Product & industry review

Australian Sailing MuseumAustralian Sailing Museum

The Australian Sailing Museum is a tourist attraction in Mandurah, WA. It was conceived and founded by local sailing icon Rolly Tasker and his wife Kerry. The building construction is a stunning example of marine architecture and has been dubbed Mandurah’s ‘Little Opera House’.The museum offers a comprehensive display of models, history of Australian sailing from the 1800s, America’s Cup history, marine art, fibreglass figures of sailing icons and pennants.
It incorporates the Peninsula Art Gallery, Boardwalk Café, Print Shop and Rolly Tasker Sails Australia. You can purchase a wide range of sailing/yachting art and memorabilia from the onsite store.
Interesting displays include: marine artwork by John Mecray, Willard Bond and Geoff Hunt; a replica America’s Cup; pennants of yacht clubs throughout the world; 132 scale 1:12 model yachts of Australian Fleet Class racing yachts; models of all challengers and defenders of the America’s Cup since 1851.
Australian Sailing Museum – 08 9534 7256; Mandurah Cultural Centre, 22 Ormsby Terrace, Mandurah, WA.

Running a power plant on fish oil

Finnish power generation multinational Wärtsilä has successfully demonstrated the ability of its engines to run on a range of vegetable and animal-based oils. This enables a wider range of renewable fuel options for the Wärtsilä engines, while at the same time enabling further CO2 emission reductions.
In the tests, conducted between February and April last year at the VTT technical research centre in Espoo, Finland, a Wärtsilä Vasa 4R32 engine was successfully operated on Jatropha oil, fish oil and chicken oil.
From these tests, it was concluded that most animal fats are similar to conventional diesel fuels in terms of energy content, and ignition and combustion properties. The main differences are the melting point, the level of impurities, and the degree of acidity.
“As a result of these tests, we are confident that we can operate our current engines on these renewables,” said Niklas Haga, Chief Development Engineer, Wärtsilä Power Plants.
Wärtsilä – 02 9672 8200; www.wartsila.com

Eco BoatsEco Boats

Eco Boats offers luxury electric boats which are emission-free, low-maintenance, will cruise for a whole day and cost less than a dollar to recharge.
These well-appointed lifestyle boats are perfect for relaxed day or sunset cruising with friends or family. They run off batteries which recharge from normal household power or top up on the run from optional solar panels. Powerful electric outboards up to 10Hp and inboard drive systems are available for those who want to convert their existing boat to whisper quiet electric drive.
Electric boats are also the perfect addition to an existing hire boat fleet or for waterfront resorts and holiday parks as these boats are cheap to run, almost maintenance free and can operate on ecologically sensitive waterways.
Eco Boats operates out of Northbridge Marina on Sydney’s Middle Harbour with two demonstrator vessels that are also available for self-drive trips.
Eco Boats Australia – 02 9929 8834; www.ecoboats.com.au

GME awarded PLB contract

GME awarded PLB contractGME, Australia’s largest manufacturer of Emergency Distress Beacons have been awarded a contract to supply Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) to Country Energy, a leading Australian energy provider based in NSW.
Country Energy will distribute PLBs to all employees as part of their strong commitment to employee safety. The new devices will enhance existing safety measures and provide employees with a backup method of quickly and easily calling for help in the event of a life threatening situation.
The GME marine division of Standard Communications is globally recognised for its multi-award winning range of digital emergency beacons, EPIRBs and PLBs. The first of these devices, the MT400 debuted internationally at METS in 2004, receiving a ‘Special Recommendation’ by the DAME award committee. Digital Personal Locator Beacons were released in 2007 ensuring GME’s position as a major supplier of COSPAS SARSAT beacons.
GME – 02 9844 6666; www.gme.net.au.

Rosehill Gardens set for seventh trailer boat show with free entry

Thoroughbreds of the turf give way to boats come March, 2010, with the seventh staging at the Rosehill Gardens Events Centre of the popular trailer boat show organised by the Boating Industry Association of NSW (BIA).
The show is set for the weekend of March 6 and 7 and will be open each day from 9am to 5pm.
Originally known as The Great Silverwater Boat Show, the new and improved facilities at Rosehill have seen the show go from strength to strength.
BIA management is continuing its support of the boating community by again ‘throwing open the doors’ with free admission; allied with ample free parking, the show is an exhibition not to be missed by boating enthusiasts, who ‘voted with their feet’ in support of the free admission.
The Rosehill Gardens Events Centre is on James Ruse Drive, Rosehill.
Boating Industry Association of NSW – (02) 9438-2077; www.bia.org.au

Would you know if someone is on your boat?

It’s easy to board a boat in a Marina or on a swing mooring. Many boat owners have experienced theft.
An innovative product for sensing trespassers on your boat is available from BlueRay Security systems. The deck stress sensor detects human weight on the deck of your boat. It’s epoxied under the deck and can be adjusted for sensitivity to eliminate false alarms.
Imagine the fright when someone boards your boat, the alarm sounds, lights come on and of course you’ll receive an instant SMS about the trespass.  The intruder won’t stick around to see what can be taken.
On NYE Sydney Harbour, a large luxury cruiser was taken for a joy ride from a secure marina. This could have been detected with a BlueRay and deck trespass sensors. And the GPS function would pinpoint the boat’s location for action by Water Police.
BlueRay Security – www.blueray.com.au