FLOATING STRUCTURES & FLOAT TECHNOLOGY Proven floats for St Croix project River City Welding of Stockholm, Wisconsin, has been relying on Ace floats to support its galvanised steel truss frame dock system for over 20 years. Owner Wayne Prokosch recently secured a rebuild contract for Mulberry Point Marina on the St Croix River and included the floats in his pitch for the project. The marina directors were given a run-down on the industry standard testing undertaken by Ace floats manufacturer Den Hartog Industries and they also met other marina owners and operators in the area who had installed the product. The order was confirmed and the floats will be delivered in early July. Den Hartog claims to be the largest single-site rotational moulder in North America and has been manufacturing Ace foam-filled floats for 25 years. Nearly 80 different float sizes are offered for new or retrofit marina applications. A dock installation project on Apache Lake in Apache Junction, Arizona, using Ace floats. All Ace floats are of plastic exterior one-piece seamless shell design to prevent leakage and separation caused by weak joints. The drum wall is made of tough virgin polyethylene with UV inhibitors and has a nominal thickness of 0.15in (3.8mm) and a minimum thickness of 1.125in (28.5mm) to ensure strength and durability. The top of the shell is flat with moulded-in mounting slots for easy attachment to any dock frame and the interior is filled with expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam. The foam is steam pressured for a tight fit that provides the highest buoyancy possible. The floats meet or exceed crucial tests such as the Hunt Water Absorption Test, Falling Dart and ultrasonic wall thickness testing. Contact Den Hartog Industries at sales@acefloatdrums.com Average Net Circulation 6,894 ? MarinaWorld Audit Period 1st July 2015 to 30th June 2016 YOUR NEXT AD COULD DIE FROM POOR CIRCULATION. OSCAR SICHES Do you need just a bit of advice? Perhaps you do not want to commit to a full consultancy project. Oscar Siches can help you. For specific advice on your project go to www.siches.com/web-consultancy The truth hurts. An advertisement that doesn’t reach its market hurts your budget. As an advertiser, we believe you need accurate, up to date and independently verified circulation figures for the publications in which you choose to advertise. That’s precisely what an ABC Certificate of Circulation provides. Visit: www.abc.org.uk 60 www.marinaworld.com - March/April2017
PRODUCTS & SERVICES Marina develops concierge app Award for kayak launch EZ Dock won a National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) Innovation Award in the docking category at the Miami International Boat Show in February for its new EZ Kayak Launch. It was one of 19 winners out of 63 products evaluated by Boating Writers International. “The EZ Kayak Launch is a beautifully simple idea creating access to paddle sports for all ages and experience levels,” said one of the judges. Ken Schober, vice president of sales for EZ Dock, added “we’re thrilled to receive recognition for this product. Much of our success as a company has been through our collaboration with our sales network on innovation and design, and this award proves that to be a winning formula.” The patent pending product was designed from the ground up to provide a new level of stability, security and simplicity for kayaks and canoes. The port features innovative built-in hand holds to help the user pull onto the port or push into the water via the entries/exits on each side. One-piece construction, integrated paddle notches and v-shaped entry make launching and docking safe, easy and dry – even as water levels change. The EZ Kayak Launch integrates perfectly with EZ Dock products and with other launch set-ups, and can be connected to virtually any existing dock, regardless of its material or mooring. Contact EZ Dock in the USA at info@ez-dock.com Abell Point Marina in Airlie Beach, Queensland, has taken customer service for guests and visitors to another level by launching an e-concierge service in the form of a marina app. Available through Google and the Apple store, the Stay.Play.Explore app provides unprecedented access to information about the marina, its services and its surroundings in the Whitsundays. The Abell Point Marina app is the brainchild of marina dockhand Matthew Smith. Smith saw a gap in the marina’s wide-ranging services, which he believed could be leveraged with digital technology. “The original inspiration for creating an e-concierge app came after directing many vessels to berths using verbal directions and visual references,” he said. This led him to think about an interactive map as a way for customers to easily locate a berth, access local information and services, and manage their marina experience. “Providing a source of information, links and maps, as well as the potential to include more features, it is my hope that the Abell Point Marina E-concierge can become a valuable resource for our customers,” Smith added. Guests and visitors to the marina are able to download the app before they arrive and review a wide range of information to assist with planning their stay. The app is intelligently designed into three key sections. The Stay section focuses on marina berthing and gives a detailed marina map, weather updates and contact information for a wide range of marine services. The Play section focuses on dining and accommodation, marina and local events, and shopping and pampering services available in and around the marina. It includes contact details for the full range of commercial operators who call Abell Point Marina home. Finally, the Explore section focuses on how best to enjoy the Whitsunday Islands and mainland coast. With maps and ‘hidden gems’, this section is aimed at helping guests and visitors make the most of their Whitsunday experience. Abell Point Marina general manager, Luke McCaul, sees the app as a valuable boost for customer services. “The focus of the Blue Carpet Treatment we offer at Abell Point Marina is to go that extra mile for our customers, enhance their marina experience and in their absence give them the peace of mind that their boat is being well looked after. By providing guests, visitors and potential customers with an e-concierge app they can access on their mobile device or tablet, we are assimilating all the important information about the marina, the marina village and our range of services into one place,’’ he commented. www.marinaworld.com - March/April2017 61
