Product Roundup

Tecma’s pumps liquefy waste

By Brian Hagenbuch

talian maker Tecma from Thet-

Iford Marine provides a wide line of ceramic toilets for commercial vessels across a number of fisheries. Their trademark turbine macerating pump is a quiet, clog-proof evacuation system.

Richard Brunson, Thetford Marine’s U.S. field sales manager, said the proprietary pump creates a 200-mph vortex that liquefies waste.

“The technology is that we liquefy everything, so you don’t have any clogging issues. Whereas other centrifugals, they just try to grind everything up. But then you have lot of large bits; they don’t emulsify to a liquid. Then you get clogging downstream,” Brunson said.

The high-pressure turbine pumps can pump waste over 30 feet vertically and 270 feet horizontally, outperforming traditional centrifugal pumps with low to medium pressure.

“We’re the only ones in this industry that use this patented high-pressure turbine pump. Say if you’re low in a boat and you want to pump up 25 or 30 feet, the competition can’t do that,” Brunson said, adding the technology has come in handy for processors where crew quarters are added down low and waste is pumped up to the next deck.

Brunson said the Tecma Silence Line is the most popular for commercial fishermen. It removes waste at an efficient 1.5 gallons per second and comes in a household size bowl — the Tecma Plus; and a marine size — the Tecma Standard. A patented water trap and two check valves keep odor at bay in Tecma toilets.

For smaller boats — gillnetters looking to scale up from the industry standard 5-gallon bucket, for example — Brunson said Tecma’s Compact Line is ideal.

“It’s perfect because they can use salt or fresh water. Mostly (raw) because gillnetters don’t carry that much to start with,” Brunson said.

Thetford Marine has a useful YouTube channel with clear, succinct instructional videos on how to install toilets and replace pumps, among other things.

Strong, quiet pumps move waste farther away.

www.thetfordmarine.com

DeckHand Pro looks to crack U.S. market

By Brian Hagenbuch

he electronic logbook Deck-

Thand Pro from Real Time Data was born over a decade ago in Australia to streamline paper tickets. Ten years later, the logbook is being used for more than 30 gear types in New Zealand and now has its eye on the U.S. market.

In March Deckhand Pro was awaiting approval from NOAA’s Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office for fishermen with federal permits. In the meantime, the company is refining its product through privately funded pilots with New England and Bering Sea fishermen.

“Because new electronic reporting regulations are evolving at different speeds across state and federal jurisdictions, we are focusing first on deploying a useful logbook product to private fishermen while also working to integrate Deckhand Pro into the regulatory frameworks of their particular fishery,” said Lange Solberg, the company’s business development director for North America and a third-generation Bristol Bay fisherman.

Deckhand Pro hopes to knock out some elbow room in a burgeoning market by being a “fishermen-first company” that can cater to the distinct realities of life on the water across diverse fisheries.

One of the linchpins of this is Deckhand Pro’s malleability, which is in part facilitated by new code dubbed Catchflow. Catchflow is customization software that will be marketed to fishermen’s associations, processors, fleet managers and others who can tailor the logbook to suit the particular needs of their fisheries and fleets, and snap that customization on to the foundational software.

Solberg added that Deckhand Pro strives to be more than a reporting device that fulfills regulatory and recording needs. It aims to be a way for fishermen to add data that will make their business more efficient, sustainable, and profitable. Fishermen, he said, are onboard.

An electronic logbook built to fit your fishery.

www.deckhandlogbook.com

No one wants to replace their marine sanitation diverter very often. Plastic valves will crack quicker than one would want, and bronze valves have a tendency to seize. That is why TRUDESIGN made the AQUAVALVE, a diverter valve made of a nylon composite that is beefed up with fi berglass and has stainless steel fasteners. The valve can withstand wide temperature swings, and diversion into the holding tank or overboard discharge is clearly marked. Sold in the United States by Raritan Engineering. The TWIST ’N’ LOCK COMPACT TOILET from JABSCO is a new design from a trusted old player in marine sanitation. Drawing on decades of experience, this new toilet features a safety pump handle that prevents fl ooding and back fl ow by way of a locking piston assembly. The toilet itself offers the same trusted features as Jabsco’s original Manual Head and is compact enough to fi t in tight spaces. The toilet features a ceramic bowl, wood seat, and baked enamel fi nish, and the pump can be mounted on either side.

www.raritan.com

www.jabscoshop.com The new MULTIFUNCTION FLUSH PANEL from RARITAN takes care of your precious water supplies onboard while helping the heads work properly. The panel has three manually operated buttons — fl ush, empty and fi ll — that allow users to clear the bowl without wasting water. Silver-plated contact switches and no control panel mean the switch can be placed in a head with a shower. It can easily be connected to any prewired toilet and also meets Coast Guard safety regulations.

www.raritan.com

Florida-based HEADHUNTER, at it since 1982, recently announced a new Coast Guard-approved MARINE SANITATION DEVICE for smaller vessels that are often working within the 12-mile discharge zone offshore. The compact TW-HMX-301LP treats up to 300 gallons of wastewater per day and provides a convenient alternative to holding tanks for boats that work in coastal waters. Treating black water only, the device can handle a crew of 12 people, and it can treat both black and gray water for up to six people.

www.headhunterinc.com HEADHUNTER’s STINGRAY

is a reliable, robust pump that provides saltwater for fl ushing toilets, as well as hose downs, live bait wells, and anywhere else on deck pressurized or fl owing water is needed. The quiet pump motor delivers up to 67 PSI, and a Remora control kicks the pump on below 40 PSI and off when there is no fl ow, which means the pump can run with or without a pressure accumulator tank. An LED control panel provides for easy monitoring.

www.headhunterinc.com The SANIMARIN 31C from SANIFLO is a classic, durable, no-nonsense electric boat toilet that is very compact and lightweight. Because it is small, it typically fi ts in the same spaces as older manual pump toilets, but a multifunction control panel does the pumping for you. The toilet is available in 12- and 24-volt versions with water consumption from 0.31 to 0.58 gallons, depending on the control system. The discharge pipe can be fi tted at 1-inch or 1.5-inch with an integrated nonreturn valve.

www.sani ostore.com