The Southampton International Boat Show ran from 18 to 27 September 2026 at Mayflower Park. We were not there. We are on a Fusion 40 in Fiji. This is the new sailing gear for 2026 from the show reports that we would look at for a cruising catamaran, what each bit fixes, and what we would check before paying for it. We have not tested any of it. The details come from the Yachting Monthly gear round-up and the makers' own pages.
Soft shackles made in a rigging loft
Jimmy Green Marine's rigging team now makes its own Dyneema soft shackles. Yachting Monthly describes them as the classic stopper knot and noose eye design in Marlow D12 Dyneema SK78, in line from 4 mm to 9 mm, with break loads from 1,850 kg at 4 mm up to 7,900 kg at 9 mm. The Jimmy Green soft shackles page lists 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9 mm and prices from £10.00 to £26.50 each before VAT. They tighten under load and open by hand when slack.
What it fixes on a cat is weight and damage. A steel shackle on a headsail clew flogs against the mast, the coachroof and whoever is on the foredeck. A soft one does not, and it copes with a load that comes from an odd angle.
What we would check first is the number. The maker's page gives higher figures than the magazine and labels them as a Marlow equivalent, 2,364 kg for 4 mm and 7,981 kg for 9 mm. Ask which figure is the break load of the finished shackle before you size one. Dyneema also does not like sharp metal edges, so look at what it will bear on.
An anchor that drops off the roller without help
The Ankerplex Drop had its world premiere on the Jimmy Green stand. Ankerplex says its anchors are made from flat sheet with no moving parts, and are shaped and weighted to free fall from the bow roller when you release the chain at the windlass. The YACHT report on the Drop describes three plates of AISI 304 stainless locked together without welds, in sizes from 6.5 kg to 40.5 kg for boats of 5 to 17 metres, with the 15 kg model at about €530.
On many cats the anchor lives on a roller out on the forebeam or under the bridgedeck, where you cannot give it a shove with your foot. An anchor that leaves on its own every time is worth something there.
What we would check before buying:
- The fit on your roller. YACHT noted that an earlier Ankerplex model did not suit every bow roller.
- The chain. Jimmy Green's own advice is that a stainless anchor is best used with stainless chain, and that a stainless anchor on galvanised chain needs regular inspection for galvanic corrosion at the end links.
- Holding. The holding claims are the maker's. We have not seen an independent test of the Drop.
Whatever is on the end of the chain, the amount of chain you let out matters more. Our anchor scope calculator does that sum.
Tank senders that read by radar from outside the tank
Tek-Tanks showed the Simarine STR1 and STR2. The sender sits on top of the tank and measures the level by radar through the tank wall, with no probe or float inside. The STR1 drives analogue gauges and the STR2 is NMEA 2000. Yachting Monthly has the STR2 at £109.95. According to the Tek-Tanks STR page, they suit tanks from 150 mm to 2,000 mm deep, resolve to about 7 mm, are set up over Bluetooth from a phone, and carry a three year warranty. Simarine says the same sender reads fresh water, grey water, waste and fuel.
A float sender in a waste tank is one of the worst jobs on a boat when it sticks. A sender that never touches the contents removes the job. Tanks on a cat are often shaped to the hull as well, and the app takes up to 100 calibration points for an irregular tank.
What we would check: metal tanks need an adapter plate. The sender needs a clear view down into the tank, so it cannot go above a baffle or next to an inlet. Tek-Tanks gives 10 mm as the wall thickness for plastic and GRP. Simarine's own page still lists the STR2's NMEA 2000 certification as pending.
Fender toggles for a boat with a lot of topsides
Marine Innovations is a British company that makes an adjustable toggle for a fender lanyard. You hang the fender, slide it to height and take it off again without tying or untying a knot. Yachting Monthly also describes a slider version that works like a boom brake on the lanyard, a new version for RIBs, and a £10 set for stowing fenders on the rail. The Marine Innovations shop lists the adjustable hanger at £6.00 with a one year guarantee.
A cat has high topsides and usually two people aboard to get every fender out. The height that works on a floating pontoon is wrong for a fuel wharf, and re-tying each one while the helm is holding the boat off is slow.
We could not find the lanyard diameters or rail sizes it takes, so we don't know if it suits the big fenders a 40 ft cat carries. Check that before ordering. We would also treat it as a coming-alongside tool. If the boat is being left in a blow the fenders get tied on, the way we set out in cyclone prep at the dock.
A slim VHF and a Class B+ AIS transponder
Icom showed the IC-M430 fixed VHF and the MA-600TRBB AIS transponder. The Icom UK launch notes give the radio a colour screen with a night mode, a built-in GNSS receiver, NMEA 2000 and NMEA 0183, Class D DSC, and a case about half the depth of the IC-M423GE it follows. Yachting Monthly prices the optional HM-195GB Commandmic, which gives you a second station, at £195.
The transponder is a black box Class B+ unit. It transmits at 5 watts using SOTDMA, where a basic Class B set transmits at 2 watts and waits for a gap. It has a built-in splitter so it can share the VHF antenna, a silent mode, and an IPX7 rating.
On a cat the helm is outside and the nav station is inside, so a second station at the helm is the feature we would pay for.
What we would check:
- The regional model. Marine radios are approved market by market, so buy the version sold for your flag and have the MMSI programmed properly.
- The price. Icom UK had not set one for either unit when it announced them, and we have not seen one since.
- The shared antenna. A splitter saves a second antenna, and it also means one failed antenna or cable takes out the VHF and the AIS together. That is the point we made after the Golden Globe Race radio failure.
Mā Tori's offshore comms are Starlink and Iridium, and the plan side of that is in Starlink changes for cruising sailors. A VHF and AIS do a different job. They are how the ship five miles off sees you and calls you.
Brushless watermakers from Dessalator
Dessalator's updated Freedom and Duo watermakers had their UK premiere with Advance Yacht Systems. Yachting Monthly reports brushless DC motors, 60 and 100 litres an hour from the D60 and D100, and a draw of 450 W on the D100. The UK distributor lists the D60 Freedom at £8,695 before VAT and 38 kg, for 12 V or 24 V.
The power figure is the one to pin down. The Dessalator Duo specifications give 370 W for the Duo 60 and 600 W for the Duo 100 on DC. That may be the earlier model or a different voltage. We don't know, so ask for the draw at your system voltage in writing.
Mā Tori has 700 W of solar, a 540 Ah lithium bank and an OceanF10 watermaker fitted in 2025, so we are not shopping for one. The rest of the boat's systems are in the Fusion 40 review. If we were buying, we would ask what 38 kg does to the hull it goes in, and who carries membranes and pump spares between Fiji and New Zealand. We don't know the answer to the second one for Dessalator.
What we don't know
- How any of it performs. We have not handled or tested one item on this list.
- Australian and New Zealand prices and stockists. Every price here is in pounds or euros, from the sources linked, as published in September and early October 2026.
Prices and specifications change, so check the maker's current page before you order. VHF, DSC and AIS equipment is covered by licensing and safety rules that differ by country. Check the current official source for your flag, and for a New Zealand boat going offshore that includes the Yachting New Zealand safety regulations.
Questions people ask about the new gear from Southampton
When was the Southampton International Boat Show 2026?
18 to 27 September 2026, at Mayflower Park in Southampton.
How strong are the Jimmy Green soft shackles?
Yachting Monthly quotes 1,850 kg at 4 mm up to 7,900 kg at 9 mm. The maker's page lists different figures, so confirm the break load of the finished shackle before you size one.
Do radar tank level sensors work on metal tanks?
The Simarine STR senders go straight onto plastic, composite and GRP tanks. Tek-Tanks says metal tanks need an adapter plate.
What is the difference between Class B and Class B+ AIS?
Class B+ transmits at 5 watts and reserves its slot using SOTDMA. Basic Class B transmits at 2 watts and waits for a free slot.
Has the crew of Mā Tori tested any of this gear?
No. We were not at the show and have not tested any of it.
Keep reading: what to look at on a boat before you pay is in the Catamaran Buyer's Pack, the other thing that changes how you fit out is in the owner-built against production guide, and our bluewater catamaran for sale is the boat this was written from.