Few products become legends, but it does happen. Duct tape, for example, has become a part of American culture – and I'll bet everyone reading this article has at least one roll stashed someplace at this very moment.

WD-40 is another such product. It's become known as the galaxy's ultimate spray lubricant and can be found in virtually every household in the country.

But what about us boaters?

Do we have any products that have become universally useful – or are destined to do so in the future? And after testing literally hundreds of boat care products through more than a decade of writing for boating magazines and websites, a few have become fixtures in my boat maintenance arsenal.

These are the best that have been invented yet (Note: products less than one year old have been excluded from the running, since there hasn't been time to thoroughly test them yet.) Among them I'm sure we'll find one of those legends that lives on forever. In any case, you'll want to know about this stuff – and perhaps test it out yourself.

3M3M 5200 Adhesive/Sealant is one of the most useful items ever invented for boaters, whether you’re assembling a new boat or just trying to get something to stick on an old one.3M 5200

This stuff puts the "super" in "supergoop." 3M 5200 Adhesive/Sealant is one of the most useful items ever invented for boaters, whether you're assembling a new boat or just trying to get something to stick on an old one.

It's no mistake that 5200 is the most popular adhesive/sealant on the market, especially when one considers the fact that it can create a bond with fiberglass that's so strong, you can break the glass before you break the bond. This used to be a problem as well as an asset – removing the stuff for repairs or maintenance sometimes proved impossible – but a few years ago a product called Anti-bond was introduced to reverse the sticky effects.

Other than a long cure time, (it's tack-free in 48 hours, but takes five to seven days to cure completely) 5200 has no real flaws. It's completely waterproof once cured, can flex without losing its grip, and costs just $10 for a three-ounce tube–a mere pittance, for such a miracle product.

CorrosionX

We boaters face an ever-present foe in the form of corrosion. Luckily, there are several corrosion-inhibitors on the market. After thoroughly testing a half-dozen of them, both in a head-to-head comparison and through the years, the stand-out leader in this field is CorrosionX.

Once sprayed or wiped onto a metal surface, it creates a dielectric film that displaces moisture and halts the path of currents between electrons. As a result, corrosion simply cannot occur. CorrosionX also lubricates metal parts. Spray it onto a rag, use it to wipe down anything metal on your boat, and you'll discover that corrosion is stopped in its tracks.

Git Rot

Though its usefulness has declined thanks to the advent of fiberglass as a boatbuilding material, there's still plenty of boats with wood in them. And where you find wood, you find rot. Mix this two-part epoxy, inject it into rotted wood, and it creeps through the pores to make it hard and structurally sound again. This is pretty amazing stuff – I've seen it used to effectively repair partially rotted decks, stringers, T-top attachment points, and other high-stress areas that one would think were beyond repair, once rotted.

HoseCoil Self-Coiling Hoses

Here's another invention that's had a huge impact on boaters, especially anglers. Look at a new boat today, and if it has a raw water washdown it will virtually always have a self-coiling hose attached to it.

Mounts that contain the hose can be placed in horizontal or vertical positions, and completely contained flush mounts are available. Grab the end of the hose and you can stretch it from one end of the boat to the other; merely let go and it springs back into the stowed position. That means no more time and effort spent coiling hoses, no more tripping over hoses left on the deck, and no more hose stowage issues.

As a result, many boaters who used to wait to return to dock for a scrub-down now wash away the messes the moment they occur. In the long run this saves both time and effort. There's just one down-side to the HoseCoil: it's on the expensive side. While a 15-foot length of garden hose costs just a few bucks, a self-coiler mounted in an enclosure can run a couple hundred.

MaryKate On/Off Hull and Bottom Cleaner

This formulation of hydrochloric, phosphoric, and oxalic acids will clean anything – and I do mean anything – off of fiberglass. Paint, rust stains, barnacles, seaweed, scum lines, and tannic stains are just a few examples of the tough-to-clean problems that this stuff takes care of.

HOSECOILThere's just one down-side to the HoseCoil: it's on the expensive side. While a 15-foot length of garden hose costs just a few bucks, a self-coiler mounted in an enclosure can run a couple hundred.It leaves your gel coat bright and shiny, and most amazing of all, it takes zero scrubbing. Just brush the stuff on, then rinse it off. It'll take off anything you've doused, which unfortunately includes your skin, pin striping, lettering, or anything else that gets in On/Off's way. Yes, unfortunately, this stuff is just as nasty as it is potent. Breathing its vapors is also dangerous, and if you inhale the smoke (which constantly wafts out of the bottle and off of your brush) you can literally feel it burn your lungs.

You have to be particularly careful about using it if your boat is on a trailer, because this stuff will even eat away metal. Drips that fall on the trailer will become holes in a single season. It's good, it's bad, and it's ugly – but used properly, it's one of the 10 best ever.

Orpine Wash & Wax

We spend a lot of time cleaning our boats, and we want them to look good. There must be a hundred different boat washes on the market, and after using them time and time again you'll eventually discover that Orpine Wash & Wax has the best overall combination of cleaning power and shine.

The pine-based gel is a concentrated, biodegradable soap which goes a long way (though the directions call for one ounce per gallon of water, I've found it best to double this solution) when getting rid of dirt and grime. It also contains carnauba wax, which does little in the long term but leaves a wonderful shine behind for about a week after scrub-downs. Try it, try the others, and we'll bet you agree that Orpine Wash & Wax belongs in the top 10.

Plexus

For years, boaters had an ongoing discussion about how to best clean and treat their clear canvas curtains. Some people recommended Pledge, some advised a diluted mix of soapy water, and some poor souls even used Windex (which turns that clear canvass yellow and brittle.)

Plexus was developed for airplane windshields, then eventually made it into the marine marketplace. Today, it's the clear choice (ahem) for plastic curtains. Just spray it on, and wipe it off. No rubbing or buffing is necessary, it won't damage the plastic, and it replaces plasticizers that otherwise leach out of the curtains with exposure to sunlight.

RejeX

Is it time to give your wax the axe? If you've tried Rejex, you probably think so. This stuff is a polymer coating that takes the place of a wax finish on gel coat. It's supposed to leave a slick coating that's less then a micron thick, which lasts for four to six months, has a great shine, protects the gel coat, and prevents stains and slime from sticking.

STARBRITEStar Tron can be added to old, oxidized fuel, and it will restore cetane and octane ratings. It's the boater’s ultimate answer to ethanol.There have been other polymers on the market prior to RejeX, but it's the first one I've used which keeps all of its promises. Particularly impressive is its ability to "reject" surface contaminants; once cured, dirt which would normally require a scrub brush to get rid of often rinses away with a blast of the hose.

A word of warning: in order to get the desired results, this stuff has to be applied exactly according to the instructions. It's as easy as wipe on, wipe off, but it can't be applied in direct sunlight or in temperatures over 85-degrees, and it must be protected from contaminants (which include dew or rain) for a full 12-hour cure time. To get the best results, you'll want to use this stuff in the early to mid-morning hours when the boat is dry, and will stay that way.

StarBrite Star Tron

Okay, so this product is directed towards motors, not the boats themselves. Still, it's become an incredibly important part of fueling up, for boaters across the nation.

When E-10 ethanol was introduced, countless problems arose with marine powerplants. You've heard of them before: water attraction, sludge creation, gunked injectors, excess carbon build-up, and more. Star Tron utilizes enzymes to attack these issues, by preventing water molecules from bonding with fuel molecules. They break it down into sub-micron sized particles, which can then be burned through the fuel system without creating any damage or loss of performance. They also break down sludge and deposits, stabilizing gasoline for up to one year and diesel fuel up to two years. Star Tron can even be added to old, oxidized fuel, and it will restore cetane and octane ratings.

It's the boater's ultimate answer to ethanol. It's also a bit pricy, at $15 for an eight ounce bottle. But eight ounces treats up to 128 gallons, so when considered as a percentage of the cost of tanking up, it doesn't seem too huge.

Yacht Brite Serious Shine

This polish comes in a 14-ounce aerosol can, and is a spray on, wipe-off polish. It's not intended for deep cleaning or long-term protection, so it doesn't really replace any of the other cleaners or protectants you'll be using on your boat.

What it will do, however, is give everything from stem to stern – regardless of the material – an awesome shine. It works on waxed surfaces, metals, vinyls, paint, plastic, and rubber. After you've given your boat the cleaning and finish you like, hit it with Serious Shine and everything will gleam a tiny bit more.

This stuff was designed by a yacht detailer who was tired of carrying around 10 different polishes for 10 different surfaces, so it's formulated to work wherever you spray it – and it does, boosting the shine factor for several days to a week.