Bottleport

Greg Little, the author of today's Bucket List post, is the inventor of the Bottleport a "patent pending hydration solution for small sailboats and other watercraft." It's one of those devices that is so well suited for its purpose that once you've seen it you wonder why nobody has ever thought of it before. Essentially it is a bottle holder that screws into one of the standard 5" inspection ports often fitted to small sailboats. It has the same watertight seal as the original lid for the port and provides a way to hold a drink container that is totally secure, and easily accessible with one hand.





Having experimented for 25 years with various other homemade solutions for carrying a water bottle on a Laser I was immediately attracted to the elegance of this solution. Greg sent me a prototype, and my son and I tested it out on our sails on the last couple of weekends. What can I say? It works exactly as advertised. No problems whatsoever.

We actually tested it on my son's boat which already has an inspection port. I'm now planning to fit a port to my boat so I can use the Bottleport myself every time I go sailing. I think I'm probably going to fit it in the rear deck so that it's out of the way and so there's no chance that my control lines could get tangled in it. (Regular readers of my blog, all three of you, will know that every line on my boat has the amazing ability to tie itself in knots and to tangle itself around any other object in the vicinity.)

Check out the Bottleport website which has more photos, videos, FAQ, everything you would want to know. The Bottleport goes on sale tomorrow, October 20. It's the perfect present for the Laser sailor in your life.

Update: An alternative way to mount the Bottleport on a Laser, in the cockpit sidewall.