Gear Patrol | Spirit of Adventure, Passion for Gear

If train A leaves the station at...

According to estimates there are 800 million cars on the road today. By 2050 it will approach between 2 and 4 billion with 70% of those cars existing in cities. Needless to say, automakers — and city planners alike — are scrambling to develop new and more efficient ways to get around. One company, Ford, [...]

Wave Runner Lite

Carbon fiber is used everywhere these days. From phone cases to the svelte bodies of supercars. So, why not a yacht? Well, SAY (Sven Akermann Carbon Yachts) has done just that with their custom built boats. From power boats to full yachts, SAY builds these nautical masterpieces from Carbon-Airex epoxy maaterials providing strength, rigidity and [...]

Ridiculous Amphibious

We’re pretty sure we imagined a boat with retractable tank treads out on the playground, but Iguana Yacht founder Antoine Brugidou claims the idea came to him while navigating unique locations like the bay of Mont St. Michel, where low tide is known to reveal miles of sandbanks and rocks. This complicated terrain inspired him [...]

Bubble Wide

Let’s say camping is your thing. The great outdoors, camping trailer and tenting, backpacking, the whole Eagle Scout bit. Occasionally, you’ll camp near a lake and possibly rent a boat to go fishing. What if your trailer could pull double duty and go aquatic? Well, now you can with the Sealander. Count on those Germans [...]

Skiff you could only see

If there’s one item to bowl over in G&G’s freshly launched store, it’s the Garden & Gun Skiff ($24,000). Based on a Dragonfly Boatworks Emerger 16-foot shallow water fishing boat, the innovative skiff not only incorporates classic designs, but extraordinary attention to detail: easily accessible and serviceable components, a generously proportioned poling platform, and wide-stable [...]

Yachtings Nouveau Riche Cousin?

The words “glamour” and “houseboat” normally don’t mingle in the same sentence — let alone the same book. The MetroShip ($250,000+), however, is inspired by the open floor plans of coveted NYC loft spaces and designed by prefab construction phenom David Ballinger. The impetus of the project was to create a luxurious, yet green housing [...]

Floating Sculpture

Can a kayak be considered a work of art? Nick Schade certainly thinks so. Since 1986, Schade has created hand-made kayaks under the imprint Guillemot Kayaks creating one stunning vessel after the next in his Maine workshop. Using a unique “strip-built” method commonly utilized with canoes, these seafaring stunners do more than just look good [...]

Hip Ship

If you happen to be well-off enough to afford your own boat, please don’t take the route of “more is more.” Classic design will stand the test of time, and you can still have your creature comforts, your technology and modern build quality while maintaining an air of good taste. All of these descriptors find [...]

Holy Craft!

Every so often, you find something so big, you just can’t ignore it (cough). Well, there are watercraft, there are boats… and then there’s the aquatic behemoth known as the Zubr LCAC (Landing Craft Air Cushioned) or more commonly known as hovercraft. Easily the world’s largest hovercraft, the Zubr Class LCAC was introduced by the [...]

A Long Way from a Hollowed Out Log

Synthetics and composites have plenty of benefits, but they’ll never compete with the look of wood. This Cedar Strip Wooden Kayak from Justin Charles ($16,000) manages to provide the best of both worlds. Its beautiful Western Red Cedar strip exterior is combined with glass fiber to create a light weight, yet durable composite that puts [...]

Bow to Good Design

The Ultimate Steering Machine? Perhaps the new BMW Intermarine 55 will establish that new slogan for the Bavarian automaker. In a stunning collaborative work between BMW DesignworksUSA and Intermarine, the Brazilian luxury yacht manufacturer, the goal was to create a new design theme for nautical vessels, incorporating such automotive cues as trapezoidal windows (instead of [...]

Stowaway Stunner

Measuring 32 feet, the B Yacht B30 is the creation of Luca Brenta and Lorenzo Argento. Built specifically for sailing enthusiasts and a spectacle of marvel of crisp, modern simplicity, the B30 ($125,000) pivots around a unique hallmark feature: single-handed operation. It is further enhanced by a massive ballast ratio that emparts operators with a [...]

From Small Town, USA

Nestled quietly amidst the shores of the Louisiana coast in Slidell, LA, Newton Boats has been hard at work constructing custom boats designed to cater to individuals wants and needs since 1982. With a fleet ranging from custom dive boats to patrol and research vessels, Newton’s attention to detail has propelled the company to into [...]

Green Means Go

To equate the electric Silveira Customs Green Samba Personal Watercraft ($TBD) to a Tesla on water is the equivalent of an editorial shortcut, but the likeness is just too easy to pass. Similar to a sport bike, the Green Samba’s semi-prone layout is designed to feel like an extension of the driver’s body. On water, [...]

One Sailboat To Go, Please

What goes 12 knots, has a 15+ foot mast, carries 4 passengers, and deflates into two airline check-able duffel bags? One hint: see above. The 92.5 pound Smartkat Inflatable catamaran ($5,999) is a masted vessel made of two inflatable PVC pontoons, modular anodized frame, and a Dyneema mast and boom that, despite it’s portability and [...]