IBEX Makes Ten Innovation Awards
The International BoatBuilders Exhibition (IBEX) just made its annual Innovation Awards to ten companies, plus three more for honorable mentions. The awards program is managed by the National Marine Manufacturers Association, and judged by members of Boating Writers International. The awards this year were presented in an on-line ceremony. The winners:
Boat Care and Maintenance: ElectroSea, ElectroStrainer: Judge Phil Gutoski said, “This clever combination of a salt chlorinator cell and seawater strainer reduces biofouling in raw water-cooled marine plumbing systems..
Boatbuilding Methods and Materials: Massivit 3D, Massivit 1000 Additive Tooling System. Judge Julia Carleton said, “The Massivit 1000 dramatically simplifies and shortens the process for producing complex custom molds.”
Boatyard and Marina Hardware and Software: Radian IoT, GPS Monitoring Solution and SaaS Platform: Judge Tim Murphy said, “Radian IoT is a broad information system that promises to revise the social contract among boatbuilders, dealers, trucking companies, banks, insurers, and boaters.”
Deck Equipment and Hardware: Overboard Technologies, Overboard Pro Mounted Fish Dehooker. Judge Ryan Gullang said, “Overboard’s mounted dehooker helps anglers get from one catch to the next more quickly, while reducing the amount of handling caught fish face. Fewer skewered fingers and lower mortality rates – that’s a game changer regardless of which end of the fishing rod you’re on.” Honorable mention: Navico Group, PowerBase & Antenna.
Electrical Systems: Egis Mobile Electric. Judge Ben Stein said “Egis’ XD Series Triple Flex Relay offers simple configuration and rich functionality. Its modular approach reduces components and complexity.” Honorable mention: Navico Group, ProMariner ProTournament Elite.
Furnishings and Interior Parts: Kenyon Internatioal Inc, VDC Grill. Judge Ed Sherman said, “I applaud Kenyon for introducing their 48-volt grill to the industry.”
Mechanical Systems: Seakeeper, Inc., Seakeeper Ride: Judge Steve Davis said, “The Seakeeper Ride is a vessel attitude control system that uses an innovative rotary blade system to control roll and pitch while underway through its proprietary inertial sensing hardware and software.” Honorable Mention: Minn Kota/Humminbird/Cannon, MEGA Live Imaging TargetLock.
OEM Electronics: Garmin USA, Garmin Surround View Camera System (see picture at top): Judge Ben Stein said the system “eases challenging docking and tight quarters handling with a birds’ eye view of the boat and its surroundings.”
Propulsion Parts, Propellers: QMI, AccuThrust. Judge Steve Davis said the “AccuThrust pontoon thruster is an intuitive, flush-mounted, in-tube system that won’t restrict pontoons or tri-toons from getting into shallow waters.”
Safety Equipment: PYI Inc., Revolve. Judge Phil Gutoski said, “Deploy your boat hook like a lightsaber! This fun accessory was genuinely inspired by technology from the space industry.”
Zuzana Prochazka, chair of the Innovations Awards, said, “This year we saw a great deal of design innovation from companies in every aspect of marine manufacturing…We feel that the products selected represent the best of the industry this year.”
Read more at https://www.nmma.org/press/article/24149?utm_source=Currents&utm_medium=Currents&utm_campaign=ia&utm_content=ia and see the Garmin Surround View video below:
