Thursday, January 20, 2011

Trintec: Front & Center

I've known since Kokomo became ours that I wanted to put a nautical clock in the boat, but I was unprepared for the vast number of choices I'd be faced with when I began looking at models within the size range that would fit in/on her center overhead panel. I knew that we could accommodate only about a 5.5" overall size, and that I could just fit three instruments on this panel.

I looked at every imaginable configuration of clocks ... including those which have a barometer and thermometer built in. Those with all of the instruments on a single plank of wood were interesting, and I thought I'd found one that looked nice until I got a close look at it and learned a portion of the bezel on the clock was plastic (vs. brass). Wanting something that was low-maintenance and rugged in construction (like the boat!), I waited and looked.

In a West Marine store in Oakland, I saw a line of Weems & Plath clocks that looked like they were well built. In handling the model, I found a Canadian maple leaf on the rear of the box, and thought to myself that it would be kind-of-nice to honor the lineage of the vessel (she's built in Nova Scotia) with a clock that was also Canadian.

So I came home and did some online research and found the company that built the Weems & Plath models I'd seen. And I visited their website, which featured a nice selection of nautical clocks ... built right ... with five year warranties. I found an online dealer (OK, it was on eBay!) that offered the models I wanted, and ordered one each of the Coast Line tidal clock, thermometer and barometer. These were to be my Christmas gift from my wife ... perfect!

I installed them this week and couldn't be happier with the Trintec instruments. They seem to fit the boat perfectly (you decide, there are two photos to the right...) and the price - which included all four of the instruments I want on the boat (the clock has a tidal clock built in) - was less than one of the fancy brass clocks I was looking at before.

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San Quentin Prison

San Quentin Prison
One of the more 'captivating' sites along the Corte Madera channel . Rowers from Corte Madera are practicing in the foreground.