A SART—Search-and-Rescue Transponder—won’t be on everyone’s boat shopping list, but for offshore sailors it makes sense. SARTs respond to a search vessel’s radar beam with a series of blips that show up strongly on its screen (inset). A SART won’t send a distress signal to a satellite like an EPIRB, but it will guide rescuers directly to you once they’re in radar range. The $975 Simrad SA50 is the smallest SART yet to be built—it’s less than 10 inches long and only 3.2 inches wide, making it a feasible addition to grab bags or liferaft containers. Simrad USA;
425-778-8821
Powerful LEDs
The Newport PowerLED (from $159) contains three 1-watt LEDs that have a 50,000-hour life. They provide the same amount of light as a 20-watt halogen bulb but consume only a miserly 6 watts of power. There are various options for trim and for “temperature”—warm or cool white, red, or blue—and the light can be controlled by an optional dimmer switch. Best of all for us follically challenged sailors, LEDs don’t burn hot like halogen bulbs, so there’ll be no more scorched scalps. Imtra Corporation; 508-995-7000
Platinum plotting
Navionics’s new Platinum electronic charting package won an innovation award at the Marine and Allied Trades Show this year. Combining charts and plotting software in a single cartridge, it brings to chartplotters the kind of piloting power so far seen only in PC-based applications. As well as its chart collection, it offers the ability to switch from chart to aerial photography to 3D bathymetric imaging. Along with panoramic photographs of each port there are full cruising guides, with port information and road maps. Altogether, this is a powerful package. $499. Navionics USA; 508-291-6000
Stretchy friends
Mini-Shockles are deceptively simple—double-strength shockcord sheathed in nylon webbing, with an anodized aluminum carabiner hook at either end. Once you start thinking of applications for them, you won’t stop. They come in four lengths, from 6 inches to 24 inches, four color choices, and four prices—from $8.45 to $19.95. If this sounds expensive for shockcord, think of the hardware and the longevity. Simply Brilliant LLC; 888-557-6464
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