Gear

We asked our charter-boat friends which watersports gear to buy for our cruising boat. They had definite favorites.

- DAVID KILMER

Toy TIME

I will admit to being a low-tech sailor. On my own cruising boat, the water toys are typically limited to a paddleboard, snorkeling gear, and maybe a couple of pool noodles if we go all out.

But I have seen the other boats with all the cool gadgets, and envied their fun in the sun. I asked for advice from Capt. RJ Portman and chef/ mate Jenna Taylor of the 50-foot Lagoon Delana Mae. Their boat charters in the Caribbean, so they look for toys that amplify the guest experience while being simple to deploy, and easy to clean, stow, and maintain.

The top toy aboard Delana Mae is the Bote Dock Hangout, an inflatable, horseshoe-shaped lounge. "Guests absolutely love this thing," RJ says. "We put it out at every anchorage and even anchor it near the beach occasionally. It has this paddleboard-style base with soft, inflatable back pillows for relaxing with a beverage. It's rigid in use, then totally collapsible when you're done."

Next on their list is a pair of submersible scooters from Sublue: the WhiteShark Mix and WhiteShark Mix Pro.

"They move you about the speed of decent flipper kicks while snorkeling," Jenna says, adding that these toys run for 30 to 45 minutes. "For more-advanced users, it's a lot of fun to get deep fast and cruise around without burning much oxygen. You can cover so much ground without a whole lot of effort."

RJ's personal favorite toy is also the boat's priciest: the Lift eFoil.

"It comes with an $11,000 price tag, but, oh baby, is it cool," he says. "I can teach a person how to foil in about two hours over two to three sessions."