New products and DAME special mention for Scanstrut: We speak to Grant Fox
by Mark Jardine 14 Nov 12:00 GMT
14 November 2018
Scanstrut's new products receive a special mention in the DAME Awards 2018 © Mark Jardine / YachtsandYachting.com
At the METS 2018 marine trade fair we spoke to Grant Fox, Marketing Manager at Scanstrut, who were nominated at this year's show for a DAME award, and received a special mention in the design category for their wireless charging products.
Scanstrut have a complete range of wireless chargers, from the brand-new 3D printed phone holder with wireless charging, to bezel charging units. This really has stepped up the standard so that on board your boat you can have your phone on the dashboard of your yacht, or at your control station, and you just need to put it down and it charges while looking so unobtrusive when not in use, with no cables in sight.
Mark Jardine: Tell us about these new chargers.
Grant Fox: This is a completely new product for us. We prototyped it and demoed it at METS last year. The idea is that it's fully IPX6 waterproof, it's 12/24 volt so goes straight into your wiring loom, and it can be used indoors or outside. So, if you're using your phone at a chart table, or out on deck, you can have your phone charging where you need it.
Mark: With the bezel option, you've designed it so you only have to drill a 10mm hole through the deck, through to the hidden surface mount option where you have to drill a 65mm hole through the surface. There's a range of options depending on what the owner or boat captain is comfortable with.
Grant: One of our most popular options is the hidden version which sits below the surface of the deck, leaving it completely clear and clutter free, enabling you to charge your phone in various locations around the boat without cables.
Mark: I wanted to ask you about ROKK, which is part of Scanstrut. It's a brand that a lot of people might have thought was produced elsewhere, and Scanstrut sold to the end user and trade, but you produce these yourselves?
Grant: That's right. ROKK is a range of products that we make and they are designed and manufactured in Devon. It is a range designed for small electronic devices like phones, fish finders, cameras and tablets. It sits within the Scanstrut family, marketed more at the younger user, with forward-facing technological advances, which is why we have USB charging and wireless charging within that.
Mark: One of the ROKK products I noticed was a wireless charging unit that just sits on the back of your phone, so if you don't want to take your new Iphone X out on the water, you could have an older phone, which then has wireless charging capabilities?
Grant: Yes, we sell the patch kits that sit on the back of the phone and sit within a waterproof case, so if you have an older phone that's not wireless charging-enabled, you can still take it out on the water and have wireless capability wherever you need it.
Mark: Let's look at cable feeders, which is something that might be perceived as rather a boring product but is essential! You've got wiring going all over the boat and apart from using sealant – which, any time you want to change the cabling, is a nightmare - this would seem to be the solution which means you have a neat exit point for the cable, and also if you need to change it, it can be done.
Grant: The range is completely IPX6 and IPX7 waterproof, comes in various sizes according to your cable diameter, and each of the cable feeders in the range comes with various bungs so you can have different sized cables. The really great thing is that you don't have to remove the connector to get it through the seal, so you can retro-fit cables really quickly and easily with no sealing required. It's all done on compression. We have a new product coming out in April 2019 which, instead of being screwed into your surface, is glued with adhesive, so you have no screws going into the actual surface; it's the ultimate waterproofing solution.
Mark: Moving on to instrumentation on yachts: people have their Raymarine, B&G, Simrad devices, but when it comes to retro-fitting items on a yacht you need housings for them. Scanstrut have had a range of housings for a long time now and these are semi-custom. You have a housing size and then, depending on the instrument, a client can come to you, for example putting in a new B&G Zeus chartplotter, and you can cut the exact sized hole in the housing for that unit?
Grant: Exactly. We work closely with the big electronics brands to make sure our pod is as slim and unobtrusive as possible. We offer the pod cutting service where we will cut to the manufacturer's dimensions and make sure it's an absolutely perfect fit. We have four options of installation; Helm, Deck, Rail and Arm, so no matter where you want it installed on your boat, we have an option for it.
Mark: It's fascinating to see how Scanstrut are innovating again in the industry, and seeing how all the products you've had previously are moving with the times in such a fast-paced market. Thank you very much indeed.
Grant: Thank you Mark!
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