Beneath the Surface

Helping Hands

Longtime boater and entrepreneur Jim Stefano is dedicated to making the on-water life a little bit easier.

THIS PAGE: As long as you’re not fishing, you can leave the boarding pole in place while underway (below). The Nautical Cross, which also slides into a flush-mount rod holder and locks into place, is helpful for managing fenders and tying off a favorite water toy (bottom).

OPPOSITE PAGE: The Nautical Cross and the Standard Boarding Pole help make boating a little easier, safer and more comfortable (top). If you don’t have them already, Nautical Cross can provide flush-mount rod holders for your boat that will accommodate both products (bottom).

When we talk about boating safety, we’re also talking about accessibility. If a boat isn’t easily boarded or handled by older people or those with physical disabilities, it is less safe.

The accessibility discussion often centers on user-friendly dock solutions and boat designs, but you might not have the need to completely reconfigure your boating lifestyle. Instead, you might seek simple product solutions to make your daily boating life just a bit more manageable for yourself and your guests.

If that’s the case, consider the talent behind the product when you do your research. No one knows how to enhance the boating experience better than someone who is a lifelong boater.

Yacht captain turns entrepreneur Jim Stefano grew up in Port Clinton, Ohio, a key port city on Lake Erie. From here, boaters can easily reach nearby Catawba, Lakeside, Marblehead and Sandusky on the mainland and Kelleys, Middle Bass and South Bass islands offshore.

Stefano grew up working on boats. He attended Chapman’s School of Seamanship and got his captain’s license in 1983.

“I started as a first mate, then I became a fishing guide, and then I was a yacht captain,” he recalls. “From about 1986 until 1998, I managed crewed yachts for corporations and a couple of different families. We did trips throughout the South, around the Loops and to the Bahamas. I’ve seen a lot.”

Then Stefano got married. His wife, a dentist, was not interested in the live-aboard life. So, in 1999, he started selling boats for Treasure Cove, which was later purchased by Marine Max. In 2002, he began work with Jefferson Beach Yacht Sales (JBYS), which has seven Great Lakes locations and one in Naples, Florida.

“I wanted to apply what I knew,” Stefano says of his decision to change professions and pursue boat sales. “It felt rewarding to help people learn how to operate their own boats.”

He also had an idea.

“I’ve always been entrepreneurial,” he explains.“I thought about how unpredictable conditions can be in the lock systems, with wind and water level changes, and how you need to have so many fenders ready. It’s a safety issue, trying to tie fenders to cleats while also working with lines on the same cleats. We needed an easy solution for putting those fenders out. I thought about how most people don’t use their fishing rod holders, and I had a vision.”

Stefano founded a company, Nautical Cross, to bring that vision to life. His product of the same name is a noncorrosive, high-polish, aircraft-grade aluminum cross that slides into your boat’s flush-mount rod holder, locks into place, and allows you to tie off cylinder fenders both vertically and horizontally, as well as ball fenders.

“No one wants fenders rolling around in the cockpit during rough weather, and track systems mounted under the rubrail aren’t easy to use from the cockpit in a rushed situation,” Stefano says. “The Nautical Cross is easy to manage. There’s no stress. You can also use it to tie off your bait bag or tender.

“I had a friend of mine weld the first prototype,” he continues. “We started using them with Viking Yachts in 2003, and people seemed to really love what we were building.”

Part of the journey But Stefano wasn’t done. Next on deck for Nautical Cross was his boarding pole idea; this temporary vertical bar would help make boarding a simpler, safer experience.

The noncorrosive, high-polish, aircraft-grade aluminum Standard Boarding Pole also slides into a flush-mounted rod holder and locks into place. Although it’s designed simply to help you steady yourself as you step on or off the boat, this

robust boarding pole is rated for approximately 300 pounds bending strength.

Then, when you’re underway, you can store the pole in your boat’s gaffe or rod storage space, or leave it in the rod holder if you’re not fishing. Likewise, you can leave the Nautical Cross in place for managing fenders in the cockpit while underway.

“The boarding pole has taken off well,” Stefano says. “It’s about comfort, and feeling more stable and secure. But it’s aesthetically pleasing too. Soon, we’ll have stylish, jewelry-grade top caps to thread onto the boarding poles.”

Nautical Cross can provide correctly sized flush-mount rod holders if your boat doesn’t already have them. They’re constructed of stainless steel with chrome-plated finish, and they will hold a standard 1.5-inch Nautical Cross and the standard-size boarding pole.

“I’ve found that these are perfect gifts for people as they get older, or if someone is recovering from a procedure or injury and needs assistance in getting on and off a vessel,” Stefano says.

Nautical Cross also sells burgee poles and cable caddies, and Stefano says he has more ideas for product rollouts down the road.

“This is such a fun thing for me,” he says. “I’m really proud of it.”

In the meantime, he still works with JBYS, and he’s a licensed Florida yacht broker to boot. In the end, Stefano says, it all comes down to a passion for boating and the joy it can bring to people’s lives.

“My great love is working with people,” he reflects. “And helping them on their journey.”

To learn more about Nautical Cross products, visit

NAUTICALCROSS.COM. ★

HEATHER STEINBERGER is an award-winning writer/editor who has specialized in boating, travel and outdoor adventure for more than 25 years.