I was fortunate enough to be invited to IBEX (International BoatBuilders' Exhibition & Conference) this last week as an Innovation Award Judge and had the privilege of reviewing almost 100 new products for the awards. Many of these I am hoping to test longer term aboard Aruna and I will definitely share the results.
What are the IBEX Innovation Awards?
IBEX is North America's leading technical B2B trade event and annual showcase for the recreational marine industry, and the Innovation Awards are part of this show.
Entrants provide detailed information about their products several weeks before the show, and as judges, we spend time reviewing all of that information prior to arriving. We journey to Tampa, Florida, the site of the show, several days before the official start and spend two very long days on the hot, un-air-conditioned floor talking to each entrant to understand why their product is innovative. You can watch a bit about the process below.
IBEX Innovation Awards Overview
Out of all of the entrants this year, these are the products I would use myself, or that I think any boater could use.
Egis Modular Power Distribution Module
This is an excellent new product from one of my favorite vendors, Egis, and it's one that I think will end up on tenders and small boats everywhere. Essentially, it is a battery switch, fuse / circuit breaker block, NMEA 2000 control, and high amp output all in a compact, waterproof enclosure.
You can connect additional Relay Distribution Modules to it with simple bus bars and have even more circuits and flexibility.
I am actually in the middle of rewiring my tender/dinghy and am looking forward to when these become available so I can use it as the core of my electrical system.
Scanstrut Navigation Light
The official name is the Wireless Powered All-Round White LED Navigation Pole Light which is quite a mouthful! It is a really, really sexy solution to smaller boat stern navigation lights. Most of us have fought with the standard ones, especially when it comes to getting them seated in the connector. This is also frustrating when water gets into that connector which inevitably leads to corrosion and failure.
Scanstrut is well known for beautiful design, and the pole light is no exception. The pole itself is black, thin, and tall, and ends in a larger base that houses the wireless power module. The socket is machined aluminum with a waterproof seal and a tight spring that locks the light pole in place once it is inserted.
The socket has a drain hole in it, and no other parts to worry about. The light pole is simply inserted into the socket, and a few seconds later after the system handshakes, you have a bright all-around light that is easy to stow, doesn't corrode, and looks nice. It also comes with two brackets to store the light while you're not using it somewhere else.
Garmin Signal VHF 400
I've had one of these for a few months, and a full review will be available in a week or two. It is a very impressive VHF radio and Class B AIS transponder with a modern operating system that is inspired by the Vesper Cortex that came before it.
It has an internal GPS, although I am using an external one for my testing (steel boat woes), DSC capability, Garmin networking, NMEA 2000 and connections to hailers and speakers. It's the only recreational VHF radio that I know of that supports 24 volts natively.
The operating system is extremely fast and easy to navigate. It brings forward some of the features I loved from the Vesper Cortex including the auto squelch, multi-channel "listening/recording" (3 at a time on this unit) and the quick preset settings and scan selections.
It also has diagnostic pages for antennas, AIS, and other things that I've never seen on any other product in the marine market, but more on that in my full review.
The fist mic is also unique in that it uses a magnetic back to mount it, and it is not directly wired to the base radio. It requires its own power, but it is wireless in its connection to the radio, and works extremely well.
The lineup consists of the 400 which is the VHF+AIS transmit/receive, the 200 which is VHF+AIS receive only, and the 100 which is a remote station to an existing 200/400 unit.
AquaAmp Smart DT Connector
The guys at AquaAmp really impressed me last year with their innovation. This year, they had several items that were new and cool including this little awesome invention. Many new boats use 24 volts as their primary DC power, yet some existing electronics like fish finders and some simpler depth sounders still require 12 volts.
The Smart DT Connector is an inexpensive, extremely well designed converter that solves this problem. AquaAmp uses a proprietary thermally conductive potting compound, originally developed for their high-power wireless charging products. The result is an IP67-rated, vibration-resistant, marine-grade component capable of reliable operation in harsh environments.
It's tiny, produces almost no heat, uses Deutsch connectors so that it is ultra waterproof, and can be easily installed wherever you need to convert 24 to 12 volts. An excellent and inexpensive bit to have on hand in smaller boats where you need to power something that is 12 volts only.
Propspeed Foulfree Multi-Surface
Many people are familiar with the standard Propspeed product that is applied to running gear on boats, but this is a little different. Foulfree is designed for just about everything else, and is something that you can do yourself with simple preparation. What really interested me is that you could put it on the lower unit of your outboard, trim tabs, and even on the tubes on your dinghy.
This means instead of bottom paint, which always comes off of tubes and creates a mess, you can apply Foulfree instead. Same with things like trim tabs and the part of your outboard that sits in the water even when it's tipped up, and I'm sure other things I'm not even thinking of.
Spectrum Color TouchPro
If you've ever scratched painted metal or anodized aluminum, you know that it is a pain to touch up, if you even can. Spectrum has come up with a three-part system that allows for high-quality field repairs. The kit includes prep solvent, primer filler, and an OEM-matched color. I'm hoping eventually they will offer a service where you can provide your own color for that last step - it sounded like that was in the works.
This would allow a DIYer or technician the ability to repair damage without having to completely repaint or remove a damaged component. It doesn't require specialized training or equipment and should take less than an hour to complete.
Gemlux Deluxe Antenna Mount
We have dealt with the standard antenna mounts for many years on boats of all sizes - the little handle never seems to hold as long as you want, and the teeth don't always line up to ensure your antenna is straight up and down. Gemlux's Deluxe Antenna Mount aims to solve this, plus it has a few additional nice features.
The most important part is the teeth and mechanism to adjust it. The teeth are far more copious which allows for smaller adjustments. The knob to adjust them looks really nice, and requires a ton of force to pull out and rotate, so it won't really ever move once you set it where you want it without you pulling it out again.
It also has much more granular teeth for the in/out adjustment, nicely beveled edges that make it look sleek and don't provide spots for antenna cables to chafe, and a built-in cable passthrough if needed.
Seaview Curve Phone Charger
Seaview is one of my favorite companies for mounts and bits that solve problems in elegant ways, and the Curve is no exception. It is a 25-watt charger with a cutout for your phone camera, something you don't see in many others. This means the back of your phone is in more direct contact with the charging pad which equates to faster charging - you'll be able to get as much of that 25 watts as possible. It also has curved sides so it is easier to grasp your phone and insert and remove it, and an M6 threaded insert in the back for easy RAM-compatible mounts.
Pi-Switch
There are a lot of switches out there, but the Pi-Switch impressed me with the amount of tech it had packed into it. Configurable via iOS or Android app using Bluetooth, it is waterproof, has resettable internal fuses, and can handle up to 20 amp loads (bridged). You can customize the lighting and parameters via the app, but it gets even better.
You can drive actions based on UV light, temperature, voltage, current and proximity - all built into the switch itself. It has an ARM32 processor and you can program it to be a latched, momentary, or timer-based switch. Having all of these options from a tiny little switch is pretty amazing! I'm looking forward to exploring the options with these switches and their internal sensors in particular.
New Wire Dex7
New Wire's Dex7 is a data-packed display that shows AC + DC voltage, current, bilge, hours, and more. Not only is it very speedy and responsive, but the screen real estate is considerable for a display this size. You can actually show graphs, multi-line data, and set alarms all from the panel.
It can be flush- or panel-mounted, is sized to replace the older analog and similar gauges in electrical panels, and has a bunch of additional options like an alarm lead, shunt support and flexible inputs.
Blue Sea Mini Switch
One of the simplest entries was the Blue Sea Mini Switch, which I have called the "super cute little switch". It's a battery switch that can be bolted directly to a battery terminal or used in other situations where an on/off switch is necessary, and space is at a premium.
It has a 450 amp cranking rating and for $39 is a really inexpensive way to get a compact switch for a single battery or other project.
Q Float Display
The Q Float Display is a modular system that includes a display, control unit, mobile app, LTE modem, and integrations such as digital switching. I liked the wider aspect ratio screen choices and that the interface box could be mounted elsewhere nearer all of the electrical and network connections.
The display itself combines navigation, engine data, entertainment, weather (Windy) and Google Maps, among other things, all in a slick display with well-thought-out gauges and overlays.
One of the cool things with the display is the float mount which you can see above. This would allow you to mount it on a much smaller dash or area than a traditional display, and without cutting a giant hole.
Raymarine RCU-1
The RCU-1 is the newest handheld autopilot remote from Raymarine. The best part of this remote is the man overboard sailing feature. When using the remote in steer-to-wind mode, which would most likely be used on a sailboat, if the central unit detects that the remote is disconnected, it puts the boat into the wind to help facilitate a rescue or return to the boat. It assumes that the remote, and thereby the skipper, have fallen overboard and tries to make things a bit safer.
I always love when technology is leveraged to help with safety, and think this is a great start to a cool feature. I'd love to hear from any sailors that have this remote and have tried this feature (for testing of course - don't jump overboard just for fun!).
Boat Launcher powered by Tectrax
This entry was a fun one to judge mainly because we got to drive around a very well-engineered, remote-controlled boat launcher. Made by Tectrax, the Boat Launcher comes in 3WD to 6WD versions, has a remote that can reach 1500', and can run on its electric battery system for up to 6 hours. It is designed so you can climb up into your boat on the launcher, grab the remote, and drive the whole thing into the water. Then you back your boat off of the launcher, drive the launcher back up onto the beach in a safe place, and go have fun boating.
Boat Launcher
It has tons of adjustment and customization options to fit your boat perfectly, lots of safety features and great electrical design. It can even be made street legal in the USA so you can drive it (albeit at 8 MPH) on the road if you so choose.
Wrap Up
It was super fun working with the other judges - we all have very diverse backgrounds in boating and journalism, and it was amazing to see us all step in with that expertise depending upon the product and technology.
This was only a handful of the new products available at the show, but it's the ones I was the most impressed with. I'm hoping to test some of these for longer periods once they become available on the market, and will definitely write about them and share my opinions with you. Are there any of these in particular you're more curious about? Leave a comment below!