From The Bow | No Wake Zone
A paddle is hiding inside each issue of PDB and the names of the first ten readers to find it are printed in an upcoming magazine! In our February issue the paddle is on page 28, hidden behind the driver. Here are the readers who spotted it first:
Gary Wanke, Fox Lake, Ill.
Bob Dempster, Bridgeport, NY
Neil Saari, Menomonee Falls, Wis.
Bob Reed, Pendleton, Ind.
Diane Goss, Orange, Calif.
Dave Stirton, Overland Park, Kan.
Jim Greenwald, Little Rick, Ark.
Bill Locke, Jackson, Mich.
As soon as you find the paddle, email its location, your name, and hometown to paddle@pdbmagazine.com. Paddle on!
It’s important to be seen at night while underway. Depending on the vessel, navigation lights may need to be mounted in a non-traditional location to optimize their visibility. Hella marine NaviLED PRO Series LED navigation lights deliver long-lasting, reliable brightness, with the option to install them upright using Horizontal Adapters.
NaviLED PRO navigation lights deliver more light per watt than bulb-style lamps—greater than 90 percent. Incredibly efficient, a port, starboard and stern lamp array together consume less than 3.2 watts.
With Hella’s Horizontal Adapter, a NaviLED PRO navigation light can be mounted in an upright or pendant orientation on a tower or other challenging location. Its raised base conceals a cable gland for a simple, completely sealed installation. Available in black or white, it’s sold in pairs and easy to install.
Give yourself an easier way to dock with ZipDock Boat Mooring System. It’s adjustable, includes 8 feet of line, plus a self-locking mechanism. When approaching the dock, simply place the UV-stabilized polymer ring around a pole, pull the rope tight and you’re docked. Simple as that.
This product works great for pontoon boats, making life on the water much simpler for you. It’s easy, fast and affordable. Avoid the process of tying and untying knots with the ZipDock.
Avalon/Tahoe Manufacturing, Inc. is the latest U.S. pontoon builder to offer MetalJacket silane chemistry ceramic-based protective coating on their boats. Avalon brought technicians from SG Marine, manufacturers of MetalJacket, to its factory to best evaluate and compare MetalJacket’s performance and ease of application with their existing process. MetalJacket met and exceeded their expectations and now MetalJacket will be applied by their certified dealers to the customer’s order.
The MetalJacket coatings are custom-formulated proprietary products, based on sol-gel and nanotechnology concepts. These are very exacting combinations creating an easy to apply product that is wear- and scratch-resistant under harsh/corrosive environments while maintaining a long product life. The ceramic-style protective coating creates a covalent bond with the aluminum tubes to protect against road salt damage as well as oxidation from water usage. It is a long-lasting coating that won’t flake off or turn yellow with sun exposure. It provides a hydrophobic surface (self-cleaning properties) making it easy to clean and maintain the aluminum tubes.
MetalJacket is available OEM direct on Barletta, Crest Marine, Montara Boats and Smoker Craft, through their respective dealer network and more than 15 certified dealers and certified applicators nationwide.
The Naked Flex Mount adheres to any clean, non-porous surface such as fiberglass, plastic, steel and glass. It’s perfect for holding tablets, GPS screens, light laptops and larger cell phones. With the optional Flex-X Phone Adapter, it’ll secure small mobile devices. When no longer needed, it goes back into its zippered travel case without leaving a mark.
While the product may look like two suction cups connected by a flexible arm, nothing could be further from the truth. Two 4.5-inch SeaSucker Vacuum Mounts deliver 120 pounds of holding power. The Naked Flex Mount is made from UV-stabilized rubber and 316 stainless steel for use in extreme environments.
Not much in tackle storage solutions are truly innovative. Some major improvements in utility boxes—sticky bottoms and improved compartmentalization—but not the bag that carries them. Same old stuff, right? Well Daiwa is changing that with the barn-raising of Tackle Barn, which is now widely available.
The root of the brilliance is the Tackle Barn’s double topside gullwing doors, which give the clever tackle bag a barn shape, not the typical square or rectangular profile. Due to the ingenious design, tackle utility boxes are quickly and easily pulled out, swapped, and returned intact faster and more organized than recipe cards.
The Tackle Barn’s waterproof base is specially reinforced to withstand real-life handling and splashed water that unavoidably rolls across the deck, always keeping its contents dry.
Daiwa’s Tackle Barn also features a retractable storm cover, which blankets the entire bag. Rains move in, easily cloak the Tackle Barn, and your gear is further protected from the elements.
Because they’re regularly used as a step or a place to sit, it’s a good idea to keep gunwales as free of obstructions as possible. The space-saving Accon Marine 6-inch Cleat/Rod Holder combo does just that. Eliminating the need for two separate installations, it’s a flush-mounted rod holder with an integrated pull-up cleat that’s both convenient and snag-free. Plus, it retains the clean lines of the boat’s sheer.
The 6-inch Cleat/Rod Holder combo is available in three versions to hold rods at 0-, 15- and 30-degree angles. Crafted from polished 316 marine-grade stainless steel, it’s exceptionally strong. Independent testing verifies this product can withstand loads of up 11,000 pounds.
“It’s luxurious and sporty and it goes really fast. I’ve been on a lot of boats and this one is really smooth and jumps out of the hole quickly.” —Page 18
“The practice has since been banned, following some accidents, although we witnessed several leapers who made a splash thumbing their noses at the law during our cruise.” —Page 40
The SeaStep, a new product from SeaLift, makes it easier for people and their pets to get on board and is great for a variety of boats, including pontoons. SeaStep provides a large bottom step with a non-skid, polymer surface.
It mounts onto the underside of swim platforms and is available with a waterproof wireless control option. When not in use, it compacts nicely under the boat, completely out of the way. It comes in a multitude of sizes upon request and is made from a lightweight marine-grade aluminum construction with a powder-coat finish.
Cleaning is made easy with the WORX 40V 725 psi Hydroshot Portable Power Cleaner. It can pull from any freshwater source, making it the perfect option for pontoon boaters.
The Hydroshot comes with a high-efficiency brushless motor that givers high power, extended runtime and a longer life. Its 725 psi is 11 times more pressure than a garden hose.
ShoreMaster announced the launch of its latest and most versatile hydraulic lift model yet—the TruLift. It offers superior reliability, premium performance and ultimate convenience. Its true hydraulic design requires minimal maintenance, and with precision-welded construction and the finest components available, the TruLift is over-engineered and over-tested to ensure maximum reliability at full-load capacity. In addition, the TruLift, like all ShoreMaster hydraulic lifts, provides remote-control operation standard for easy, convenient, hassle-free operation.
Requiring a minimum water depth of only 16 inches plus the draft of the boat, TruLift has a lay-flat design, making it one of the best low-water solutions available. Additionally, it is available with either 48- or 60-inch lift travel, making it suitable for a variety of installation conditions.