6 Cool Gadgets That Make Boating Even Better

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Going out on a boat can be an exciting experience, whether alone or with friends. You might be taking it out for fishing, or you might want to explore a local area while the weather’s nice. Regardless of your choice, being out on a boat is a grand time when you have the opportunity. However, there are ways you can enhance this experience, like the essential tools you should always have on a boat, or ones you can take out with you to sea.

We’ve gone through and created a list of a handful of gadgets that stand out to us as ways to make your time on a boat fantastic. These range from entertainment options to useful safety tools you might want on board to enhance your safety. Here are six cool gadgets that you can bring with you to make your time on a boat even better.

A drone can be a useful tool to bring with you when out on a boat. You can use it to get an aerial perspective of the area ahead, ensuring you avoid any reefs or debris you might not notice from your vessel. When it comes to picking out a drone, the DJI Mavic 3 Classic is a reliable choice to bring with you and is different from the standard DJI Mavic 3. It has high-quality 5K video that you can see through, a long battery life that lets you fly for at least 45 minutes, and it’s easy to use for anyone new to flying a drone. It has a maximum flight distance of 18.5 miles, can fly at 21 m/s horizontally and 8 m/s vertically, can operate in temperatures that range from 14° to 104° Fahrenheit, and comes with 8 GB of internal storage for your footage.

The model does take a bit of practice to learn to fly, but with some time, it becomes much easier to operate and performs well outdoors. The controls can be sensitive, and newer users might want to take a few test flights before taking it out onto the water. The DJI Mavic 3 Classic is available for $1,279. You can also get multiple accessories, such as a wide-angle lens, a portable charger, a battery hub, and various controllers.

If you’ve ever wanted to enjoy a day out on a boat, or an evening on it to watch a movie, you can always bring a screen or device with you. But if you want to share the experience with a large group of people and make it feel like an outdoor movie theater, there’s the option of having a projector on board. The Anker Soundcore Nebula X1 projector is a portable device you can bring onto a boat so a larger group can enjoy a movie or program while you’re out on the water or docked. It’s why we’ve listed it as one of the best outdoor projectors you can use.

The Nebula X1 is a projector that has 3,5000 lumens of brightness, a 3840 x 2160 resolution, a native contrast of 5,000: 1, multiple projection modes such as front, rear, or ceiling, a liquid cooling system, and weighs less than 15 pounds, making it lightweight to add to your boat. It has a built-in handle for easy carrying. If the screen you’re using isn’t perfectly white, the Nebula X1 has a built-in camera that detects it and adjusts the projection lighting. Ideal if you want to project onto a wall in your boat or use a drop-down screen for your movie. You can get the Anker Nebula X1 for $2,999 on Amazon.

Having a radio on a boat is always a good idea, especially a VHF model. It’s a two-way wireless device that uses very high-frequency waves between 30 and 300 MHz, allowing you to communicate with others who also use these radios, namely other boaters, marinas, a bridge operator, or even the Coast Guard, if necessary. Making sure you have one is always a good idea, and the Standard Horizon HX890 handheld marine radio is a worthwhile addition to your boat’s tools.

The HX890 has a large 1.7-inch screen, making it easy to read everything it displays and switch between its features. It has 700 mW loud audio and noise-canceling for TX and RX audio, waypoint and route navigation, a man-overboard setting, two scrambler systems, versatile scanning operation, a weather channel and alert setting, and much more. If it does fall into the water, it’s waterproof and floats, making it easy to pick up and ensuring you don’t lose it over the side by mistake. You can get it for $269 on Amazon.

Having too many lights isn’t a bad idea, especially if you can attach one to your head so they don’t take up a hand. The Coast WPH34R headlamp is a worthwhile option, wrapping around the top of your head so you can keep your hands free the entire time you have it. If you need to shine it at a specific location, the headlamp detaches, and you can use it like a standard handheld lamp to look in hard-to-reach places, ideal for use on a boat or when walking on a dock.

The WPH34R headlamp is a waterproof device with a 2,000-lumen bulb that has a maximum beam length of 590 feet. It comes with five modes that can switch the beam color among white, red, and green. You can expect the headlamp to operate for 36 hours before needing to recharge, or use three alkaline AAA batteries if you don’t want to recharge. You can get the WPH34R headlamp for $89.99.

It can be hard to ensure your devices or batteries are fully charged when you’re in the middle of the water. As the day goes on, you might use some more than others, and when they do run out, there are not many options to recharge the batteries. An effective way to ensure you can always charge your devices, whether you have access to standard electricity or not, on a boat is with the FlexSolar 40W foldable solar panels, one of the top-rated foldable solar panels on Amazon. You can place these solar panels out and begin charging your devices without using an outlet or a portable battery that can run out.

The FlexSolar solar panels come with DC, USB-A, and USB-C ports, allowing you to charge multiple devices simultaneously. To maintain portability, these foldable solar panels are easy to store, allowing you to configure their layout to optimize sun exposure. You can expect a 24% solar conversion rate, though you’ll want to angle them at 45 degrees to the sun for the best results. They don’t have a kickstand, so you’ll have to be creative about where you place them on your boat. You can get them for $67.99 on Amazon.

It’s always a good idea to make sure someone knows where you’re going and when to expect you back, even if you’re taking a routine route with your boat. It’s always possible that the worst can happen in the best of situations, and having a way to signal for help is an important tool when you’re on the water. A helpful device to have with you is the Garmin inReach Mini 2 satellite communicator, a radio with two-way messaging and an interactive SOS signal that works globally. It’s one of several emergency gadgets that you can buy online. 

Any messages you send out also share your current location. Anyone who has access to your service can check your location at any time, with the service updating your map location every 10 minutes. Beyond acting as a communicator, it acts as a digital compass and can help you get back on course. If you’ve lost your way, it also has a feature called TracBack that shows the route you took to get there, allowing you to retrace your steps. Not only is it water-resistant, but the battery is also expected to last up to 14 days with the 10-minute tracking mode enabled. You can get it on Amazon for $399.99.

We reviewed feedback from both consumers and industry experts, selecting products based on their performance on the water and in the marina. Some are purely for entertainment purposes, such as the Nebula X1 Projector, while others can be used to make life easier, like solar panels for charging an electronic device.

Others were picked for their use in emergency situations, like the Mini 2, or for their ability to help anticipate potential dangers, like the Mavic 3 Drone, Coast Headlamp, or the HX890 Radio. Each device has a high amount of versatility for anyone who regularly uses a boat.