Back in the old days 7x50 was the recommended binocular on the water. Today that's good when you're looking to just get a closer look at something large, but when you want to get a much closer look at a smaller object or if you want to see greater detail a higher power is necessary. With image stabilization the previously over-powered glasses that wobbled too much on a moving deck are no longer a problem. We had used the 7x50s for many years, but then bought a pair of Pentax 12x42 DCF, more for distant wildlife spotting on land than on the water, but they worked great on a boat as well. On a recent trip through the old Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic, I had the chance to borrow a pair of Nikon Action EX 12x50 waterproof binoculars. I could see fabulous detail on the polar bears, whales, musk ox and birds, some as far as 1000 yards off. As soon as we got home I bought a pair. The image stabilization is excellent and the resolution is the same. For less than $200 you can get a great pair of binocs for use on the water.