Here’s a nice bit of gear for all you technology-lovin’ sailors.

Longtime Navagear readers will be aware that I like to wave the flag a bit for the many maritime product manufacturers located in the greater Puget Sound/Salish Sea/Pacific Northwest region. This is one of them.

I spoke with Paul Comyns, Marketing Director for PYI Inc., which is headquartered right up the road from me in Lynnwood, Washington. He told me that the entire Seaview line, including the Sail Pods, are assembled right here in Washington state.

PYI also maintains an office in France, so the firm also distributes several lines of European products here in North America. All in all, there’s a lot going on in little old Lynnwood!

On with the press release…

Lynnwood, Wash. – Seaview, a leader in the design and manufacture of mounting solutions for marine electronics, announced today its new range of rail mounting solutions to complete its extensive pod line, Seaview Sail Pods by PYI. Designed to house and protect sailboat steering instrumentation while ensuring convenient viewing, the versatile new Sail Pods are available in four sizes to fit popular marine instrument displays, with faceplates that can be custom pre-cut to order. Developed to fit the majority of steering pedestals from Jefa, Whitlock and Edson, Seaview Sail Pods offer a clean, secure and professional design that seamlessly complements any sailing vessel.

Providing sailors with functional and efficient mounting for navigational instruments, Seaview Sail Pods are constructed using only high-quality marine-grade materials to maintain watertight integrity and shelter valuable electronics. Enclosed wire-runs protect cables and sockets from moisture and snagging, and all Seaview pods feature design elements to eliminate moisture build up. The pods also offer a unique, versatile rear-mount template that adapts to different installation requirements for both standard (12-inch and 9.5-inch) and non-standard guardrails.

“The Seaview Sail Pods provide convenient, secure instrument mounting that is perfect for the grab rails of a steering pedestal or any rail installation best suited for individual sailor’s needs,” said Paul Comyns, director of sales and marketing, PYI Inc. “The pods are a valuable addition to our versatile product line and highlight our continued commitment to bringing innovative new solutions to the boating community.”

(more…)

Ben Ellison has this item at Panbo:

Today I added a new Panbo category for gear I try which is not electronics related, but which is good enough that you might want to know about it.  Like the Moonlite Marine rail cleat above.  I’d never seen one in the aluminum and stainless flesh before taking a $20 chance online, but now I think they’re well-designed and built, and darn effective…

Read more

Hey, this isn’t a bad idea! I’d be willing to give these a try. On with the press release…

Keeping diesel, gasoline and oil from damaging a vessel’s surfaces and polluting waterways is now incredibly simple. The new, patented Chadd Padd® enables boat owners to be proactive, not just reactive. As a multi-purpose spill response solution, this reusable mat catches and contains fuel before it becomes a problem.

Providing 10" x 10" of fuel absorbing power, the waterproof Chadd Padd is anti-static treated and can hold up to 4.5 oz. of petroleum products. Made of the same material marinas are required to have for Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) requirements, the effective pad saves owners fines and the hassle of clean up.

The Chadd Padd can be used multiple times for a variety of applications. With a perforated, partial hole design, it accommodates most filler ports for refueling or adding oil. The pad can also be employed as a drip mat, in the bilge before pump-out or when working with hydraulic fluid. It’s even disposable, in accordance with applicable regulations.

The economical Chadd Padd has a suggested retail price of just $9.95 for a convenient 6-pack, while a roll of 36 pads is $34.95. Enter promo code EZFUEL8 at www.chaddpadd.com to save 10%. Larger sizes, greater quantities, dispensers, Wind Chocks and other accessories are also available.

I had to look all over town to find a new “Perfect Bungee” light duty cord. I knew I wanted exactly this product, and not some other bungee product. Because why?

Because it works so well on my foredeck!

Shown here you can see the original, out in the sun and rain and saltwater for over five years, and just starting to show signs of wear. That’s why I wanted a new one.

See why it’s so perfect for this application? The nylon hooks are small enough to go through my quarter-inch anchor chain, but they’re smooth and snag-free, minimizing opportunities for anchor rode or dockline to tangle on them. They’re also rust-free, of course. This is in contrast to conventional bungee cords, which have bulky metallic hooks which may or may not be stainless.

The polyurethane cord itself is small in diameter, minimizing interference with the horn cleat. And finally, the entire thing is visually “discreet”, being one uniform color and narrow in profile. I’ve chosen, for the time being, not to replace my anchor windlass, and the Perfect Bungee light duty cord secures my anchor simply and effectively.

Lots of my fellow C-Dory owners have expressed dissatisfaction with the factory-installed hatches covering the cockpit lazarettes. The trouble is that the stock hatches are not designed for horizontal installation. They collect water in the gap between the hatch and its frame; when you open them, the water spills INTO the locker!

So the clever C-Brats have identified a replacement that fits into the existing hole and works much better. I got mine this week, and decided to tackle the replacement project now, while the boat is in my driveway.

Step 1: Remove screws.

Step 2: Gently separate hatch frame with plastic putty knife/scraper/spatula.

Step 3: Gently pry the entire hatch/frame assembly up off the deck.

Step 4: Assess the damage. Look at the screws you removed for signs of rust, and examine the (sealed) balsa-core for signs of rot.

Decide how you want to address any issues you uncover. In my case, a bit more exploration reveals that the balsa core behind the stained sealant in the image below is still intact, though moist. At this point, it should be easy to contain this problem by allowing it to dry out thoroughly, since I won’t be reusing this hole for the new hatch anyway.

Step 5: Remove as much of the old adhesive/sealant as you can using an appropriate tool. I found a metal paint scraper worked extremely well. The goal is to remove as much of it as you can without gouging the gelcoat.

Once you get the feel for it, you might be able to remove large sections and leave only a thin layer or caulking on the fiberglass.

Start working near the opening, where mistakes will be covered with new adhesive sealant. As you gain confidence, come back and work nearer the finish edge where mistakes might be visible later.

Step 6: Use solvent to remove the last traces of old caulking. I used DeBond’s Marine Formula, with a blue 3M Scotch-Brite non-scratch scour pad. Warning: DeBond will cause the blue dye in the Scotch-Brite pad to be released. No big deal, and it’s actually somewhat helpful because the blue dye sticks to the spots where caulking still remains, but wipes off clean gelcoat.

Step 7: Test-fit the new hatch, decide what sort of fasteners to use. I’m going to through-bolt mine; I dislike coarse-threaded screws driven into cored fiberglass. I want any water that gets in through the top to have a way out through the bottom.

Once you’ve decided on fasteners, go shopping.

Coming up in Part 2: Selecting an appropriate adhesive/sealant, using denatured alcohol to prep the surface, and bedding the new hatches properly.

“DECK PLATES PROVIDE THE ACCESS BOATERS DEMAND”

Um, sure they do!

Sometimes, I think about starting a Navagear feature called “Silly press release of the week.” This is a good example.

Please bear in mind that I’m not slamming the product. These Beckson deck plates are top-notch, and reasonably priced. There’s absolutely nothing to complain about here. I have two of them on my workbench now, awaiting time for me to incorporate them into one of my projects.

But a press release about a product that’s been on the market in essentially this same identical form for…what?…two decades? That isn’t really “news”, guys. Hence “silly press release of the week.”

It might annoy my publicist friends, on whom I rely for lots of product news and information, so I wouldn’t want that. And it might annoy the manufacturers.

But on the other hand, it WOULD focus attention on the products, which is really the point of a press release, after all. Somebody once said “I don’t care what the newspapers say about me as long as they spell my name right!” (Attributed variously to Mae West, P.T. Barnum, George M. Cohan, Will Rogers, W.C. Fields, Mark Twain, and Oscar Wilde.)

So while I would be poking a bit of fun at the whole product marketing machine, I would also be serving the interests of that machine. I don’t know, I’m divided about it. Would “Silly Press Release” make a good Navagear feature? Add your thoughts in the comments section below. Publicists and manufactures: Feel free to chime in publicly, or send me a private email.

Anyway, on with the silly press release about a great product! …

With screw-out, pry-out and twist-out styles across four different sizes and three different surface textures, Beckson Marine has a deck plate to meet every need. All plastic, watertight, UV-protected and non-jamming, Beckson’s deck plates are built to last and provide years of trouble-free service.

(more…)

Paul Hoffman was showing off some of this material at the Seattle Boat Show today (East 1132).

Brighterworks custom-fabricates companionways, caprails, grab rails, and tables for sailboats and motor yachts using high-density polyethylene (HDPE), a highly uv-resistant, super hard plastic made specifically for the marine industry by Seaboard.

Whether your brightwork is made of teak, mahogany, brass or stainless, they can replace it with well-crafted, low-maintenance “brighterwork”.

I was impressed with the workmanship, and on some boats this could be a really nice alternative to wood, especially if you’re not too attached to your teak. But make no mistake: your first impression is going to be “This is plastic wood!” If that’s going to offend your sensibilities, this is not a product for you. For many of us who would rather not refinish it every year or two, though, this could be a perfectly acceptable alternative.

With apologies to They Might Be Giants, and in appreciation of their 1990 song “Particle Man“:

Aluminum man, aluminum man;
Aluminum man meets stainless man.
They have a fight, stainless wins;
Stainless man…

If you don’t know the song, that probably doesn’t mean much. But I was motivated to rewrite the lyrics to that song by today’s post over at Capt’n Pauley’s Virtual Boatyard:

An aluminum mast step coupled with an aluminum mast sounds like a good idea and it was. That is, until a PO (previous owner) decided to add a stainless steel mast base organizer under the aluminum mast step casting.

A mast base organizer is a piece of stainless steel with four ears, one on each side of the rectangular center. The ears are turned up at an angle and have holes spaced in them. The holes are for attaching turning blocks for the various lines coming off the mast. The turning blocks then aim the lines at their respective winches or cleats.

While they are handy things to have, the combination of aluminum castings, stainless steel and saltwater is not a good combination. The less noble metal, in this case the cast aluminum mast base, corrodes. And this one had done so. My first inkling of trouble was the fact that the fasteners were locked in corrosion and had to be cut away.

You can see the remains of the corroded mast base, the organizer, and some progress toward a solution in this image:

Definitely keep reading! The finished product, retaining the aluminum mast AND the stainless steel organizer, but without any metal-to-metal contact between the two, is a miracle of do-it-yourselfer ingenuity:

I try not to get too excited about products I haven’t seen in person. But long-time readers will remember my attempt to overhaul my (dead) Sprint 400 windlass. Replacement was the only option, it turned out, so I covered the hole in my foredeck and went cruising.

That was last August, and I’m embarrassed to say that the foredeck still has that funny piece of plastic bolted to it. Imagine my delight to discover a compact, high-quality windlass with all the features I want.

Let’s see what the press release tells us…

Now, boaters can enjoy the water more and spend less time figuring out their marine equipment. Rated as the number one automatic rope/chain windlass in its class by an independent test report, Maxwell America’s Freedom Series offers simple mounting, saving boaters time and money.

Featuring easy two piece installation, the Freedom Series allows users to retrofit without disassembly of the windlass. The topworks can be fully dismantled by utilizing the handle provided and a screwdriver. No special tools are required.

Editor’s note: This is a HUGE benefit to me. Take a look at my attempts to overhaul the old one (here and here). Boaters need to face the fact that it’s a windlass, and you’ll need to get inside it some day.

A unique spacer tube design allows installation through almost any deck thickness. Alternative gearbox/motor positions accommodate virtually all mounting situations.

(more…)

Remember Accon Marine flush-mount tie-downs? Come on, folks, it was just last week! This thing:

Anyway, I heard from Erica Ring at Accon, and here’s what she had to say:

To answer your questions:

Yes, it is more like one big hole and four smaller screw holes.  The easiest way to install would be to use a hole saw for the big hole and drop the tie down in to mark the other 4 holes.

The sealing cup is to prevent water from getting behind the tie down.  It just drops into the hole and is secured along with the tie down by the four screws.

I hope this clears things up.  If not, please let me know and I will try to clarify

Got it. Thanks, Erica!