From Water Jet Packs to ‘Flying’ Surfboards: The 12 Best Toys, Gadgets and Gear for the Life Aquatic

A yacht is a yacht because of its toys. Without them, they would just be small cruise ships. From helicopters to underwater sea scooters, from scuba gear to water-powered jetpacks to many dozens of personal towables.
Submersibles are the epitome of the world’s best water toy.
Their popularity has grown to the point where UBoat Worx now has a one-person submarine that is not much larger than two jet skis.
That allows smaller, 70-foot yachts to transport and launch them from the rear swim platforms.
The options continue to grow, from electric hydrofoil surfboards to $1 million jet skis.

Here’s a list of the top toys.

You used to need a gigayacht to house a personal submarine. But the new Nemo has about the same footprint as two Jet Skis, so it can fit into the smaller tender garage of a 90-footer, or even on an extended swim platform. The compact sub comes in one- and two-person configurations, with a large acrylic sphere for a full view of your surroundings. U-Boat Worx expects most to be owner-operated (a two-week certification course is included in the price tag), so the navigation system is simple and intuitive. But the interior is suitably luxe, with black leather seats, heating, AC and a small helm area. Nemo can descend to 330 feet and has roughly eight hours of charge on a normal dive. The standard package includes two spotlights and floodlights, but owners can add extras for cutting through murky waters. Options include sonar, a manipulator arm that allows you to collect samples for scientific research and a navigation package that provides GPS coordinates to the helm console. From around $1 million

Loro Piana’s Summer Knitted Walk

These ship-to-shore loafers are made of Wish wool, a fine-wool fiber from select merino sheep bred in Australia and New Zealand. Since everyone aboard will likely want a pair, the shoes have a dedicated space on the heels where the owner can write their name and avoid mix-ups. $825

Navatics Mito Drone

This underwater drone can capture 4K video at depths of up to 130 feet, and it’ll even stream footage to a connected device so you can get a real-time look. The drone is tethered to the mothership and comes with four thrusters to stabilize itself and two 1,000-lumen headlights to brighten up the depths. $1,499

Hill HX50

This five-seat, turbine-powered rotorcraft is as sleek as anything you’d see in a Mission Impossible movie, and the 500 hp engine has a cruise speed of 140 knots, with a fuel burn of 35 gallons per hour and a 700-nautical-mile range. Hill focused on both performance and interior design, giving the cabin a sports-car feel and installing intuitive avionics geared for an owner-operator. When it hits the market next year, the HX50 should become an instant darling among yacht owners. From $665,000

Beau Lake Paddleboard

Each beautiful, Canadian-made wood paddleboard could double as wall art when it’s not exploring beyond the mothership. “We gave them a midcentury-modern, Mad Men kind of style,” says Paul Lavoie, Beau Lake’s founder and CEO. Materials include Macassar and carbon fiber on the Rapid (pictured), rosewood on the Malibu and holly and mahogany on the Muskoka. The company is also working with artist Graham Gilmore on a colorful series based on his painting Oceanic. From $1,950

Jetlev-Flyer JF-220

This wild, frolicking toy is a water-propelled jet pack: Strap it on and take off. A hose connected to a mini-boat with a super-charged engine sends the water rushing to the device. As you swoop and soar—up to 60 feet in the air—the boat follows your path below. The jet pack has a carbon-fiber backrest and safety harness with adjustable arms and seat. Tired of hovering? It can also dive beneath the surface. $57,000

It’s the ultimate watch for owners who like a theme. The Marine Mega Yacht’s rose-gold case encloses a striking enamel dial with an interpretation of a ship’s bow. Complications include a flying tourbillon equipped with a cage that looks like a propeller, a 3-D moon phase and a mechanism that displays the local tidal height in real time. The 80-hour power-reserve indicator features a chain-and-anchor design that gets longer as the movement winds down. You’d almost be forgiven for missing the hour and minute hands. From $300,000

Yachtbeach Inflatable Pool

Inflated in just 8 to 10 minutes, this portable pool extends the rear of your boat into a protected area to enjoy ocean swims, with a mesh interior that allows the free flow of water, minus nasty critters such as jellyfish. The pool measures 13 feet by 20 feet and is nearly 8 feet deep, with walkaround sides and pontoons that push it far beyond the stern. About $7,700

Seabreacher

This submersible was designed to look like a dolphin, shark or killer whale and—just like its marine inspirations—can leap out of the water or even do a 360-degree flip under the surface. Seabreacher custom-builds each one with engines up to 300 hp, creating speeds of 65 mph. From $85,000

Toulet Whitelight Pool Table

This billiards table was designed to stay level on a yacht, even during rough passages. Its platform features a gyroscopic sensor that calculates the boat’s movement and adjusts four leveling cylinders in real time. Crafted from fiberglass with a steel chassis, the table is robust enough for outdoor spaces, such as a covered stern deck or a skybridge. The slate top is lined with waterproof Simonis fabric, and the leather pockets have a rustproof 316 L stainless-steel structure. There are even anti-corrosion anodes in the housing. The solid teak frame is painted the same color as the table. At mealtime, an optional wood, glass or carbon-fiber top turns it into a dining table. From $42,000

Bouvet Supermarine MM01

“This is to the Jet Ski what a hyper car is to a normal car,” says Germain Bouvet, one of two brothers producing the Supermarine MM01, a limited-edition personal watercraft. The hand-built boat, which takes 500 hours to construct, will be powered by an electric motor that generates 300 hp, giving the MM01 a top speed of 75 mph. Its carbon-fiber exterior was developed in consultation with aerospace engineers, and its cockpit is designed to keep the rider and passenger drier than other similar vessels. The Champagne bottle and flute holder under
the saddle are optional. Around $900,000

Platypus Swordfish 40

On the surface, the Swordfish 40 looks like a luxury tender (its styling was inspired by the 1970s Citroën SM) with a transparent cockpit. But in its semi-submersible mode, the central hull pod drops seven feet below the water, effectively becoming a see-through submarine for six. While passengers enjoy the view below—and the underwater sound system—the boat cruises silently on electric power at six knots. $2.8 million

Lift3 F Electric Foil

The new Lift3 F series ranges from the curve-carving four-foot, nine-inch eFoil to the longer five-foot, four-inch Explorer model, made for novices. The fiberglass design is stylish and relatively impervious to scratches and dents. Its full-range lithium battery promises up to 100 minutes of ride time with a top speed of 35 mph. These boards are ideal for reaching isolated beaches or backwaters that are too shallow for a yacht or even a tender but beg to be explored. From $9,995