Having water on board and maneuvering the boat are two important factors in cruising.
Beyond the engines, beyond the coolers, and beyond the electronics, there are a couple of mechanical tools on board that really help when cruising. One is a watermaker, especially if you’re out for a week or more and have guests who love long showers. The other is a thruster, which can make you look like a pro at the helm when docking. Nothing worse than the wind or current pushing you away when you’re trying to snug up to the fuel dock or maneuvering into a slip.
HP Watermakers Sea0spot
Dockside water isn’t always “pure” and why you’ll see many purifiers or filter systems alongside yachts connected to the shore water source prior to filling the freshwater tank. That’s why HP Watermakers has developed Sea0spot. Not only is it a watermaker that uses osmotic membranes, but also a Marina Water Treatment (MWT) system that softens and nano-filtrates dockside water. What’s nice is that it’s an all-in-one unit.
Sea0spot evolved from the HP SCA series of compact watermakers which had two inlets, one for seawater and the other for freshwater to rinse the membranes after use. Now, a third inlet has been added dedicated to marina water that requires softening.
Gianni Zucco, CEO of Milan, Italy-based HP Watermakers, said that because of a dedicated button, the switch from desalination to MWT is a simple process when the system is on standby.
“The water is treated through the same seawater membranes used for desalination, but at a much lower pressure that is automatically adjusted when the ‘0 (zero) SPOT’ program is started,” said Zucco. “This brings the TDS (total dissolved solids) and the total hardness to very low levels to protect all freshwater-using systems from limescale incrustations and, also, to wash the deck and hull without leaving limescale halos.”
Because Sea0spot evolved from HP’s proven technology, the size is identical to watermakers in the HP series, so its spatial footprint makes it an easy upgrade without needing to revise engine room layouts. hpwatermaker.it
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Quick Thruster
Ravenna, Italy-based Quick Spa has been designing, engineering, and manufacturing marine lighting, windlasses, gyrostabilizers, battery chargers, docking systems, and more since the 1980s, but it’s their thruster division that has really taken off in the last few years, especially with its latest QSY range.
The range is designed for boats 23 to 100 feet in length, and what’s impressive is they can run 10 minutes continuously if conditions require it. An aluminum cylinder with an integrated driver control heat dissipation if using up all those 10 minutes. But with dual contra-rotating props in all but the smallest unit, there’s equal thrust on both sides and plenty of power to save on the wear and tear.
Through the use of a synchronous motor, meaning shaft rotation is synchronized with the frequency of the supply current, there are numerous advantages. The AC electric motor uses permanent magnets which allow more thrust for less power draw than the classic DC motor as well as something DC motors can’t do without additional hardware—provide variable thrust.
Adapted from the automobile industry, the brushless motor has the benefit of being nearly maintenance-free with reduced noise and increased efficiency. The technology also means the unit is compact and has less weight which translates into a smaller footprint for installation in the bow or stern compartments. Yes, because of its IP68 waterproof rating, it can be mounted on the stern.
With the QSY range, there’s the option to integrate with the yacht’s main battery bank instead of having a separate one as used with most DC thrusters because the QSY thruster draws less power.
For those with an inkling to install the thrusters as a DIY project, you can purchase directly from Quick, but most thrusters are installed when the boat is built and the installation can be complex, so it’s probably advisable to employ a technician.
The QSY range currently comprises four key models at 140mm, 185mm, 250mm, and 300mm tunnel sizes, but because of its popularity, more models are expected to launch over the coming months. New retractable trusters has been added to the range as well as CAN bus remote control setups. quickitaly.com; quickusastore.com
-by Jeremy Peters
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