Top Ten Boat Gear Items of 2014

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This list has a charmingly random feel. According to our computer, these were the most popular boat accessories in 2014:

1. Bungie Cord - $0.60

Ladies and gentlemen, perhaps the least-sexy Top Ten winner of the year. But there you are:  we shipped almost a mile of bungie cord to kayak builders who use it for deck rigging and other chores. Here's a quick guide to kayak deck rigging. We sell it in seven different colors, too!

2. Fancy Grab Handle - $6.50

Apparently indispensable, especially for kayak builders looking for the most comfortable handle for long portages. A comfy rubber handle enclosing sturdy nylon webbing, all you have to do is fire in two screws and you've got a great grab-handle. These work for lots of other things, too. The dust collection bin in the CLC mill shop is fitted with Fancy Grab Handles, for example...

3. Brass Padeye - $10.50

Nothing sullies up a beautiful wooden boat more than ugly hardware. As an attachment point for tow lines, grab handles, rigging, or anything else that belongs on a boat, these padeyes are shipshape and Bristol-fashion.

4. Oarlock Sockets - $26.99 - $29.99

Evidently we sell a lot of rowing boats. These are the bronze oarlock sockets we've been shipping with kits since the 1990's.

 

5. Deck Plates - $12.00 - $17.00

Deck plates? Okay, computer, if you say so! Available in various sizes and colors, these waterproof access ports are convenient for any size or type of boat. We use them in kayaks, and Madness-the-proa has at least seven of them.

6. Footbrace Mounting Kit - $14.00

Evidently not many of you like the stock kayak footbrace installation scheme, which leaves the bolt-heads exposed on the outside of a kayak forever. This mounting kit hides the bolts inside the kayak's cockpit.

7. Leather Oar Collars - $28.00

People build lots of rowing boats, and rowing boats need oars, and wooden oars are pretty but chafe against bronze oarlocks. These leather oar collars look and feel good and will last as long as the oars do.

8. Happy Bottom Pad - $48.50

This writer can recall with clarity the office debate over what to call these custom-molded kayak seats, circa 1996 or so. "Happy Bottom Pad" was the least-awful name we came up with; consider yourself lucky. Whatever you call it, this closed-cell foam seat is just about perfect for any kayak.

9. Keepers Footbraces - $26.50

Standard in CLC kayak kits, these sturdy plastic footbraces have been the industry standard for decades. What do we like most about these? It's almost impossible to jam them with beach sand.

10. Drop-In Rowing Unit - from $585

Beautifully hand-built in anodized aluminum, these sliding seat units are the powerplant in a half-dozen CLC pulling boat designs. The artisan who makes them has a lunatic delivery schedule, but hey, sometimes that's the nature of artisans.

Almost made the Top Ten:

11. CLC Cap

12. Kayak Toggles

13. Spoon Blade Oars

14. Flat Blade Spruce Oars

15. Creature Comfort Seat

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