Position: 52°23.07’N, 4°53.65’E

Peter Hayden (centre), who is building Nordhavn 6837, and marine consultant Steve D’Antonio, were in town for METS (Marine Equipment Trade Show) this week and stopped by for a visit. We last saw Peter and his wife Laurie in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 2016 and haven’t seen Steve since before we left Seattle in 2012. We had a great time talking boats, travelling and technology, first on Dirona and later over dinner.

Position: 52°20.56’N, 4°53.38’E

Riding the newly-opened North–South line from Central Station to METS (Marine Equipment Trade Show) at the Amsterdam RAI Exhibition and Convention Centre.

Position: 52°20.61’N, 4°53.37’E

METS (Marine Equipment Trade Show), held annually in Amsterdam, is the largest trade exhibition of marine equipment, materials and systems in the world. This was our first time attending and we were amazed at the scale, with with over 1,500 exhibitors from across the globe. Over two busy days we didn’t come close to seeing it all.

Position: 52°20.58’N, 4°53.40’E

A beautiful, and huge, propeller by Italian manufacturer Sonica at METS.

Position: 52°20.57’N, 4°53.32’E

Now that’s a strong fender.

Position: 52°20.61’N, 4°53.37’E

Carbon gangways by Exit Carbon. We have an aluminum passerelle that we’ve used only in Papeete, so it seems a little crazy to replace it, but the lightweight and easily managed carbon alternative is really appealing.

Position: 52°20.61’N, 4°53.37’E

A nicely-done cutout of a Yamaha 425, V8 5.6L outboard.

Position: 52°20.61’N, 4°53.37’E

Italian Tinostone had an intriguing product on display at METS made from thin layers of natural stone over an aluminum honeycomb. The result is large sheets of stone that are quite strong and very light.

Position: 52°20.61’N, 4°53.37’E

This DelStar beast of an alternator at Canadian Dixie Electric‘s METS booth can produce 550A. Read more …

Position: 52°20.44’N, 4°53.34’E

Beautiful seven-blade propeller at booth of German company Piening Propeller.

Position: 52°20.44’N, 4°53.34’E

We were impressed with the custom stainless steel work done by UK-based Phoenix Marine Solutions. They use computer numerically controlled cutters and do excellent welding work for functional and eye-catching designs.

Position: 52°20.58’N, 4°53.16’E

James speaking with Will Godfrey of Integrel Marine, a Triskel Marine company. Near the center of the picture you can just see Nigel Calder, a well-known marine engineering expert and author of many excellent boating books, who is a Director of Triskel Marine.

Integrel Marine was the overall winner of the prestigious METS DAME Design Awardfor their super-product interesting where they put a 9kW alternator on the main engine. This is similar to what we have done in Dirona but Integrel is taking on the far more difficult challenge of putting a high-output alternator on a smaller sailboat main engine. They have to work with space constraints and limited power output.

They manage the space constraints by using a single very high output 9kW alternator, but the most interesting part of their work is the control system. When taking this much power from an often fairly small auxiliary sailboat engine, there wouldn’t be enough power left to operate the boat. The Integrel Marine control system samples current engine RPM and adjusts alternator load to essentially stay out of the way. They take excess power from the engine when it is available but still leave the operator with full engine output for maneuvering or when needed.

Position: 52°22.77’N, 4°53.62’E

A delicious meal at Michelin Bib Gourmand Bistrot Neuf following our day at METS.