2023 Black Friday Gift Guide for Boaters

Black Friday—always the day after Thanksgiving, and this year, falling on November 24—has long been the annual kickoff to the holiday shopping season. Last year alone, according to The New York Times, Black Friday shoppers spent about $8.9 billion just on online purchases. If you’re looking for the best Black Friday deals for boaters, the good news is that there are plenty of great Black Friday buys’ out there. From boating equipment to fun toys for a day out on the water, there’s something for every kind of personality this Black Friday .

Wondering where you can find the best Black Friday boating deals? Keep an eye out for discounts from these top marine retailers:

• Bass Pro Shops
• Cabela’s
• Dick’s Sporting Goods
• Field & Stream
• Overton’s
• West Marine

Until then, here’s a look at eight categories of gifts you should consider when searching for Black Friday deals for boaters, sailors, and anglers.

1. Blue Friday
2. Safety gear
3. Marine electronics & onboard accessories
4. Apparel & shoes
5. Books
6. Fishing gear
7. Tow sports toys
8. Sunglasses

1. Blue Friday Promo—Only at Boatsetter

What’s the best boating gift you can give to your favorite boater? We’ll give you a hint: Not an object, it’s an experience.

Here at Boatsetter, we believe that everyone should have access to the boating lifestyle; whether you own your own boat or not. Each November, in honor of the season or giving, we run our annual Blue Friday promo. For a limited-time, anyone on Boatsetter can apply a special promo code to receive a percentage off bookings.

How to apply the 10% off discount during 2023 Blue Friday Promo:

• SALE EXTENDED! Users must book their trip using the promo code BLUE2023 before November 28, 2023 before midnight EST to receive 10% off their booking (no minimal spend).
• Users can use the BLUE2023 promo code for all future trip dates for the remainder of 2023 and all of 2024.
• Keep an eye on your inbox for additional details and the official launch of Blue Friday.
• Create a Boatsetter account to receive all promotional emails. Did we mention creating one is free?

Explore boating & on-water experience near you or where you want to go!

2. Safety gear

Not the sexiest, but safety gear is a category of Black Friday gifts that most boaters appreciate—especially if they’re starting to cruise longer distances away from shore. You can’t go wrong with the gift of a personal locator beacon, which is an electronic device that can help search-and-rescue teams find a missing boater if something goes wrong out on the water.

• Personal locator beacons are not as expensive as EPIRBs, which help those teams find missing boats. Personal locator beacons are attached to the person, not the boat, often by clipping the beacon onto a life jacket or other clothing loop—which means the devices can be worn no matter which boat the person is aboard at any given time.
• Try companies like ACR Electronics and Ocean Signal for personal locator beacon options.

Another great Black Friday gift for boaters in the category of safety gear is a first aid kit.

• Companies like Orion and Adventure Medical Kits make marine-specific first aid kits in a variety of sizes and prices.
• Some are intended for boats of certain sizes, or boating that includes certain activities; you can scroll through and see what feels like the best fit for the boater who will receive the gift.

3. Marine electronics & onboard accessories

No boater has ever said no to a new pair of binoculars. They’re great for navigation, for spotting other boats, and for just plain looking around in any anchorage. So if you’re considering binoculars as a Black Friday gift, here are a few of your prime options:

• Some, like binoculars from companies like Steiner, are packed with marine-specific features that can handle being used out on the salt.
• Nikon has an OceanPro model lineup with features such as a built-in compass, and its ProStaff model line can be used on smaller boats like dinghies.

Similarly welcome aboard boats are waterproof Bluetooth speakers that can be taken from on board to the beach, with tunes playing the entire time.

• JBL makes several kinds of these speakers, as does Bose. You can find various models at all kinds of price points.

4. Apparel & shoes

Given how much damage sun, sand, salt and water can do to clothes, boaters are always happy to receive boating-specific clothing. As a Black Friday gift for boaters, clothing is a surefire winner—especially for friends who have been “getting by” with regular clothes, and who will be much more comfortable in boating-specific clothing.

• Helly Hansen is one of the best-known brands for boating clothes, with separate product lines for men, women and kids. You can buy a gift as simple as a hat or as serious as a multilayer offshore getup, or pretty much anything in between.
• Guy Harvey is also a longtime favorite brand among boaters, especially those who love to fish.
• For boating shoes, one of the best-known brand names is Sperry. Its boat shoes have been worn on the docks for generations, usually until they’re worn out.
• And, Columbia makes a variety of shoes for boats and the water.

5. Books

Setting the anchor, powering down the engine and sitting quietly in a harbor reading a book is pretty much the definition of paradise for a lot of boaters. As a Black Friday gift for boaters, books can lean more toward entertainment or more toward education, but there are terrific options all around.

For entertainment, try titles like:

• The Boys in The Boat, about a team of rowers trying to win the Olympics in 1936;
• Sailing to the Edge of Time, based on the author’s experiences cruising hundreds of thousands of miles around the world;
• Sailing America, a coffee-table book filled with photography from one of the marine world’s most storied photographers.

If your favorite boater prefers more educational titles, you can’t go wrong with classics such as:

• Chapman Piloting and Seamanship
• U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary’s Boating Skills and Seamanship

6. Fishing gear

Wetting a line can be a whole lot more fun if you have the right gear to actually reel in the fish. If the boater in your life thinks of the boat as a mere conveyance to get to the great fishing grounds, then perhaps the ideal Black Friday gift is some new fishing gear.

• Shimano is one of the best-known brands for reels, rods, combos and more. You can shop by species of fish, by type of water (salt, fresh, ice) where the boater hangs out, by specialized options and more.
• Pure Fishing is another great place to shop for angler gifts, with multiple brands on its website.

7. Tow sports toys

Towing a toy behind the boat is great fun, no matter whether it’s a wakeboard, water skis, an inflatable or some other contraption that people can ride. These are the kinds of toys that boaters may want, but may not take the time to buy or upgrade themselves, so they make super Black Friday gifts for boaters.

• Hyperlite, O’Brien and Jobe all make wakeboards that are suitable for kids, adults, beginners, experts and pretty much everything in between.
• For water skis, try Connelly or HO Sports.
• If inflatable tow toys are what you’re after, head to Wow water sports for options that can pull one to four people at a time behind the boat.

8. Sunglasses

Boating is hard on the eyes. You’re out in the sun, there’s glare coming off the water, and often, there’s also glare coming off the boat itself. All of which is why a great Black Friday gift for boaters is a higher-end pair of sunglasses that not only make it easier to see, but also protect the eyes from damage.

• Costa Del Mar is a time-tested brand for boaters heading out on the water.
• Maui Jim is another longtime fan favorite.
• A newer brand with a specific boating focus is Bajio.

With any brand, look for features such as polarized lenses and wind/sun protection on the side of the eyes.

Looking for other gift ideas? Be sure to read:

• 10 Best Boating Gifts for Dad
• 10 Best Boating Gifts for Her
• 8 Best Places to See Fall Foliage by Boat
• 7 Best Towable Tubes for Adults

Haven’t heard of us?

Boatsetter is the go-to app for boat rentals and on-water experiences. Whatever the adventure, we’ve got a boat for that—Set sail, start the party, go yachting, make your trophy catch, and hone your watersports skills! Download the Boatsetter app (App Store | Google Play). Make sure to follow @boatsetter on Instagram, and tag us in all your boat day pictures for the chance to be featured.

Rent. List. Share—Only at Boatsetter

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in November 2022 and updated in November 2023.

Kim Kavin

Kim Kavin has been on boats in more than 50 countries and islands, including in the Caribbean, Mediterranean, South Pacific, Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia. She grew up learning to steer a ski boat and Hobie Holder at her grandfather’s lake house in New Jersey, and went on to spend time aboard everything from America’s Cup racing sailboats to submarines. 

Kim is a PADI-certified scuba diver and animal lover who always enjoys a good, long look around a coral reef. Her award-winning writing and editing regularly appears in national marine magazines and on leading websites. In her early years, she was a Dow Jones editing intern and a graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism. When she’s not writing, Kim can usually be found hiking northwest New Jersey’s beautiful park trails with her adopted shelter mutt, Ginger.