10 Innovation Awards handed out

Posted on 22 February 2010

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Ten marine manufacturers were presented 2010 Innovation Awards at the 69th annual Miami International Boat Show & Strictly Sail Miami. The awards program is organized by the National Marine Manufacturers Association and the products are judged by a panel of Boating Writers International members.

The winners were:

• Consumer electronics and software: Standard Horizon for its Matrix AIS unit. An honorable mention went to Simrad for its NSE12 multifunction marine display.
• Consumer-installed docking and fendering equipment: EZ Dock for its EZ Launch product.
• Consumer-installed non-electronic hardware: Hunt for its adjustable table.
• Consumer personal gear: Sailology for its WinchRite electric winch handle.
• Cruisers (25 to 140 feet, including fishing boats): Boston Whaler for its 370 Outrage. Rinker received an honorable mention for its 310 Express Cruiser.
• Personal watercraft, jetboats and pontoon boats: Sea-Doo for its 260-hp RXT-X 2609 PWC.
• Runabouts and fishing boats to 24 feet: MasterCraft for its X-25.
• Safety equipment: FLIR Systems for its First Mate hand-held thermal imaging device.
• Water sports and equipment: BRP for its Advanced TEC iCATCH PWC trailer.
• Environmental Award: Torqeedo for its Travel 503/1003, which provides such information as speed, power consumption and state of charge.

The BWI judging panel was chaired by Zuzana Prochazka, technical editor of Latitudes & Attitudes magazine. Other judges included Mark Corke of the "On Board with Mark Corke" blog; Alan Jones, executive editor of Boating World magazine; Frank Lanier, freelance marine journalist; Darrell Nicholson, editor of Practical Sailor magazine; Lenny Rudow, author and freelance writer; and Peter Swanson, freelance writer.

West Marine awards

West Marine presented its own set of innovation awards at the show, honoring Mercury Marine's MercMonitor ECO-Screen as "green product of the year." The ECO-Screen is a SmartCraft feature that helps maximize fuel efficiency.

The award, presented by West Marine chairman and founder Randy Repass, includes a $10,000 prize, which Mercury president Mark Schwabero says will go to the company's conservation fund.

In addition to the main award, West Marine cited six additional products: The FLIR First Mate hand-held thermal imager, Blue Sea Systems SafetyHub 250, Standard Horizon Matrix AIS/VHF, Henri Lloyd's BlueEco foul-weather gear, Pure Oceans TC-W3 2-stroke engine oil and Harken Radial winches.

This article originally appeared in the March 2010 issue.