Product Reviews - Page 6 of 10 - Small Boats Magazine

DeWalt's DWP6111 weighs 4.6 pounds and has a 1-1/4 hp motor.

May 2019

Compact Routers

Better visibility, easier handling

A lot of the jobs a router can do don’t require a lot of heft and horsepower. A compact router that is easily managed with one hand will quickly prove its usefulness in the boat shop.

The swivel base adapter gives the vise additional ranges of motion.

May 2019

Versa Vise

Making itself useful since 1901

A bench vise is an essential tool and the Versa Vise, with its smooth-faced jaws and ability to pivot in four different ways, can handle wood, brass, and bronze without damaging them.

April 2019

A High-Thrust Caulk Gun

The Newborn 250

If you’ve squeezed hard on the grip of a caulking gun and couldn’t get a bead of thick caulk or adhesive flowing from the tip of a cartridge, it’s not you, it’s the gun. The Newborn 250 puts the mechanical advantage in your favor.

The LivWild saw has teeth on every link and highly visible straps.

April 2019

Pocket Chainsaws

Making the cut without the motor

Where there’s shoreline, there’s usually driftwood that can be useful around camp or worth taking home for woodworking projects. When it’s too big to move or carry, a pocket chainsaw can cut it down to size.

March 2019

Resp-O-Rator

Better breathing for the bearded

Airborne dust in the shop poses a real health threat, but bearded boatbuilders won’t get adequate protection from a face mask if it doesn’t provide a good seal. The Resp-O-Rator solves the problem with a mouthpiece like that used with a snorkel.

The lights come with either suction cups, as seen here, or with clamps.

March 2019

Portable Running Lights

LED lights from Innovative Lighting

A lot of small boats aren’t wired with electrical systems, so battery-powered running lights are in order for traveling at night. We take a look at a set from Innovative Lighting.

The DeWalt multi-tool has a quick-release device for a tool-less change of blades and a variable speed trigger switch.

February 2019

Oscillating Multi-tools

DeWalt’s DWE315

The first oscillating cutting tools were created for cutting plaster casts off the limbs of patients who had broken bones. That was in 1967. Today they’re known as multi-tools and they can take on jobs that are impossible for other power tools or painfully tedious to do by hand.

The yellow trigger turns the gas on and ignites it. The trigger can be locked in the off position by turning it clockwise and locked in the on position be depressing the silver-colored button above it. The black knob on the opposite side controls the flow rate of the fuel.

February 2019

Bernzomatic’s TS 8000

Serious heat made simple

The ordinary propane torch is a useful tool but somewhat limited in what it can do by the amount of heat it can create. The Bernzomatic TS 8000, with its larger flame, faster fuel consumption, and the ability to use both propane and hotter-burning MAP-Pro gas increases the range of possibilities.

January 2019

Trailer Guide Posts

Less drama at the ramp

Trailer guide posts can be your new best friend at the ramp when you’re on your own and struggling to get your boat lined up on the trailer and operate the winch at the same time.

January 2019

A 1″ x 30″ belt sander

Just 20 seconds to change belts

A 1”x 30” belt sander is a small benchtop machine that can not only handle woodworking projects too small for other power tools, but also work metal from rough shaping to polishing.

The tempered-steel guide has holes precisely sized to allow bits to spin freely and without wobbling.

December 2018

V-DrillGuide

Accurate alignment for hand drills

When you can’t get the work to a drill press, the V-DrillGuide from Big Gator Tools makes it easy to drill holes centered and squared.

The vacuum carries a crevice nozzle in the handle and a battery on one end. When not in use, the wide nozzle clips into a recess in the other end and the hose snaps into hollows around the whole case.

December 2018

A Cordless Wet/Dry Vac

Portability from Porter Cable

Porter Cable’s compact cordless vacuum cleaner goes wherever there’s a mess to clean up whether it’s wet or dry, in the shop or in the boat.

With the pot locked on the stove and a folding tripod base clipped to the fuel tank, the Jetboil system behaves it self while cooking at anchor with the boat rocking.

November 2018

Jetboil Flash

Cooking aboard, quicker and safer

Jetboil’s Flash Cooking System is pot, stove, and fuel all in one tidy and easily stowed package. It is very quick to boil water and simmers gently enough to make cooked meals without scorching. The pot has a neoprene insulating sleeve to retain heat and a webbing handle so you don’t need a pot gripper.

The P.O.S.H. line splices well, coils neatly, and looks right on a wooden boat.

November 2018

P.O.S.H. Rope

Easy on the eyes and hands

For a boat with bright-finished wood and bronze hardware, bright white braided line can look out of place. Langman Ropes’ P.O.S.H cordage has the aesthetics of traditional hemp and the strength of modern synthetics.

The author used optional mounts: the monitor mount instead of the rail mount for the monitor and the tall mount (for better visibility over the bow) instead of the flush mount for the camera.

October 2018

Cruz Camera

from Hyndsight Vision Systems

Rowing has, at long last, gone digital and wireless. Hyndsight makes a waterproof cameras and monitors that provide a clear view over the bow, so you don’t have to swivel your head like an owl. And the Cruz system goes one better than having eyes in the back of your head; it works for those trailering tasks when you need to be in two places at once.

If the flashlight gets dropped overboard it will float and automatically start flashing the red light in its handle.

October 2018

AR-Tech LED Flashlight + Lantern

Five functions and it floats

The Life Gear Flashlight + Lantern was design with boating in mind. It floats, turns on automatically when immersed, has a 100-lumen flashlight beam, and an all-around area light in white for general use and in red for preserving night vision.

The NoSpill gas can has several features that make it easier to avoid spills and overfilling at the gas station and aboard the boat.

September 2018

No-Spill Gasoline Can

A better gas can

Filling a small outboard motor’s internal fuel tank can be a messy task. The No-Spill Gas Can helps eliminate spills and overfilling with its push-button valve and automatic flow stop.

September 2018

eTape16

A digital tape measure

The standard tape measure may be to blame for the adage “measure twice, cut once.” A digital tape measure can read the hashmarks correctly and remember the measurement so you can get it right the first time.

The Force dollies can be plugged into a trailer's 12-v, electrical system is it's a camper trailer. Adding a battery box, as seen here, makes the unit self-contained.

August 2018

Force 5K Power Dolly

A power dolly from Parkit360°

Trailers carrying heavy boats can be difficult if not impossible to move by hand. The Force 5K power dolly from Parkit360° can move your trailer in tight quarters where there’s not enough room for your vehicle.

The nylon head has enough weight to make quick work of punching holes and setting grommets yet it won't damage the tools.

August 2018

Barry King Hammer-Style Mallet

More than setting grommets

With its nylon head and leather-and-brass handle, the 48-oz Hammer-style Mallet from Barry King Tools is ideal for setting grommets as well as doing many other jobs in the boatshop and it’s as pretty as it is persuasive.

The Blackbird XLC and the Thunderfly are a good match for a steep shoreline and a narrow beach.

July 2018

Blackbird XLC and Thunderfly

A hammock system from Warbonnet

Hammocks provide minimum-impact shelter ashore and can be set up on wooded terrain that's too steep or uneven to accommodate a tent. We take a look at a system that includes a hammock, bug net, winter cover, and rain fly.

July 2018

Knipex Plier Wrench

Getting a grip

The Knipex plier wrench is a versatile and well-designed tool with extraordinary gripping power. It’s a worthy addition to an on-board tool kit.

A dolly opens up access to the water in areas without launching ramps.

June 2018

Dynamic Dollies

Lightweight rigs for hand launching

Dollies reduce dependence on paved launch ramps and open up new areas to explore. And the less effort it takes to move a boat, the more often you’re likely to use it.

The Small Craft version comes folded to fit a waterproof chart case.