Two prestigious DAME Awards for Blue & Green Marine

November 19, 2008 11:00 by BLUE & GREEN MARINE | 0 comments

Blue & Green Marine’s new Hull Protection System™ has just won two honours in this year’s DAME Awards – the Oscars of the manufacturing world that are awarded each year to the best in design and technology at METS – the world’s largest marine trade exhibition. Hull Protection System was given a Special Mention in its own Marine Electronics category and it also won the overall DAME Award for Most ECO Friendly Product.

“This recognition from the DAME Awards jury is testament to the performance of our Hull Protection System,” says Mike Arnold, MD of Blue & Green Marine. “Antifouling is a huge area of concern on both commercial and ecological grounds and we are the first company in the world to develop and patent a product specifically for the marine sector. This world-renowned recognition helps build Blue & Green Marine’s reputation as a powerful new antifouling technology.”

Blue & Green Marine’s Hull Protection System is the world’s first comprehensive ultrasonic marine antifouling system. It keeps yacht and motorboat hulls totally clear of: algae, slime, weeds, worms, molluscs and shellfish without the use of traditional antifouling paints which contain poisonous chemicals that leave a toxic legacy in the environment.

By employing state-of-the-art manufacturing technologies the company’s Hull Protection System™ has harnessed the power of ultrasound into a package that delivers unparalleled antifouling performance, keeping your boat’s hull as clean as the day it was launched.

The system totally removes the necessity to lift and clean your boat, removing all the costs and ecological impact associated with the disposal and reapplication of noxious antifouling paints. The system also dramatically reduces fuel consumption and can pay for itself within two seasons.

The key to the efficiency of Blue & Green Marine’s Hull Protection System lies in the destructive power that ultrasound has at a microscopic level. The system creates a finely-tuned pulse of ultra-high frequency sound waves in the water touching the hull. These waves cause microscopic cavitation within the cell walls of the single-celled organisms that form a layer or ‘bio-film’ around all objects immersed in water.

This fierce cavitation is harmless to your gel-coat but disrupts the cells’ structure – making the hull uninhabitable to algae and bacteria. This removes the first link in the food chain, preventing larger more complex organisms from colonising any part of your hull, keel, rudder, prop-shaft, propeller, thrusters, water intakes or through-hull fixtures.

The ultrasonic transducer, which is built to exceed MOD specifications, is bonded to the inside of your hull and connected to a bulkhead control panel. The system switches automatically between battery and shore power and has a tiny current draw of 0.06 Amps (or 60 milliamps). The unit is silent and does not interfere with any onboard electronics. The ultrasonic pulses also have no effect on your boat’s anodes, are harmless to fish and inaudible to marine mammals.

The system is currently undergoing full sea trials at the National Oceanographic Centre, University of Southampton with the help of the facility’s various survey vessels. Blue & Green Marine has also received many enquiries from some of the world’s biggest boat builders who are considering fitting Hull Protection System™ as OEM equipment.

‘no weeds – no lifting – no cleaning – no poison – no problem’