A Gift Guide for Inexperienced Sailors

Sailors are great a disseminating information among each other, but like any new hobby, there is a lot to learn when one takes it on, so a lot of information is not quite absorbed until it is needed.

As a sailor, this often means that when I need something, I needed to buy it yesterday.

A lot of these items are things that took me too long to learn that I needed, which might have ranged from danger to minor inconveniences.

A Marlinspike / Rigging Knife

A marlinspike is a necessary tool, and every sailor will need one eventually. The pointy/needly part is great for breaking knots and splicing lines. The first time I realized I needed one was when a line had bound up on the winch and I was not yet experienced enough to know more than a makeshift rolling hitch.

It all worked out on that day, but if the wind had kicked up instead of dying down, I might have been looking for the knife-part of that marlinspike to cut the line away before we were unexpectedly swimming.

Linked here is the Myerchin Gen 2 Linerlock, which is a great all-arounder for the money, and from a brand that all the old salts trust. If you wanted to go more up-market, products from Broye will fit the bill. If $60 is a stretch, Camillus makes a competent marlinspike at a little bit of a discount.