ProBoat Radio

This year’s offering begins, “Imagine if you will, a time, a place, where men gathered together to lay glass cloth in a mold, slather it with resin, and – the greatest surprise of all – they actually made a living doing it. This noble band of brothers carried on the traditions begun centuries before. Many of them cannot even imagine any other life. And there’s a very good reason for that. This isn’t any ordinary boatyard. The men here will never leave. And they’ll never grow up. “ Maybe it’s an ordinary boat yard after all. You can be the judge. The Help Wanted sign is always posted at . . . wait for it . . . the Boatyard Zone.

Cindy Purcell of Huckins Yacht Corporation joins us to talk about the company's new 45’ sportfisherman, currently under construction in Jacksonville, Florida. Purcell has been personally involved in all aspects of the design process and will remain hands-on throughout the project, as the company celebrates its 85th year. She'll tell us why, from the builder's stand point, she likes this trend toward smaller boats with greater fuel efficiency. And we'll talk about what she thinks the future holds for the yachting industry, too.  

Surveying the America’s Cup and Other Outlandish Tales One of the questions coming out of San Francisco Bay this year is, “What’s going to happen to those $16 million boats after it’s all over?” And that got us wondering: What will happen? Will some surveyor get the call to hustle on over and write up the paperwork for a pre-purchase survey? That could be fun. For this show, we’ll talk about what takes place when a surveyor is faced with preparing a C&V or damage claim for a vessel that just doesn’t fit into our normal parameters. How do you set insurance values and repair costs for rare or unusual craft? And it’s not all high-end either. At what point do you look at something that barely floats and say, “I’m sorry, but I really can’t call that a boat, at least not until you remove the raccoons.”  Got a favorite one-of-a-kind or one-of-a-dozen story?  Send it in: radio@proboat.com

In this week's ProBoat Radio WEST show, your host Ann Avary interviews John Webber from Outback Power. Based in Arlington, Washington, this company  offers a line of marine-application mobile Inverters that are renowned for leading-edge reliability and durability with extremely high-power density. OutBack also has a family of sealed inverters designed to work in the harsh environments encountered by marine vessels. Join us for the details.

Zoltek's VP of Engineering & Technology Bill Regan joins us to discuss some of the carbon-fiber products that his company will be showcasing at IBEX 2013 in Louisville.   Based in St. Louis, the company has received accolades for its low-cost carbon fiber sheet molding compound (SMC) product for automotive applications, and for its work in the wind-energy industry.    At IBEX, attendees can find out more about what carbon fiber has to offer to builders.

What are the most proactive risk-management steps that boatbuilders and marine OEMs should take prior to litigation? How can you reduce the risk of an adverse outcome at trial? In this conversation with attorney Pat Fowler (Snell & Wilmer), we'll find out about the importance of documenting and maintaining records throughout the design process as well as  testing, outside certifications, and manufacturing quality control. You'll also learn how being proactive about product safety can make a difference. (So can exceeding industry and government standards and regs and having your employees receive certifications in their areas of work.) We'll touch on a number of other examples, too, but the short version is that a good company defense can pay off in a product-liability trial, and not having a good company defense can be a problem when the jury is deliberating.

At IBEX 2013, Jonathan Klopman will present a seminar on sailing rig surveying and common failures. In this episode of ProBoat Radio, our surveyors share their insights and aggravations about what can go wrong with masts and spars, and what surveyors need to include on their check lists and in their tool kits.

Composite life-cycle issues are taking center stage as research and development activities are on the rise, developing second life uses for composite waste material and functionally obsolete composite parts.   As technology allows for the successful recycling of composite parts,  experts anticipate that industry will embrace the business opportunity of turning functionally obsolete or inoperable composite parts into 

NMMA's John McKnight joins us with a status report on the U.S. E.P.A.'s "Control of Evaporative Emissions from Non Road Spark-Ignition Engines and Equipment" regulations, which include a final-phase compliance date of JULY 31, 2013. If you are a boatbuilder who managed to miss every single reminder, the penalties are high, says McKnight, and he urges manufacturers to take steps right now to remedy the situation. Tune in to learn how.

Garry Jolliffe (Gurit) was the guest for Show 201. We had expected Richard Downs-Honey to join us but he called in sick, so we'll catch up with him at a later date. Still we covered the three IBEX seminars they will be participating in this year. Topics included Garry's ideal core schedule, also known as "your purchasing agent's worst nightmare," Richard's fire-safety tips, and general advice for Kiwis thinking about moving to America. If you would like to know more about what these guys from Gurit are going to discuss at IBEX, please go to the IBEX website, and type "Gurit" into the search box.

Larry Russo, Sr., joins us this week to discuss the Grow Boating Marine Five Star Dealership Certification initiative. Russo's company, Russo Marine (Medford, Massachusetts), is regularly listed as one of the country's Top 10 dealerships, and the company's commitment to Grow Boating is key to that success. Russo will share the ins and outs of Marine Five Star Dealership Certification including how and why the program was launched, what Five-Star dealerships have in common, and how well they perform compared to non-certified facilities. Can't wait for the show? You can start reading about Marine Five Star Dealership certification now!    

Our Surveyors Roundtable welcomes John Marples and Trimaran Jim Brown to discuss the peculiarities of the mulithull survey.   Multihull pioneer John Marples has been a professional marine surveyor since 1970. He is also the author of numerous magazine articles about multihulls. At IBEX 2013, Marples will share his vast experience in assessing the structural integrity of seagoing pleasure and commercial power and sailing multihulls.   Join us for this preview.

For this month's ProBoat Radio WEST show, your host Ann Avary learns about silicone compounds now available in the marine market as foul release coatings. Ann interviews Brian Burkitt and Stephen Bohn from NuSil Silicone Technology, starting with a brief review of the differences between antifoulants and foul-release coatings.    Note: This is our third ProBoat Radio show concerning changing in antifoulant regulations. To listen to the previous two shows, click here.

Josh Chiles joins us to talk about social networking before, during, and at IBEX 2013, with tips that will pay off for anyone who is making a presentation before a group and wants to maximize participation. What are the best ways to encourage people to attend your specific talk or event?  And how do you involve social media during your presentation, and afterwards?    Chiles is founder & CEO at Engaged!, a social media marketing company with a niche in the marine industry. He is passionate about boating, likes politics and some say he's an excellent cook. He is on the board of directors for the Marine Marketers of America (MMA) and helps support the Discover Boating campaign by the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA).   A frequent speaker on social media for business at top marine industry conferences and shows throughout North America, Chiles also travels to different dealer meetings and 20 Groups throughout North America to help educate marine dealers on the latest in social media and digital technologies.   Engaged!, is an official Brunswick Dealer Advantage (BDA) provider and Boating Industry magazine lists it as 1 of 8 tools companies should use to succeed on social media.   The company's mission is  to help businesses successfully use social media and digital technologies to grow and strengthen their business.   While at IBEX, Chiles will be managing the Social Media lounge, offering one-on-one tutoring for those of you are new to this world. 

At IBEX 2012, Jim Coté (Coté Marine LLC, Coral Springs, Florida) will be sharing the latest information on lightning protection, including new thinking about placement of system grounding points, and he'll give you a fresh look at early streamer emission (ESE) devices and the level of their validity. During this week's ProBoat Radio show, we'll talk about what's on the shelf now for lightning protection, and what's on the horizon. Got questions? Send them before showtime to radio@proboat.com.