Part of any spirng maintenance regimen is looking over all of the hoses on your boat and possibly replacing some of them that look cracked or delaminated or maybe chafed and brittle, or in some cases just plain OLD.

There have been many advances in hose technology over the years and the materials used today are far superior to compounds available 10 or even 20 years ago. Hoses fall into the area of safety concerns because they're used to distribute fuel, and of course are the connecting link between seacocks and thru-hull fittings and engines, sink drains, holding tanks and such. If a hose fails you may be on the way to the bottom, spewing exhaust gas and water all over your engine compartment or spraying fuel all over the inside of your boat. All bad.

I've seen all manner of hoses used by boaters over the years and often they simply swap out a hose and use common automotive replacements, or worse. You have to understand that their are specific requirements for hose used in marine applications. I'm sorry, but like ignition protection, which I discussed earlier this week, this is just not one of those areas where you want to try and save a few dollars.

One website I refer people to all the time has done a really good job of helping boater's figure out what hose to use for a given application:

http://www.teleflexmarine.com/shieldshose/website/ Most boaters have heard of Shields hose, which is now a division of Teleflex. The website has a picture of a boat:

Ok, for you sailors out there, the picture is of a powerboat, but trust me the hose won't know what kind of boat its installed on. All of the various hose applications are graphically displayed and all you have to do is click on the application and the page will automatically click to a list of suitable shields hose part numbers for the application. So, rather than flying blind, you can go to your marine chandlery with a part number in hand and be sure to get a proper replacement for any hose on your boat. Nice job Shields!  Check it out.

A month or so ago I wrote a piece here entitled "Intelligent Networking". Two days ago I dicussed "The Convergence Continues". Just in case you aren't following my mind set here let me share with you some rather intriguing information garnered from last evening's national news with Brian Williams on NBC.

Everyone has heard about Toyota's troubles with sudden acceleration by now. The current thinking is that it is somehow an electronically / computer driven problem that may be causing this. But here's the intrigue. The US Department of Transportation has admitted that they don't have the technical expertise to figure out what's going on with this. So, the government is now turning to NASA rocket scientists to solve the problem.

Now, I'll grant that new cars are probably 5-10 years ahead of most production boats technologically, but we're catching up fast. When I talk about consideration for "mission critical" circuitry being totally controlled by an electronic system, or tout the simplification that the convergence of electronics with traditional electrical wiring schemes has created, remember, behind all of this is some rocket science.

My bottom line on this? Its simple really, the boating sector needs to proceed with caution. I love things electronic, but when it comes to safety, we all need to step back and ask ourselves how many rocket scientists its going to take to fix any problems that may arise in spite of the best engineering intentions.

More and more players are getting into the LED game for boats. The reason is simple, the technology draws miniscule amounts of battery power compared to conventional incandescent or halogen bulbs. They also run much cooler, especially compared to halogen technology. So it makes sense to upgrade to LED's on your boat wherever you can. The list of OEM boat builders using this technology is growing every day and some of them are listed in the press release below. One vendor, InterCon Marketing just announced an updated website that'll make it easier for you to select the right LED replacement for your application. The press release is here:

UPDATED WEBSITE MAKES SWITCHING TO ECONOMICAL LEDS SIMPLE

        Fitting perfectly into a variety of existing lighting fixtures, energy-efficient Contoure LED Replacement Bulbs consume 90% less power and now it's even easier to upgrade.  Helping owners find the correct bulb for lamps already installed on their boats, Contoure Int. has set up a new, builder cross-reference section on the lights page of its website, www.contoure.com.

        Over the years, Contoure Int. has been providing lighting fixtures that have been installed on thousands of boats, such as Albemarle, Bayliner, Catalina, Four Winns, Hunter, Maxum, Meridian and Sea Ray.  Users just click on their brand and the site will pull up photos of the lamp, the builder's information and the supplier part number.  It also displays the standard incandescent bulb, as well as its energy-saving replacement LED bulb.

        With comparable wattage to 12V bulbs, the advanced LED Replacement Bulbs are shockproof and have no filaments to break.  Cost-effective, they provide 40,000 hours of service.  Generating little heat, the environmentally-friendly LEDs contain no mercury. 

        The convenient LED Replacement Bulbs from Contoure have suggested retail prices starting at $29.95. 

        Contact InterCon Marketing, 1540 Northgate Blvd., Sarasota, FL  34234.  941-355-4488.  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; www.contoure.com.

Switching to LED lighting is one of the easiest ways I know of for saving electrical power on board. The mentioned cross referenced list at the website will make getting the right bulb easy. Check it out.

I've talked about the convergence of traditional marine electrical systems with electronic systems in the past. Another fine example of what this means went across my radar screen last week.

Simrad Yachting and BEP Marine, a company known for its traditional electrical gear have formed a partnership to incorporate digital switching, system monitoring, and control capability into a multifunction display. An example of what a typical screen display might look like is shown here:

Utilizing Simrad's new NSE software, BEP's CZone system integrates onboard electrical and mechanical systems and brings control of such things as lighting, pumps, and general DC circuitry to a centralized display or multiple displays if desired. Tank level monitoring, and electrical system status can all be displayed.

The idea behind all of this integration is simplification. Imagine all of your system monitoring and electical circuit control on one display screen. That's the goal here and the partnership between Simrad Yachting and BEP Marine is yet another example of the convergence of traditional electrical system switching and digital electronic control. The system is also NMEA 2000 capable and will be able to easily communicate with other onboard electronics via the NMEA 2000 network. I look forward to trying this system out soon.

Some may wonder what this convergence all means to boaters and marine technicians. For me as a marine industry educator, it means that much of the do it yourself capabilty for boaters is probably going to be eliminated due to the complexity of these systems, but then again the "plug and play" aspects of these systems may actually make things easier. For technicians, it means evolving their knowledge from basic electrical wiring schemes, to understanding the nuances of electronic systems.

I see all of this as an opportunity for new training programs both for boaters and technicians. This convergence is not going to stop, its a natural evolution and one I look forward to seeing more of.

To learn more about this new system, check out www.simrad-yachting.com or www.bepmarine.com

As part of your spring maintenance and upgrades there are some key areas of concern if you own a gasoline fueled boat and are replacing certain components that are either mounted directly on your engine or located in a space where an engine is or a fuel tank is located. The term to remember here is "ignition protected" and it applies to some common items that fall under the routine maintenance or upgrade category. This designation applies to gasoline fueled boats only (as far as engine and tanks torage is concerned) and LPG gas storage areas as well as battery storage areas and is  actually covered under USCG regulations as well as ABYC Standards. That said, way too many boaters ignore or simply don't understand what the regulations dictate. The bottom line here is that things like starter motors, alternators, ignition components like distributor caps, or any electrical device located in engine room spaces or fuel tank spaces must be rated for ignition protection. The problem is further complicated by the fact that this is a marine only requirement and the fact that the designation of a component as being ignition protected rated is sometimes obscure to the average boater.

Component labeling requirements allow some latitude in how a manufacturer can mark their equipment to let you know that the part meets the specifications. Any example is shown here on a gas engine ignition distributor cap:

In the center of the photo above you are looking at an engine distributor and you can see it has a label on the cap. The label reads "SAE J1171 Marine".

Now a lot of dockside gurus over the years have figured out that marine gas engines are actually marinized automotive engines and think that the marine labeling is merely an excuse for the parts people to charge more money for the part. I can say definatively that in this case you will be taking your life in your hands if you substitute an ignition protected component with a standard automotive component. In the above example J-1171 refers to an automotive standard that identifies ignition protected, which means that the device will not be a source of sparks in the event of a fuel leak that could blow your boat sky high! J-1171 is not the only standard that is referenced. UL-1500 is another possible reference, and on components made overseas, you may see a reference to ISO 8846. This designation applies to things like fuses, circuit breakers, alternators, starter motors, ignition distributors and / or caps and switches, bilge pumps, and blower fans that may be mounted in the above described areas of your boat. The bottom line here? Look for one of the above references on the new parts you install this spring as you get ready for launch, and don't let the dock guru tell you that you can save big money by going down to the local autoparts strore and buying the automotive equivalent. Simply put, it is not going to be equivalent! This is NOT an area where you want to try and save money.