SAIL selects Pittman Innovation Award winners
BOSTON, Mass. — SAIL will recognize 16 new sailing products as part of its annual Pittman Innovation Awards, now in their tenth year, the magazine reported in a recent statement.
The awards honor the memory of former SAIL technical editor Freeman K. Pittman, who died in 1996 from ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease).
For the 2007 awards, editors Kimball Livingston (Racing Gear), Peter Nielsen (Cruising Gear), Ben Ellison (Electronics) and Jay Paris (Systems) each selected four products in their respective categories.
In the Racing Gear category, the selections were Hall Spars’s QuikLock, a halyard lock that doesn’t require a trip line; Sydney Rigging Specialists’s Snap Feeder, a headsail pre-feeder that can be quickly opened if necessary; the Selden Adjustable-Spreader Dinghy Mast, and Southern Spars’s Element C6 Carbon-Fiber Rigging, continuous fiber carbon rigging for high-end race boats.
In the Cruising Gear category, the Harken Switch T-Track Battcar System, a means for achieving lower mainsail stackheight; the Lewmar One-Touch Winch Handle; Henderson, Inc.’s Sailclamps, a backup-attachment system for hank-on headsails, and Zarcor Companionway CloZures that allow for multiple hatch-board configurations were selected.
The constantly evolving Electronics category picks are the Maretron WSO 100 Ultrasonic Wind/Weather Station (NMEA 2000 compliant); Raymarine’s LifeTag System, a man-overboard alert system; Captn. Jack’s Garmin GPSMAP 76 Cx package, electronic charts and waypoints that are pre-loaded into a Garmin GPSMAP, and Poly-Planar’s Modular Marine Stereo, a high-end customizable marine-stereo system.
Systems innovations include long- and short-shaft electric outboards with removable battery packs that can be collapsed to fit into small waterproof travel packs from Torqeedo; the Edson marine pump-out nozzle with splash guard; Raven Technology’s 5KW Blackbird engine-mounted, belt-driven AC generator, and Mast Products’s Bay 15D LED navigation bulbs.
Details on all these products can be found in SAIL’s February issue and after March 1, on sailmagazine.com.
SAIL, which is owned by PRIMEDIA Inc., also publishes BoatWorks for the Hands-On Boat Owner and the Sailboat Buyers Guide, now celebrating its 40th anniversary.
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