Tried & Tested

The PBO team tests the Buoycatcher-Max and Aquafleece Robe

Buoycatcher-Max boat hook

The new Buoycatcher-Max is the next step up from a traditional boat hook, writes Gilbert Park. It enables you to feed a mooring line through a ring on top of a buoy by attaching the line to the eye of the device’s jaw. You then push the jaws through the ring before pulling back to allow the line to pass effortlessly through the ring and then back to the boat. As I mostly sail solo or with non-boating friends, devices like these make life much easier.

The first thing that struck me was the robust nature of the Buoycatcher-Max. The three-part handle is made of aluminium with decent cam locking clips. Fully extended it is 3.17m; closed it is 1.16m, about the same as a normal boat hook. The handle weighs 1kg and has a long non-slip covering at its base. The Buoycatcher-Max’s removable jaws are nicely made from 316 stainless steel and weigh 0.5kg. Other attachments–a traditional boat hook, brush and magnet–can also be fitted.

I found it worked well, enabling me to easily pass a rope through a buoy, cleat and ladder from much further away than my previous boat hook, ideal for those moments when you’re almost there, but a gust of wind or a wave takes the boat away at the last moment. It’s heavier than my normal boat hook, especially when used horizontally at full extension, but when using it from the bow this is less of a problem.

I’m not a fan of hand loops on boat hooks; I’ve seen people dragged into the water if the hook jams or catches and the boat continues to move, but I’d have liked the opportunity to put a line on (without a loop) just to wrap around my wrist in case I dropped the Buoycatcher.

At £170 it might seem an expensive piece of kit–several times the cost of similar-looking items on ebay. But this is a quality piece of equipment that will last many years and is much less likely to fail at a critical moment.

BUOYCATCHER-MAX

Price: £170

Contact: buoycatcher.com

Rooster Aquafleece robe

The Rooster Aquafleece Robe is the only changing robe I know of with a detachable fleece lining, making it versatile and easy to wash and dry, writes Katy Stickland.

This appealed to me as space a