiday cards for 2009.  I have to remind myself of this every year and all too often I have let it slide to December at which point, my ‘Christmas’ cards become ‘Happy New Year’s’ cards.  I have committed to not letting this happen again this year and have done some research on nautically themed holiday cards.  Hopefully, this will help you find the right card for you and serve as a reminder to get on this soon .  Here is a list of my favorite cards so far.  If there are cards that you would like to see added to my list, please let me know!

“Wishing you a wonderful Christmas.” Box of 15 cards and 16 envelopes.

“Wishing you fair winds for the Holidays and calm seas for the New Year.” Box of 15 cards and 16 envelopes.

“May this Holiday Season and the New Year bring you Peace and Happiness”. Box of 15 cards and 16 envelopes.

“May this Holiday Season and the New Year bring you peace and happiness.” Box of 15 cards and 16 envelopes.

“Seasons Greetings” Box of 20 cards and 21 envelopes.

Boats with holiday lights....

“To wish you all the special things this merry Christmas season brings.” Box of 20 cards and 21 envelopes.

Fair Winds/Calm Seas (20 cards & 20 envelopes)

Wishing you smooth sailing this Holiday Season and throughout the New Year.

Gill has completely re-done one of their most popular sailing jackets.  Gill has replaced the Key West with the new Gill OS2 foul weather jacket

Gill OS2 Foul Weather Jacket

which is an excellent year round coastal cruising or offshore foul weather jacket.  We recently had the chance to check out this new jacket and were very impressed.  You can check out a full review at MarineProductReviews.com.  Here is an overview of Gill OS2:

It has the outstanding function and comfort that Gill has become known for in the boating community, in particular we liked the quality and comfort of their outer shell.  The Gill OS2 foul weather jacket is made from Gill’s 3 Dot™ waterproof & breathable – 2 layer fabric.

Provides exceptional waterproof and windproof comfort: fully taped seams, water resistant YKK zippers, high collar and a great 3-way adjustable hood for added comfort on stormy days.   The adjustable cuffs and PU inner seals along with the double storm flap also help the Gill OS2 great water tight performance and comfort.

In terms of comfort and function, the Gill products are hard to beat and the OS2 foul weather jacket is no exception.  The Gill OS2 foulweather jacket also has some excellent safety features including a high visability reflective areas, important for night or MOB situations. The OS2 also has life jacket attachment facilities.

Finally, the Gill OS2 looks and feels great.  It has a great mesh lining that breathes well and works perfectly with layers underneath. The OS2 from Gill is a outstanding foul weather jacket that is an excellent addition to the Gill line of products, and it comes in both men’s and women’s cuts.

Check out reviews for other foul weather gear products.Gill OS2

A great handheld VHF that floats!

MarineProductReviews reviewed the the Icom m34 handheld VHF radio.  If you spend most of your time on smaller boats, this is a must have.  If you spend most of your time on larger boats, this is also a great handheld VHF radio to have as a back up, on deck or ashore.

Over the years, I have had quite a few handheld VHF radios and the two features that I value the most are 1) it’s waterproof and 2) it floats.  I have lost handheld VHF radios to corrosion because they couldn’t handle getting wet, and I have had one sink which is just no fun.  It takes only one drop to really appreciate this feature!

The fact that it floats is what attracted me to try the Icom m34 handheld VHF.  If you drop the Icom m34 overboard, it will actually float back up to the surface.  Just give it a few shakes to get the water out of the speaker and it’s loud and clear.

The Icom m34 handheld VHF radio compares well with other handhelds in terms of features, power and battery life.  It transmits at 5 watts, with lower power available, which provides several miles of transmission. Lower wattage if fine for hailing the launch in the harbor and uses less battery.

The Icom m34 has a Lithium Ion battery that provides power up to 10 hours. It’s a light weight battery with decent charge time.  This combination makes the M34 handheld VHF nice to hold, it doesn’t feel heavy or boxy.

There are a few other things that stand out about the Icom m34 in our review.  It has a large LCD screen that is easy to read and large buttons that are easy to use.  There is a pre-set feature that let’s you jump right to your most frequently used channels.  Finally, the sound on this handheld VHF is excellent, we found it to me loud and clear even after it had been in the water.

There weren’t many drawbacks but if we had to pick out a few, here they are: the Icom m34 is a bit taller than other handheld VHF radios and this prevents it from easily into some pockets.  However, the belt clip that’s included should help with this.  Also, the Icom m34 doesn’t have Digital Selective Calling (DSC), this would be great but at least for now is typically found in more expensive radios (although some in this price range do have DSC).

The price is also nice, at roughly $149, it’s very much in line with other handhelds.  Between the fact that it floats and has a great 3 year warranty, you can be virtually assured that you’ll have this radio for many years.  Marine Product Reviews found the Icom m34 handheld VHF radio to have a great feature set and we believe will lead the way for many other floating handheld VHF radios in the future (we hope!).

The WindMate 200 is a portable weather station

Marine Product Reviews just checked out the WindMate 200 wind gauge from SpeedTech.  The WindMate 200 is a best selling wind gauge that is a portable wireless weather station.  This is a great tool for any small boater who doesn’t have the luxury of built in navigation or electronics systems.  If you have a larger boat with these systems, the WindMate 200 is a great product to have on board as a backup.

The three things that we were most impressed with are the fact that the WindMate 200 is easy to use, versatile (loaded with features!), compact & rugged.

• Easy to use. I can’t stand having to read instruction manuals or help screens. Products should be intuitive and the WindMate 200 is exactly that. I easily figured out how to use the Speedtech WindMate 200 in 2 minutes…impressive given how many features are packed into this wireless weather station!
  
• The WindMate 200 wind gauge has lots of features. No surprise that the WindMate gives you the wind speen, but it also gives you current wind speed, average wind speed (over 10 seconds) and max wind speed.  You can get this in MPH, knots, Beaufort scale and several other measures.  There is also a built in digital compass, this is great as a back up compass and also enables you to determine wind direction as well as wind speed.  Additionally, the WindMate 200 wind gauge is a thermometer that measures both Fahrenheit and Celsius as well as wind chill.
• The WindMate 200 wind gauge is a great compact & rugged design.  The ‘jack-knife’ case protects the LCD screen and at 3.2oz (and 5 1/2 x 1 3/4 x 3/4″) it slides easily into your pocket.  When closed, the plastic case keeps the WindMate well protected from items in your pocket or a drop on the deck.
  

One of the things that I value the most about the WindMate 200 wind gauge is that it helps me know when to reef and even when to just stay on the mooring.

In addition, the WindMate from Speedtech has a lithium battery that is replaceable and an auto shutdown feature to help save that battery.  This hand held wind gauge has a good sized back-lit LCD display which reads in tenths.  We found that it was accurate in reading both temperature, direction and of course speed.

As you’d expect, the WindMate 200 is water resistant  and is backed by a 2 year Speedtech warranty.

Marine Product Reviews really likes the WindMate 200 wind gauge as a compact and reliable addition to your hand held gadget collection. It’s also priced very reasonably at around $140. Check out the full review for the WindMate 200 at MarineProductReviews.com.

Stow N Go Grill Mounting Options & Accessories

The Stow N Go gas grill from Kuuma is one of the top selling marine grills, primarily because of it’s quality and portability.  Although the Stow N Go has the trademark folding legs and can be easily carried just about anywhere, there are 3 ways that you can mount your Stow N Go grill: rail mounts, pedestal mounts and rod holder mounts.

1) Rail mounts are fairly inexpensive and easy to use, they attach right on to any horizontal 7/8″ or 1″ stainless steel railing on your boat.  The Kuuma gas grill attaches to the rail mounts using a couple of easy to turn thumb screws.  It’s easy to get on an off but this method is nice if you’ll be keeping the grill on the rail most of the time be cause the brackets tend to stick out a bit far if the Stow N Go grill isn’t mounted on it.  This is a very popular mounting option for sailboats.

2) Fishing pole holder mount.  With this mount, you simply attach the Kuuma grill to a holder that is inserted into one of your rod holders.  This is great mounting option for smaller powerboats.  It’s impotant to consider where you will stow the gas grill when you are underway.  You will probably want to keep the grill in a locker rather than in the pole holder.  The pounding will be pretty loud and may be more wear and tear on the grill than it’s designed for.

3) The pedestal mount is a great way to mount the grill on a dock or larger boat.  It’s stable and can be left on the pedestal while underway.  Of course, mounting the pedestal on a boat is a bit more involved than either of the other two options as it involves going into fiberglass which will need to be back plated and puttied to keep water out of the mounting holes.

Of course, there are always the four folding legs that made the Stow N Go such a popular grill to begin with. The legs are great for a dock or beach but shouldn’t be used on a fiberglass boat as the grill does get quite hot.  Check out a full review of the Stow N Go grill at MarineProductReviews.com.

Marine product reviews has reviewed the Magma Kettle 2 boat grill.  The Kettle 2 Magma Grill is a high quality and best selling stainless steel gas grill. It is a kettle style boat grill that is made from 18-9 stainless steel and has a bright mirror polish. This is corrosion resistant construction that is designed to stay looking sharp for years.

This marine grill has a hinged lid which is a great feature that keeps the lid from falling off with a loud “clang”. This is a great improvement over other lower end kettle boat grills. This stainless steel gas grill also has an improved stay cool handle to prevent burns.

The Kettle 2 stainless steel grill also has a windproof turbo venturi and control valve that swivels. This essentially makes ‘blow outs’ a thing of the past and enables you to position the fuel canister so you can easily remove it even when cooking.

This grill heats up very quickly, holds a consistent and even temperature. The Kettle 2 stainless steel grill is versatile onboard as you can grill, sauté, fry and even bake. The Kettle 2 offers 11,500 BTUs of cooking power and is 15” in diameter which provides 154 sq. inches of cooking area, there is also a 17” version of the Kettle 2 stainless steel gas grill that offers 204 sq. inches of cooking area.

The Magma Kettle 2 gas marine grill uses disposable propane canisters or onboard LPG or CNG and is a very fuel efficient gas boat grill. We believe that you will probably be better off using the Kettle 2 with the disposable propane canisters. The easy to clean stainless steel grease catch pan also doubles as a wind baffle which keeps the wind out and the heat and grease in.

Finally, the Magma Kettle 2 stainless steel gas grill can be mounted in many different ways. The mounts are standard Magma Product accessories and are easily installed and are purchased separately.

You will typically find the Magma Kettle 2 boat grill for around $239 dollars (and $269 for the 17’ Kettle 2 grill) and it comes with a standard 1 year warranty.

Marine Product Reviews found the Magma Kettle 2 stainless steel gas grill to be an exceptionally well constructed, versatile and even attractive! No surprise that the Kettle 2 grill one of the best boat grills you can buy. We recommend it as a great grill for any boat. Enjoy and happy boating!

 

The Newport is a quality gas boat grill

Marineproductreviews.com recently checked out the Magma Products Newport gas boat grill. The Newport Gourmet gas grill is a very high quality stainless steel grill from one of the top makers of marine grills. The magma Newport gas grill heats up quickly, cooks evenly and is a snap to clean up compared with other similar gas boat grills.

The Newport from Magma is a rectangular grill that can be mounted on your rail, rod holder etc. and it also has four folding legs that enable you to set up the grill quickly and easily pretty much anywhere. This feature makes it a perfect grill for use either on the boat or on the beach. Mounts are sold separately and there are a wide variety of Magma grill mounts that are readily available from most marine outfitters.

The Magma Newport Gourmet gas grill is made from 18-9 stainless steel with a great looking mirror finish. The construction of this boat grill is superior quality. It has a double lined body which makes it safer for the cook. Double lined marine grills also stay looking nicer longer (yes, it’s a really good looking stainless steel grill). The lid is well balanced, it has a carrying handle that runs the length of the grill and it has locking clasps which make the Magma Newport gas grill easy to transport or stow.

What sets this gas grill apart from other marine grills is how well it cooks. It has stainless steel burners and 9”x16” grilling area (162 Sq. inches) which is large enough to grill 8 burgers at the same time. It’s perfect for grilling steaks, fish or even kebabs.

The Magma Newport boat grill has a piezo crystal ignition which makes firing up the grill as easy as pushing a button. Anyone who has tried lighting a boat grill with a match on a windy day will appreciate this.

The Magma Newport Gourmet gas grill uses disposable 1lb propone canisters and can also adapt to onboard LPG or CNG systems. Our recommendation is to stick with the propane canisters. They are easy, portable and low cost.

The Newport Gourmet gas grill comes with the standard Magma Products 1 year warranty.

Marineproductreviews.com found the Magma Newport gourmet gas grill to be one of the best boat grills we have reviewed in terms of quality, versatility, looks and ability to cook a ton of food quickly and easily. If you are planning on doing lots of grilling onboard we’d highly recommend considering the Magma Newport Gourmet gas grill.