By Captain Scott “Fraz” Murie
Paying a little money upfront can save you plenty when deciding which direction to run to the fishing grounds. Here in the northern Gulf, with such a large area to cover, having the knowledge of where to head before leaving the pass is a huge advantage and certainly improves our fish-to-gallon ratio.
On a slightly windy day we headed out on the water with Capt. Sean Gill, Yamaha Pro Staff, and Ry Landry, Yamaha Product Education Manager, to see the Yamaha Helm Master EX in action. The customizable boat control system builds upon Yamaha’s original Helm Master while expanding its usage to single through quad outboard applications.
Boating autopilot functions, such as course and heading hold, can be adjusted with the joystick, which was also designed to easily make changes to SetPoint features without leaving the current mode.
It was a smooth ride.
Photo courtesy AIRMAR
Photo courtesy Humminbird
RACINE, Wis., Nov. 16, 2020—Humminbird announced the next level in fish finder technology with the launch of the new APEX™ series. Combining Humminbird’s best-in-class sonar technologies and full networking capabilities on a full-HD display, APEX delivers the clearest and most-detailed display of sonar and chart technologies and represents the pinnacle of marine electronics innovation.
Humminbird has been a dominant leader in marine electronics for decades by putting the most powerful and intuitive tools in the hands of anglers to help them find and catch more fish. APEX is the most advanced offering to date and offers more custom rigging options and large screen displays than ever before.
[Read more…]
While at this year’s Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show we stopped by the Blue Water Desalination booth to check out the new Express Watermakers and learn more about their features.
By Capt. Adam Peeples
While sportfish captains in the Northern Gulf of Mexico and beyond have using fuel bladders to extend the limits of their range for some time, up until a few years ago it was not a common sight at billfish tournaments to see a center console loaded for bear, packing 200 gallons or more of extra fuel on the deck.
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Legendary captain and angler Dr. JJ Tabor and his team shattered all preconceived notions of what a center console can accomplish by winning the 2015 Blue Marlin Grand Championship out of Orange Beach, Alabama. Carrying an extra 150-gallons of fuel in a bladder on the deck, Tabor and his team caught the winning blue marlin while making an 800-mile round trip aboard his 42 Freeman.
Tabor and company hooked the fish on the final morning of the tournament, ultimately putting the winning blue marlin on the deck around 11 a.m. At that point, they were around 300-miles from Orange Beach and had to make the weigh-in no later than 6:30 pm for the fish to count. With the speed that only a high-performance center console can provide, Dr. Tabor and his team were able to make the weigh-in and win the tournament, even with a stop for extra fuel on the way home.
This signature win demonstrated to the tournament scene and everyone watching that center console crews were no longer in these major marlin tournaments just for the wahoo and tuna calcuttas. With the ability to hold extra fuel and the speed of an outboard-powered center console, crews such as Tabor’s may now even hold a slight advantage over the larger, slower sportfish boats given the right conditions.
While rigging a fuel bladder on the deck of a center console may sound simple enough, there are many unique safety precautions that should be adhered to in order to transport and use gasoline safely aboard an open fishing boat. The obvious difference between transporting diesel in a bladder versus gasoline is the extremely volatile nature of gasoline. With a much lower flash point than diesel, gasoline vapors always have a very high chance of ignition with even the smallest of sparks.
A fuel bladder filled with gasoline sitting in the sun on the deck of a center console is a potential fireball waiting to happen. Aside from the obvious rule of no smoking on the boat, care should be taken that there is no exposed wiring or any other potential spark producer on or near the boat while carrying gasoline on the deck. In addition to the fire hazard of gasoline, a 250-gallon bladder weighs in around 1500-pounds.
This extra weight must be secured properly to ensure it does not slide around on the deck. Care must also be taken to ensure that your vessel is not overloaded with the extra weight of fuel in addition to all the gear and crew on board. A center console at or above load capacity could experience a catastrophic event in moderate or heavy seas if the bladder were to shift hard to one side.
Tabor recommends using a series of 2” nylon ratchet straps to form a cradle for the bladder, thus ensuring it does not shift while underway in rough seas. Dr. Tabor credits the stability and load carrying ability of his Freeman 42LR to safely transport his crew, gear, and 250-gallons of extra fuel to the fishing grounds.
Transferring fuel from the bladder to the main tank is another step that must be taken with safety in mind. Most crews use a transfer pump to lift the gas from the bladder into the main fuel tanks. Care must be taken to ensure that the transfer pump is designed for gasoline and not for diesel. The internal design of gasoline transfer pumps is different than that of diesel pumps and using an incorrect and/or cheap transfer pump could lead to an accident.
After burning off enough fuel in the tanks to make room for the fuel in the bladder, the transfer pump can then empty the bladder into the main tanks. The empty bladder can then be safely stowed out of the way. In addition, it is recommended to only transport a fuel bladder on the deck when it is full. Although some crews may be tempted to run a direct line from the bladder to their outboard fuel lines and let the motors drain the bladder while underway, a half-empty bladder is much more prone to shifting and sliding on the deck. Unlike the main fuel tanks in center consoles, there are no baffles to prevent the fuel from sloshing around inside the bladder.
The success of Dr. Tabor and other center console crews on the blue marlin tournament circuit has made it clear that high-performance center consoles are fully capable of competing with the sportfishing yacht crews who have traditionally dominated these competitions. Modern center console boats have the capability of making over 1000-mile journeys with the extended range fuel bladders provide. “Going long” is no longer a shortcoming of the center console crew.
This extended range, coupled with the ability to cruise at high speeds for long distances will often give the center console crew more time with baits in the water. They can get to the marlin grounds first and be the last to leave (not to mention the fact that speed and range gives the opportunity to tournament fish in areas that are out of reach to others). These advantages alone will likely lead to more center console tournament wins in the future.
Do you have any comments or questions for us? We’d love to hear from you.
Photo courtesy ElectroSea
ElectroSea — Barnacles don’t just live on a boat’s hull, they make their way into the raw-water system where they clog pipes and wreak havoc on air conditioners, refrigeration and other equipment that depend on this water for cooling.
AN AGE-OLD PROBLEM
“CLEARLINE by ElectroSea sovles an age-old problem for boaters,” said Daniel L. Cosentino, ElectroSea CEO and President. Typically, owners and captains frequently have to remove barnacles and marine growth from the boat’s raw-water circuit to ensure that air-conditioners, chillers and hydraulics are running efficiently.
These systems require continuous seawater flow, and if marine growth clogs the pipes that feed this equipment, they will shut down. Blockages caused by barnacles and mussels can result in air conditioner overheating, high-pressure alarms, and system failure at the worst possible time.
This is something that is often overlooked, until it’s too late. Who do you think your customer will call when the air conditioner “breaks” on their boat? That’s right…it’s probably you…the broker.
THE DOWNSIDE TO DESCALING AND OTHER TREATMENT METHODS
“Before CLEARLINE, treatment methods for marine growth in raw-water pipes were reactionary instead of preventive,” said Cosentino. Without CLEARLINE, once crew receives a high-pressure alert or system failure, they’ll need to descale the boat’s raw-water plumbing by flushing the conduits, usually with an acid. Just like your health…it’s best to take preventative action instead of being reactive.
Another disadvantage to reactive descaling is that it allows marine growth to manifest in the plumbing. Without disassembling manifolds and fittings, there is no way to tell how much growth has accumulated in the pipes. So, most of the time crew won’t descale until they’ve received a high-pressure alert or experience a system failure. Even then, when the systems are disassembled and the marine growth breaks apart, it has to go somewhere…and you can only hope it makes its way to a bucket or tank and does not get stuck somewhere in the cooling system causing an even worse problem.
DOCK TALK
Old salts and early adopters report positive results using this new technology.
66′ VIKING YACHTS, SEA WOLF – Capt. Harry Schaffer
“Like clockwork, I would clean my A/C strainer every Tuesday for years until we installed the ElectroSea CLEARLINE system,” says Captain Harry Schaffer. “Based in Jupiter, FL the water around our dock can get really warm, especially in summer, and the barnacles, sludge and sea critters would thrive in our A/C system. After installing the [CLEARLINE] System, I only check on my A/C Strainer about every five weeks. When I do check it, I hardly clean anything, no barnacles or gunk. I’ve had the system installed for six months now and can honestly say this will change how the industry thinks about descaling saltwater systems. I haven’t had to call for air-conditioning service since we installed it [CLEARLINE]. In my opinion, this is one of the best improvements to boating in recent years.”
90′ JARRETT BAY, JARUCO – Capt. James Brown
“Although I was skeptical at first, I have been thoroughly impressed with the performance of the ElectroSea [CLEARLINE] system. Our systems are now constantly running at maximum efficiency and require far less maintenance.”
50′ MARITIMO – Owner
“I have 6 air conditioners on my Maritimo M50 and what seems like miles of tubing. Descaling was required much too often, to say nothing of the ongoing costs. Had CLEARLINE installed several months ago and have not experience any growth issues since. Thank you ElectroSea!”
HOW CLEARLINE WORKS
The engineers at ElectroSea harnessed the proven power of chlorine (sodium hypochlorite). It is a well-tested, safe technology with a long history of worldwide industrial application as a disinfectant in drinking water, cooling towers, and desalination plants.
CLEARLINE uses the sodium from saltwater and electricity to produce a consistent, precise amount of chlorine based on a vessel’s flow rate. This chlorine circulates through raw-water plumbing making it an uninhabitable environment for marine growth. The continuous, low-level of chlorine is a proven anti-fouling treatment that controls the growth of a range of marine organisms including barnacles and biofilms.
The patent pending CLEARLINE system includes two key components: the CLEARLINE Control Unit, which is the brain, and ClearCell electrochlorinator, which is the heart of the system.
The CLEARLINE Control Unit works in concert with the ClearCell to deliver a precise, low-level of chlorine. The System provides real-time monitoring, dynamic chlorine adjustment based on seawater and cell conditions, and automatic pump switching if necessary. The Control Unit is intuitive and easy to use with a full LED display, status indicator lights, and audible alarm.
The ClearCell is a specialized seawater electrochlorinator made from a unique formula of rare earth metal oxides for long life. The ClearCell is installed directly in the seawater intake circuit. Chlorinated water flows through the air conditioner, refrigeration, and other systems; and a secondary line runs back through the strainers. CLEARLINE’s low level of chlorine is compatible with titanium, copper nickel and other marine alloys. Further, this anti-fouling agent produces no heavy metal pollution (i.e. copper or
lead). The ClearCell is easy to maintain, long-lasting and designed for the marine environment.
CUSTOMIZED TO EACH VESSEL
The CLEARLINE system is customized to each vessel’s seawater intake demand and is recommended for vessels ranging 25 ft. – 200 ft.
CLEARLINE can be installed on new builds or retrofitted into existing vessels. Retrofitting a boat with the CLEARLINE System is a simple process that involves an ElectroSea field technician or certified dealer inspecting the boat’s raw-water system to determine the best location to plumb in the ClearCell and mount the Control Unit.
“Every boat is a little different,” said Cabe Regnerus, ElectroSea Senior Field Technician. “The first thing we’ll do is determine the optimal location for the ClearCell. We want to maintain the original flow characteristics of the vessel and have ClearCell as close to the raw-water pump as possible.”
After plumbing the ClearCell into the raw-water system, the technician will mount the Control Unit and wire it to 12 or 24 volt DC power.
ElectroSea offers five CLEARLINE models based on seawater pump flow rate. The CLEARLINE CL-410 fits 1/4 to 1/2-inch pipe and up to 7 gpm (gallons per minute) and runs on 12 or 24 volts. The CLEARLINE CL-430 fits 5/8 to 1-inch pipe, up to 26 gpm and runs on 12 or 24 volts. The CLEARLINE CL-990 fits 1¼ to 1½-inch pipe and up to 50 gpm. The CLEARLINE CL-1000 also fits 1¼ to 1½-inch pipe and up to 50 gpm and includes dual pump control and an inhibit feature that forces CLEARLINE into standby when running a reverse-osmosis water maker or live well. The CL-990 and 1000 models run on 24 volts. The CLEARLINE CL-2000 fits 2” pipe, and up to 75 gpm for larger vessels. The entire installation of the CLEARLINE System takes about a day and can be done with the boat in the water or out.
GLOBAL SUPPORT NETWORK
ElectroSea continues to expand its CLEARLINE OEM and refit dealer network and has been installed on over 35 boat brands globally.
“We are proud to be working with esteemed OEM brands and have been included in new builds with Catman Cats, F&S Yachts, Garlington, Hargrave Custom Yachts, Jarrett Bay, Jim Smith Sportfish, Marlow Yachts, Paul Mann Custom Boats, Princess Yachts Americas, Ricky Scarborough, Riviera Yachts, Viking Yachts, and Winter Custom Yachts” said Cosentino.
ElectroSea’s CLEARLINE System has also been refit on vessels from additional premier boat brands including: Custom Carolina, Dean Johnson, Hatteras, Horizon, Maritimo, Merritt, Navigator, Ocean Alexander, Riva, Sea Ray, Spencer, Symbol, Weaver, and Westport.
“With the new CLEARLINE System, the days of descaling raw-water conduits are over forever. Pumps will run at peak flow rates and the crew will incur less downtime caused by high pressure, and low flow alarms due to clogged pipes,” said Regnerus.
PROTECT YOUR CUSTOMER
CLEARLINE is backed by a global dealer network of refit dealers and OEM partners. To find a refit dealer for your customer or inquire about new build installation, contact ElectroSea at info@electrosea.com or (888) 384-8881.
Learn more at www.electrosea.com.
Do you have any comments or questions for us? We’d love to hear from you.
Photo courtesy Seakeeper
By Gary Caputi
Seakeeper gyrostabilizers have revolutionized the boating industry. The story of how beneficial Seakeepers can be for those who use them has been widely told. How they are made and exactly how they work, however, is as fascinating as the results they produce.
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At its most basic level, a Seakeeper works by creating torque through rapidly spinning a flywheel inside of its housing. The force of the torque is then transferred to the hull of the boat. The force of this application keeps the boat steady, even as it would otherwise roll with wave action.
Here is the expert breakdown: How Seakeepers Work Andrew Semprevivo, Seakeeper’s President and CEO, provides some context as to how Seakeeper units reduce the roll of the boat on the ocean.
“A gyroscopic stabilizer is the most unintuitive technology you could imagine, but that is the magic of it. Something so small, quiet, and completely internal of the hull is creating such a great impact,” he said as we got into the operational dynamics of the system.
The flywheel spins up to 9,750 RPM inside the sphere. Photo courtesy Seakeeper
He explained that the concept was not new and showed me pictures of a ship with two massive ball-shaped gyros from way back in 1905. The systems fell in and out of favor in the shipping industry because they were so large and heavy, but the basic principles were the same.
A Seakeeper is composed of a heavy flywheel that spins horizontally at a high rate of speed inside of a ball-shaped housing. To achieve its desired result, a Seakeeper applies torque created by the rapid spin of the flywheel using the angular momentum. Angular momentum represents to gyroscopes the equivalent of what horsepower is for an engine.
Angular momentum is the product of the flywheel mass, flywheel diameter, and how fast the flywheel is spinning (angular velocity, technically speaking). It is the angular momentum of the unit that will determine the amount of torque available over time.
The faster the gyro tilts (precesses), the higher the peak torque that is available. Instantaneous peak torque, however, would not be the most effective use of the gyro’s angular momentum. To understand why requires a bit of a physics lesson. Ocean waves are not single bursts of energy. Rather, waves apply force to the boat sinusoidally (in a wave-like manner) over a period of three to seven seconds.
Seakeeper uses its active control system to apply the force of the gyro to the boat in the most effective way possible. Seakeepers precisely apply torque to counter the sinusoidal application
of the wave force over the course of this three to seven-second period. Simply stated, as waves try to force the boat to roll, Seakeepers apply torque precisely when it best impedes the movement.
The torque created by the flywheel tilting (precessing) fore and aft is then applied to the transverse axis of the boat to dampen movement caused by wave action. The effect of the torque applied precisely in line with the transverse axis of the boat results in the elimination of roll.
A Seakeeper’s flywheel is forged of a single piece of stainless steel. Spinning at high rates of speed within the housing, the flywheel creates the unit’s torque. Photo courtesy Gary Caputi
If you’ve ever played with one of those toy gyroscopes, you’ve experienced precession. When you hold the spinning toy still you don’t feel any pressure being applied to your hand, but as soon as you begin turning it you can feel it apply force dampening against the movement.
Seakeeper has developed a sophisticated, active control system that combines motion sensors with a computer module that gauges the roll rate of the hull. The Seakeeper then uses its hydraulic braking system to dampen the precession rate and inertia generated by the spinning gyro. The effect of this system is to match the precession (tilt) of the unit to the roll rate of the boat on the waves.
The active control of precession is why you can stop the effects of the unit by locking it in a standby position, even as the flywheel is still spinning at thousands of revolutions per minute. This active control system is also why the Seakeeper can be used in any sea state, at any speed, without the need for manual adjustments. The computer automatically senses any change in conditions and instantaneously adjusts the gyro’s precession with the hydraulic brakes to optimize the torque output with every roll cycle.
The technology that goes into manufacturing a Seakeeper is nothing short of remarkable. The equipment housed in their facility and the expertise of the machinists and technicians that operate the dozens of high-tech milling, balancing and testing machines is on a level commensurate with companies in the aerospace industry building components for fighter jets and the space shuttle.
The heart of the unit is the flywheel. To spin it at such high speeds, 9,750 RPM in some models, requires machining a single massive steel forging. The gyro’s components are ground to tolerances of 1/10,000th of an inch. To put this into perspective, that is roughly 1/3 the diameter of a strand of hair. This level of minute tolerances can only be achieved in a temperature-controlled environment.
The hydraulic brake cylinders are essential to the active control feature. Photo courtesy Seakeeper
Even a few degrees variance can cause expansion or contraction which could alter vital component fit. There are very few “off the shelf” parts available for such an intricate build. The ceramic bearings the flywheel spins on are purpose-built for Seakeeper. Even the lubricants require special properties, so they won’t disperse while operating in a vacuum. The balancing of the flywheel is critical, so the units run smoothly and do not impart vibrations to the boat.
The precision involved became evident when I placed my hand on the flywheel housing of a Seakeeper 26 spinning at 5,000 RPM on a test platform. The movement was almost imperceptible and it was so quiet I had to be told it was actually running. Now that’s precision!
When Seakeeper first went into production almost every component was machined in house. As unit production increased, the company has contracted specialty manufacturers to cast and perform initial machining of certain parts and subassemblies. Today, all of the finishing and assembly is carried out in house to maintain the critical tolerances required and assure overall quality control.
Once the flywheel and housing are complete, the assembly process begins with the installation of the ceramic bearings and the proprietary glycol cooling system components. The housing, consisting of two halves, is reassembled with the flywheel in place. The unit then moves to a test platform where the flywheel is spooled up for an initial run-in period. This ramp up period is critical to evenly dispersing the special bearing grease.
The entire assembly undergoes a second balancing process that uses laser measuring devices to detect even minute vibrations. The housing is then fully sealed and the air is removed, creating a vacuum. The unit is pumped down to zero torr, then backfilled to 10 torr of helium (a Torr is a unit of measure that describes pressure).
Seakeeper units are filled with helium because of its thermal conductivity properties. Together these processes—run-in, creating the vacuum, and baking out the excess grease—take upwards of ten
hours to complete on each unit. That doesn’t even include machining, assembly, or testing.
Seakeepers undergo extensive testing prior to shipment. Photo courtesy Gary Caputi
Upon assembly and testing, the flywheel enclosure is mated to the unit frame and the final assembly process is underway. This stage includes the assembly and integration of the hydraulic brake, motor drive, computer control box, cooling system and wiring harnesses.
The finished Seakeeper then undergoes a series of grueling quality control tests. These tests, designed to measure the unit’s response and effectiveness, include a five-hour stint on a hydraulic tilt table that simulates real world, on board operation. Only after satisfying all of these requirements is a finished Seakeeper crated and prepped for shipping.
With the introduction of the diminutive Seakeeper 1, Seakeeper now offers 10 models that cover the recreational boat market from 23-feet to greater than 85-feet with displacements up to 100 tons. Larger vessels, and those without space for one unit, can be accommodated with multi-unit installations.
Each unit is designed to provide the ideal amount of angular momentum at the rated RPM to impart the necessary torque required to arrest roll for the prescribed vessel size range. All Seakeeper units are designed to reduce vessel roll by up to 95 percent.
The Seakeeper 1, launched in February of 2020, is designed for boats from 20 to 23 feet in length with displacements of up to 5.5 tons. tons. At just 365 lbs., the new Seakeeper 1 features a flush
mount design for easier installation, runs exclusively on 12V DC power, and can be installed virtually anywhere on board.
Do you have any comments or questions for us? We’d love to hear from you.
ElectroSea’s ClearLine now installed on more than 25 unique boat brands
Minneapolis, MN.— ElectroSea is pleased to announce expansion of its OEM and refit dealer network to better serve sportfish and recreational boaters. ElectroSea’s ClearLine System continuously prevents barnacles and marine growth from clogging a boat’s seawater lines. ClearLine has been installed on more than 25 unique boat brands globally.
“We are proud that ClearLine has been rapidly adopted by leading OEM’s and installed in new builds of Catman Cats, F&S Yachts, Garlington, Hargrave Custom Yachts, Jarrett Bay, Jim Smith Sportfish, Marlow Yachts, Paul Mann Custom Boats, Princess Yachts America, Ricky Scarborough, Riviera Yachts, Viking Yachts, and Winter Custom Yachts” said Daniel L. Cosentino, President, ElectroSea.
ClearLine has also been refit on vessels ranging from 48 ft. to 112 ft. on premier boat brands such as Custom Carolina, Dean Johnson, Hatteras Yachts, Horizon Yachts, Maritimo, Merritt, Michael Rybovich & Sons Custom Boat Works, Navigator Yachts, Ocean Alexander, Overlook, Prestige, Riva Yachts, Sea Ray, Spencer Yachts, Symbol Yachts, Weaver Boatworks, and Westport.
Individuals interested in refitting ClearLine on their boat can choose from a global network of over 25 certified dealers closest to their port of call.*
ElectroSea launched ClearLine in 2019 after years of research and development. The system’s patent-pending technology prevents barnacles, biofilm, and unwanted marine growth from clogging the vessel’s seawater lines in air conditioners, chillers, refrigeration and hydraulics. Once ClearLine is installed, the boat’s raw-water lines will never need descaling again.
Tom Carroll, president and CEO of Princess Yachts America, installs ClearLine on all the inventory boats he orders, and recommends it as an option to all Princess Yachts America customers. “At $1,200 to $2,000 to acid-clean a system,” he explained, “the ClearLine pays for itself the first year in Florida, where growth often returns within 60 days after cleaning. You get barnacles, algae, you name it. If a given system isn’t acid-cleaned regularly, hoses can clog and burst, or air-conditioning condensers clog, which costs even more”.
ClearLine is available in four models for boats ranging in size from 30 ft. to 200 ft. and up. It’s latest model ClearLine CL-430, was released in February 2020, and is being installed in vessels 35 ft. to 60 ft.
ElectroSea will showcase the ClearLine System at the Palm Beach International Boat Show, March 26-29 – located at Booth 555, Clematis Tent.
* A complete list of ElectroSea Dealers can be found at www.electrosea.com.
We head out on the water to test the new Seakeeper 1 at the Miami International Boat Show. The new Seakeeper 1, designed to eliminate boat roll, features a flush-mount design and runs exclusively on 12V DC power. The price point of the unit is $14,900 plus installation and it weighs 365 pounds.
The Seakeeper tested was outfitted to a Sea Hunt 27.
