Sitting on my balcony, overlooking the Ohio River on a beautiful, sunny, warm March day…warm? It is a HOT 80 degrees on this March day; and it’s making me wonder what will it be like in June, July, August? Realizing I had a single bead of perspiration threatening to trickle down my forehead – in March – I saw a boat, a red flash from the corner of my eye, racing up river and I thought to myself, “now, that is where I would like to be today, he isn’t hot.”
My mind went wandering back to what it will be like in the Ohio Valley come summer? Even the boaters won’t be able to completely escape the heat and humidity then.
Or will they?
There is a way for boaters to beat the heat besides the obvious dip in to which ever body of water they happen to be boating in. The mister.
You know what I mean; they are found in outdoor restaurants in Florida, tikki bars, and at least in our city – at the zoo. Just walk through them and the water is not enough to destroy your hair, it is just a whisper of wet, it is cool, refreshing, and fast. And apparently can drop the temperature around you by almost 30 degrees in mere seconds… so they say. I will have to admit the times I have been “misted,” I was happy about it, so maybe these gadgets can do just that.
There are many models of these keen little gadgets that are sure to mist any discomfort one may feel on board their boat away. They can be bought in person or online and depending on the time of year and where the company is located may mean the difference between whether you can wait the few days for it to get to you via a big brown truck or if you rush to the nearest boat accessories store for the quick do it yourself TODAY job. The good news is no matter which way you go, it is usually a DIY job anyway.
The Misty Mate by West Marine
Misters are available in kits and can include everything but the water; and ready to go for starting around $300 and moving up from there; although, West Marine has the “Misty Mate” in their online catalogue for $59.99, with no tank included. I could not find any reviews on this little guy, so if you have tried it or known someone who has tried it, let me know, we will pass it on. West Marine also has a “Misty Mate Cool Blast,” for just $14.99 for those who really just want to do it themselves. This is hand-held mister, holds a whopping 2.5 oz. and so easy even a child can mist themselves.
On the other hand, Mist-er-Comfort offers a kit for those boaters who already have a fresh-water tank for $109.99, called the Bimini Kit and if you do need the tank you can get a kit starting at $487.99 with a six-gallon tank. They even offer a remote control for their misters that can be maneuvered from up to 100’ away. I am not sure why anyone would want to do that exactly, but if that is what you want you can get it here for $149.99.
There are too many brands and models to talk about each particular one here, but a little light surfing on the Internet will get you all the info you need on any of the many.
However you keep cool this summer, here’s wishing you luck in doing so. And, if you know of the perfect mister, let me know here – and hurry – it’s gonna be a hot summer.
