It is not often that we get exciting, world-class events on our doorstep, but that was the case this weekend when the Americas Cup World Series got underway in Plymouth, Devon.

The World Series is a regular circuit of regattas at venues around the world, allowing the teams and sailors to prepare for the America’s Cup finals in San Francisco in 2012.

This weekend saw some thrilling preliminary racing with winds gusting close to 30 knots across Plymouth Sound. There were a total of 3 capsizes, which proved to be exciting viewing for the crowds that had gathered on Plymouth Hoe.

Crowds watching the racing from the shore

Scanstrut’s Nick Robson went to watch the racing on Saturday and noted what a great spectacle it was.

“It was an impressive sight with close one design racing at ridiculous speeds, spiced up with the knowledge that any mistakes could lead to capsize disaster…!”

A series of events will be going on all week, ending this Sunday (18th September). Keep up to date with the latest news and videos by clicking through to the Americas Cup website.

Americas Cup boats racing in Plymouth Sound

 

Plymouth is 25 miles away from Scanstrut HQ in Totnes.

Sailing at Dartmouth Regatta

Well the summer may now officially be over in meteorological terms, but we have had some excellent sailing conditions here on the South Coast of Devon with our end of August local regattas in Torbay and Dartmouth.

This year saw some healthy office rivalry with myself and Rob our Head of Design both competing in the same class during Torbay Week!

Dartmouth regatta saw some really excellent, strong winds across Start Bay which gave us four very exciting days of racing.

An excellent time was had on the water, and it was great to see some Scanstrut products on many of the boats too.

Spotted! Scanstrut Self-Levelling Pole Mount

With these regattas now behind us and the trophies secured in the cabinet it is time for the Scanstrut team to focus on the forthcoming show season.

We have a very busy time ahead with boat shows coming up in La Rochelle, and Southampton, not to mention those in the US and Italy next month.

Naturally the major date in our diary is METS in November where we have lots of exciting new products to launch but stay tuned as we have some extra special launches this year.

We shall look forward to seeing many of you there in a few months time!

To keep up to date with the latest Scanstrut news, register for our newsletter at the bottom of the homepage at www.scanstrut.com.

Thank you to Sarah for guest editing this week, she is part of the sales team here at Scanstrut!

Scanstrut MD Tom Reed is currently over in France having just taken part in the L’Étape du Tour. French for ‘stage of the tour’, it’s an organised mass participation cyclosportive event that allows amateur cyclists to race over the same route as a Tour de France stage.

We thought we would share his email with you all…

What a day.

That was easily the hardest ride I have ever done. I knew it would be. However, it was also one of the most inspiring, humbling and, at times, emotional experiences I’ve been through.

From the 7am start with 10,000 other riders to the 44k of total climbing to the incredible fortitude shown by the amateur riders who refused to give up. Amazing.

The last 3k of climb over the top of Galibier will remain long in my memory. A narrow strip of tarmac snakes over the top of that famous mountain at a height of 2646m. The view from the top had a strangely physical effect on me that was unexpected. The vista was so grand, the mountain so massive and me so small. It had its own presence.

The descent off the other side was shout out load fun! 35k down alpine roads with no traffic. Worth the considerable pain to get to top just to have that descent. Super smooth tarmac, clear roads meant you tuck in and just let the bike go.

The final ascent up to Alpe D’Huez was brutal. A fully drugged up Marco Pantani holds the record at around 38mins. If I got up there in under 2 hours I’ll be happy! A well disguised right turn leads you onto the mountain and the first 3 switch backs are a wall of tarmac. With the 35 degree heat added to that mix I had to have a proper chat with myself to make sure I kept going!

I have no idea of my exact finish time or position but that doesn’t matter. My body is telling me I could not have done any more.

Would I do it again? No way, never, not in a million years! Would I recommend anyone else does it? Yes, 100% yes.

It was unforgettable.

The well-earned view from the top!

 

Onwards and upwards

 

Views on the way up

 

Landmarks along the way

Back in 2009 Jeanne Socrates, a British sailor contacted us with her radar installation requirements for her new yacht ‘Nereida’ a brand new Najad 380 built by Najadvarvet at Henån on the island of Orust in Sweden, just north of Göteborgt (read more here about what product we supplied Jeanne).

Her plan was to attempt a solo, non-stop sail around the world starting in September 2009.

Well, a few weeks ago we heard from Jeanne. She had arrived in Cape Town on 11th May after completing a 14 month solo circumnavigation and it sounds like she had quite an adventure!

Click on the picture below to read an article, published by US magazine, ‘SAILING’ on her trip.

The article can also be downloaded from the Press Coverage page of our website.

Self Levelling Radar Mount - Backstay Installed on Hallberg Rassy 43 mkII

Long distance sailors have advocated for many years that in order for the radar to give the best picture possible it needs to be kept level with the horizon. In the past, these experienced circumnavigators built their own structures to gain the best performance from their radar and avoid scanning the sea one way and the stars the other.

At Scanstrut, we have always believed in this concept and our Self-Levelling Radar Mount range is testament to this.

But are these offshore maestros right? How much performance is lost when the radar is not level and is the investment in a self-levelling radar system worth the extra cost?

Not wanting you to take just our word for it, we supplied our product to two well respected yachting titles, Germany’s Yacht magazine and the UK’s Yachting Monthly, for some truly independent testing.

Both magazines findings were conclusive: a level radar works best. Yacht magazine went so far as to say that the self-levelled radar performance was ‘perfect’ and as you can see from the Yachting Monthly results, it is really surprising to see how quickly the fixed radar image deteriorated as the angle of heel increased. Angles of heel as low 10 degrees saw target loss in some instances (view video here). 

Testing by Graham Snook of Yachting Monthly

0° heel angle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

30° heel angle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both articles are available to download from our website here.

So, how do you decide whether to recommend a self-levelling or fixed option to your customers?

The argument for self-levelling is compelling and is a must to guarantee the perfect picture. On the downside however is the extra cost. Self-levelling systems such as the Scanstrut version are hydraulically damped to cut out small oscillations and react only to larger changes of angle. This feature is essential to reduce cable wear and ensure a reliable radar picture. However, all this engineering adds costs and makes a levelling option up to 3 times the cost of its fixed equivalent. 

It really comes down to 2 things: budget and expectations. It would be easy to say that if all your sailing is inshore or weekends only then a fixed mount is fine. It’s not that simple however and we have supplied many of our levelling mounts to this exact customer whose simple motivation was to have the radar perform at it’s best whenever they needed it, be that overnight to Guernsey or coming home in the fog after a day on the Solent. Budget is more restrictive – some boat owners simply don’t have the funds to spend the extra required. However, those who have made the investment have never regretted it and are able to head out for a day sail or a 7 day passage confident that, when needed, their self-levelled radar will give a 100% performance.

Available in mast, pole and backstay mounted versions, view the range at www.scanstrut.com.

(This article recently appeared in the BMEA Direct Issue 7)

At Scanstrut, we understand the importance of having confidence in the products you purchase for your boat. For this reason we design all of our products with both the customer in mind and to be 100% ready for the marine environment.

The Scanstrut Deck Seal range is no exception. Designed to provide a waterproof cable routing for marine electronics, it offers a neat and stylish way of passing cables through the decks, transom, superstructure or bulkhead.

Ideal for electronic installations onboard, it is the perfect sailing accessory for anyone planning boat maintenance.

WHAT MAKES OURS THE BEST AVAILABLE?

Waterproof Guarantee: IPX6 & IPX7 Tested and Approved

The IPX6 and IPX7 tests ensure the Deck Seals will provide protection against water ingress even during extreme weather conditions and heavy seas.

In order to provide this waterproof sealing, a tapered seal fits around the cables. Made from a neoprene rubber, the seal is compressed when the two halves of the product are clamped and fitted together.

Blank & Pre-Drilled Split Seals

The Deck Seal kit is supplied with both blank and pre-drilled split seals, enabling a range of individual or multiple cable sizes to be installed.

The split seal provided negates the requirement for the connector to be removed during installation.

 Easy & Reliable Installation

Captive nuts are factory fitted in the lower base of the deck seal, an innovative feature of this product.

This makes for easy assembly and allows for reliable repeat installations from season to season without the worry of damaging the threads and having to replace the product.

Multi-Functional Dome Shape

The unique low profile dome shape provides a sleek aesthetic and a stronger, impact-resistant design (no sharp edges to hit your foot on!).

Additionally, the outer shell overlaps the base and split line to provide an additional water shield.

Your Choice of Materials

The range has been manufactured from materials perfectly suited to the marine environment. We offer two materials to match the preferences of the boat owner – glass filled nylon or 316 stainless steel

The glass filled nylon provides impact resistance along with structural strength and UV stability. The stainless steel version offers an aesthetic value and hard-wearing durability.

Multiple Cable Option

The Multi Deck Seal is designed to fit multiple cables up to 15mm in diameter.

The inner bung is supplied un-drilled to ensure a selection of cables can be fitted and is manufactured using marine grade aluminium with a hard anodised finish to resist impact marks.

The full Deck Seal range is supplied in full retail packaging and a point of sale display is available to all stocking dealers presenting the range to customers in an easy-to-build countertop display.

Interested in purchasing our Deck Seals?

Contact the Sales Team on sales@scanstrut.com or call +44 (0) 1803 863800.

 

Watch Deck Seal Video - Out of the Box

When developing new products we seek opinion from distributors, dealers, installers, and sailors. We do this to gain the insights on how people use our product and to better understand the problems and challenges people face when boating.

Identifying these insights requires an understanding of how people spend their time when boating. As a designer identifying this need is a skill you have to develop and cherish. More often than not, good product design addresses the needs people never realised they had.

At Scanstrut, Jeffrey, Rob and I are designers by label of our professional role. The question I would like to pose however, is this, “isn’t everybody a designer?”. For instance we all solve challenges we face in our daily lives by designing solutions.

Take this example onboard Alex Bennett’s Class 40, Fujifilm:

Here a kettle has been tack welded to the camping stove and strung vertically by some bungi cord and rope providing a safe water boiling facility. You could say this is an example of design, solving a problem.

At Scanstrut we want to make product that is as easy to use, well made and as well thought out as possible. But in order to do this we need to gather as many insights as possible. So I am encouraging you all to think about where you have been a designer? Where you have seen or created a one-off design as shown above.

If so, let us know and unleash the designer in you!

Todays blog was written by Justin Floyd, part of the design team here at Scanstrut.

Justin Floyd

The clocks have just changed to summer time here in the UK: always the sign that the sailing season is now upon us. My local club which closes completely for the winter is now back in action and this weekend I will be out on the water for the first race of the year demonstrating very rusty Laser sailing skills.

As always I have made resolutions to practise more, improve my starts and win trophies, but in reality I haven’t been out yet in 2011 and will probably end up in the wrong bit of tide going backwards!

Well I can always use the excuse that I have been too busy at work! This is a hectic time of year for the sales team, but also for the design team where we are working on designs for next year and beyond. METS might seem a long way off with the whole summer to look forward to, but we are already well underway with a number of new products that we intend to launch for 2012.

As always we have had great feedback from our customers, installers and users which all feeds back directly into the product development, our Scanpods for example have gone through a major change to make them visually cleaner, more versatile and easier to fit and it is very satisfying to see that they are being very well received.

Not that I can fit a Scanpod to the Laser, a chartplotter might help with my tidal calculations, but this year’s accessory that I have to fit is a paddle. A committee decision at the end of last year made carrying a paddle mandatory to ensure that becalmed (or slow) dinghies could get out of the way of the commercial shipping in the river. Now this might work in a Mirror, but where do you fit an oar in a Laser, my boat barely has room for me! Ah, yet another design problem, but one that is unlikely to make it to the Scanstrut range. That is unless we get enough popular demand …… !

Todays blog was written by Rob Upton, part of the design team here at Scanstrut.

Spring is upon us and it feels good! The days are getting longer, the air is warming up and spring is in the air…

Here on the French Atlantic coast, like pretty much everywhere along the Northern hemisphere shores, it can only mean one thing – it is time to get the boats back on the water!

This is the busiest period of the year for Scanstrut and the whole team is working hard to ensure everyone, from distributors right down to the end customers, get their products on time.

Now, in view of the recent events in Japan or even North Africa, you could be forgiven for thinking that there are more important things in the world than all of this. But that is just it: life really is for living and enjoying all those precious little moments…

So whatever you love to do – sailing, fishing, sipping a cold beer in the marina or just reading the Scanstrut blog – enjoy it!

This weeks blog was guest written by Scanstrut’s French Sales Rep, Carine Equeter.

Carine Equeter

With just 499 days to go to the 2012 Olympics, and event tickets available, the countdown to the Games has really begun.

If you haven’t already done so, get online now and register for your tickets. A huge array of sporting events are on offer, whatever your passion, and if you’re lucky enough you might get a ticket for the 100m final!

For fans of sailing, the 2012 calendar is full of fantastic racing, including the J-Class Regatta, the Pendennis Cup, Cowes Week and of course the Olympics itself.

Yesterday, we travelled to Lancaster House to hear about the plans for next year, and some great business opportunities exist to promote your products and services to a global audience.

Thanks to the BMF for a brilliant day. We’re huge supporters of all sport, and look forward to seeing you here in 2012.

BMF reception held at Lancaster House, London