Stuck for gift ideas for the sailor who has it all? Yachting World is here to help with some great ideas as we list our best gifts for sailors
Are you wondering what to get the sailor in your life for their birthday, for Christmas or for any other celebratory occasion? Here is our pick of the best Christmas gifts for sailors that would make a perfect present for the keen boater in your life.
We appreciate everyone is on a different budget, so we’ve sectioned this piece by price. Hit the links below to jump straight to the price bands.
Best gifts for sailors under £25
Best gifts for sailors £25 – £100
Best gifts for sailors £100 – £200
Best gifts for sailors £200 – £500
Best gifts for sailors £500+
Editor’s choice Christmas gifts
1 / Hattiers Premium Reserve Rum
Synonymous with sailing since the mid 17th Century, rum continues to be the yachtsman’s favourite tipple.
This south Devon firm, which currently sponsors our Letters pages and has also teamed up with Spirit Yachts, produces some dangerously good sipping rums. A personal favourite is its premium reserve blended Egremont rum – wow!
2 / Victorinox Skipper Swiss Army Pocket Knife
This Victorinox has been by my side for years and got me out of some scrapes as well as helped me to fix a few things on the go.
The built in additional tools make this more than just a knife. So yes, it’s a bit heavier and fatter than a knife that s solely a knife.
Probably the best knife I ever used on a boat and a gift that keeps on giving from my dad years ago.
for more sailing knives have a look at my guide to the best sailing knives
3 / Standard Horizon HX890E VHF handheld marine radio
Best handheld VHF on test
With features like a large screen, built-in GPS receiver and DSC capability and great battery life, it’s easy to see why it comes in amongst our top editors choices. The handheld radio floats with a highly visible strobe light activated when in the water and is fully waterproof with an IPX8 rating.
It comes with an additional battery tray, which can use 5 x AAA standard disposable or rechargeable batteries, in addition to the set’s main rechargeable battery.
Looking for more options? Check out our guide to the best handheld VHFs.
4 / Sealskinz Bacton waterproof Beanie
This waterproof Sealskinz beanie is warm dry woolie hug for your head. It is water and stain repellent, with a three layer construction for warmth, durability and waterproofing. The waterproofing will keep your head dry. The breathability will help to let the steam out even if you’re working hard.
Looking for a different style? Check out our guide to the best sailing hats on the market.
5 / Red 40lt Kit Bag
This waterproof bag is stylish and lightweight, with smooth zips designed not to snag, and the best part is that it’s made out of recycled plastic bottles (TPU). And the zips and seals really work too. We tested a selection of waterproof bags and this was our favourite blend of style and practicality.
Best Christmas gifts for sailors under £25
6 / Sea Fever
For those of us with land locked loved ones in our lives that are keen to take to the high seas Meg and Christopher Clothier may have the gift for you. Sea Fever is a book stacked to the gunnels with interesting facts, practical advice and esoteric seaside lore – once you’ve read it, you’ll never feel like a landlubber again.
With each product is a ‘Buy it now’ link. If you click on this then we may receive a small amount of money from the retailer when you purchase the item. This doesn’t affect the amount you pay.
7 / Creative Ropecraft: A treasure trove of knots, hitches, bends, plaits and netting
the updated edition of Creative Ropecraft: A treasure trove of knots, hitches, bends, plaits and netting by the late Stuart Grainger.
Now in colour for the first time, this compendium of all things knotty is a great collection of practical nautical knots and decorative rope work.
8 / The Nautical Puzzle Book
How much do you really know about the oceans? The National Maritime Museum has packed this book with hundreds of questions and a mix of maps, world games and trivia. Available in hardback or Ebook form this stocking filler is designed to suit veteran sailors and armchair navigators alike.
9 / Sugru Mouldable Glue
Sugru is a new material that feels like play dough but acts like superglue and sticks to most objects and surfaces. It’s very user-friendly, highly malleable and waterproof and comes in 10 bright colours. It’s ideal for both fixing things and giving items a new lease of life as it sets like silicone rubber (flexible and insulated) – it’s also surprisingly fun to apply.
Best Christmas gifts for sailors £25 – £100
10 / Spinlock Essentials chest pack
Spinlock’s Essential Packs are snug fitting solutions for keeping accessories like a mobile phone, VHF, or personal EPIRB to hand on the water. They are available as belt, side or chest packs that attach with Velcro tie-downs, and neatly compliment Spinlock’s Deckvest 5D lifejacket.
11 / C-monsta wetsuit hangar
This odd looking hanger is designed especially for your wetsuit and its accoutrements like the gloves and boots. It’s lightweight, so easy to bring with you and strong enough to take the extra weight of soaking wet neoprene. The design also helps your wetsuit dry quicker and reduces wear and tear.
12 / Gill Deckhand Sailing Gloves – Long Finger
The Gill Deckhand gloves have been my go to glove for years now. For a while there was a women’s option available which was a much better fit than the unisex version.
The way the glove is tailored to the curve of the hand makes them easy to wear and easy to grip lines and other control surfaces. They do get a bit soggy to wear when wet and I keep a few pairs to be able to swap out while the others dry off. They usually last me a season and need replacing but I keep buying the same gloves because they are so comfortable to wear.
13 / Arthur Beale Riggers bag
Arthur Beale’s all natural oiled wool pullovers are the company’s signature item today, but it also has dozens of gift ideas, including this Rigging Tool Bag. Made from canvas and leather it features 24 external and 18 internal pockets plus practical handles and lanyards.
14 / Gill Tarp Barrel Bag
All sailors need a decent kit bag. This 60L no-nonsense barrel bag is made from durable waterproof tarpaulin and features a two-way zip and padded shoulder strap.
19 / Gill Stealth Timer
Stealth Timer If you’re late to the start wearing this watch, there’s no excuse! As well as the large, super clear display, modes include a digital compass and course shift as well as the ‘stealth’ feature of a silent countdown so you can outsmart the opposition on the line.
Best Christmas gifts for sailors £100 – £200
20 / Yeti Rambler 36oz
When two fishermen brothers couldn’t find a robust icebox/cooler, they started Yeti, which produces coolers you can stand on, throw around a boat and that will keep ice cold for days.
The drinkware range looks just as practical, whether water bottles, the ramblers to keep your coffee hot, or the wine tumbler to keep your Côtes de Provence ice cold.
The Rambler gallon/half gallon jugs make a lot of sense for day sailing racing, either for warming soups hot or keeping your Dark’n’Stormy fresh! See Stones/Yeti for options
22 / Sealey SPB160W 31200mAh Lithium AC Power Pack
This lithium ion power back offers a potential solution to the problem of keeping gadgets charged while on board. It’s compact and weighs only 1.5kg, but has a 31,200mAh capacity that’s sufficient to deliver half a dozen full charges for a smart phone, or to fully charge a typical laptop twice.
23 / Oakley Split Shot
Wearing a good set of UV-protected sunglasses with polarised lenses year-round can help protect against serious eye damage. But it can be painful and expensive if, like me, you are prone to losing glasses over the side. Oakley’s Split Shot glasses come with Prizm lenses and provide a detachable lightweight and ultra thin wire leash attachment to its wraparound glasses to suit watersports in particular.
Looking for a different style? Check out our guide to the best sailing sunglasses on the market.
24 / Dubarry Commodore XLT
YM editor Theo Stocker has been putting Dubarry’s Commodore XLT moccasin boat shoes through their paces for a few months now.
He believes they represent a happy medium between traditional moccasins and their sporty competitors.
Theo says: ‘Their key selling point is that they are, as the name suggests, extra light. In fact, they are roughly half the weight of my previous boat shoes.
‘Despite this, they still have a good degree of cushioning in the sole and are firm enough to give my foot some support, with the three-hole lacing keeping them secure on my foot.’
For more options, from deck trainers to leather moccasins, check out YBW’s guide to the best boat shoes available right now.
Buy it now from Robinsons Shoes
Exposure Lights Raw Pro Head Torch
Best head torch for red light power
for other headtorches we’ve tested and rate highly, have a look at the buyers guide to head torches for more options
Best Christmas gifts for sailors £200 – £500
Best Christmas gifts for sailors £500+
Quench manual watermaker
Hydro Wind Energy is aiming to produce 100 million Quench Sea desalinators in the next seven years! This unit has triple pre-filtration and a small state-of-the-art reverse osmosis replaceable membrane rated for the production of 18,000lt of fresh water. It weighs 0.7kg and produces 2lt of water an hour.
Note: the first units aren’t scheduled to ship until October 2021, but a voucher for one could be welcomed as a Christmas gift with a difference.
Swellpro Spry+ Plus Waterproof Drone
Swellpro made the first fully waterproof quad copter that also floats. This new drone is an update to that ‘splash’ model and has many of the same great features including the ability to shoot 4K video and 12MP images. It also has a payload release feature for carrying and releasing items, including safety gear. SwellPro has released the 3rd generation of the SplashDrone, with improved features, including a ‘follow me’ mode. Use it to capture some unique footage of your yacht, take a beer to a friend, or even drop a life-ring to a casualty in the water.
Bluefin Cruise inflatable paddle board
The Bluefin Cruise is very stable for paddling and has a fair amount of buoyancy thanks to its width and depth. Of course this does also mean it is more affected by wind and waves than other, smaller designs.
I like that the grip runs almost all the way to the tail of the board, meaning you still have grip to stand on if you have a heavy dry bag strapped to the attachment point on the nose of the board – or a small child – both of which would see you stand much further back than normal
This model excels in versatility and manoeuvrability, making it well-suited for most novice or occasional paddlers.
Garmin Quatix 7 smart watch
Best smart sailing watch
The Quatix 7 is a smart watch that keeps giving all year long. From a quick glance you can see tides, barometer, charts, autopilot and so many fitness features as well as smart watch features. You can use it for contactless payments at the bar too. An awsome bit of kit and one of our editors top choices from our buyers guide to sailing watches.
If this watch doesn’t tick your boxes, then read our guide to the best sailing watches available right now.
Best Christmas gift ideas for sailors
If you didn’t find anything in this list that’s perfect for the sailor in your life, you might want to browse some of the options below for a whole range of sailors’ favourites. And if you’re still stuck, there’s always the good old gift card…
Best watches for sailors
Best handheld VHF radio
Best gloves for sailors
Best binoculars for sailors
Best stand up paddle board
Buy Gael Force Marine gift vouchers
Buy Bass Pro Shops gift cards
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