Speedseal ceased trading

[Neeves]

Is the Spade anchor patent still valid? Came out 20ish years ago.
Or Fortress, even older.

My interpretation is that manufacturers of anchors have already found 'ways' to design, manufacture and sell products that take advantage of some of the characteristics from both Spade (for example Rocna, Vulcan, Ultra Homepage | Ultra Marine Anchors and Epsilon) and Fortress (Manson's Racer and Lewmar's demountable aluminium anchor LFX LFX Anchor | Lewmar. Whatever patents were in force (if any) have not stopped advantage being taken of those 2 products. I don't know when Fortress was first introduced, it could have been as early as the late 1980s but certainly in the early 1990s and Spade I think early 1990s. Rocna was introduced in 2006, maybe 2005 and Manson's Racer (Racer Anchor - Manson Anchors NZ ) about 10 years ago.

The big disincentive to copying a Fortress are the cost of the dies for the aluminium extrusions and only a company like Lewmar has the combination of financial muscle and breadth of marketing to take advantage of the opportunity. Spade is horrendously expensive to make 'as is' and Rocna is a fair attempt at cutting those costs with Vulcan Vulcan - Rocna Anchors a much better interpretation (though I have never used a Vulcan - so I'm guessing ). Peter Smith's use of casting using the lost wax process and cheaper Chinese costs has changed the parameters for anchor production but unit costs are only competitive if you have large production runs. Making the moulds for casting, like the dies for aluminium extrusions, is expensive - which is a big deterrent for the gifted amateur. Most anchor developments have commonly been a 'sideline' or hobby, think CQR, Fortress, SARCA, Spade, Knox, Bruce.

Jonathan

 

[Praxinoscope]

Did somebody ask for a small engineering company? I might be up for this if I'm not treading on Flaming (or anyone else's) toes? Are there many variants around?

Best of luck, if you manage to get Speedseal back into the market you have one customer here already.

 

[dgadee]

My interpretation is that manufacturers of anchors have already found 'ways' to design, manufacture and sell products that take advantage of some of the characteristics from both Spade (for example Rocna, Vulcan, Ultra Homepage | Ultra Marine Anchors and Epsilon) and Fortress (Manson's Racer and Lewmar's demountable aluminium anchor LFX LFX Anchor | Lewmar. Whatever patents were in force (if any) have not stopped advantage being taken of those 2 products. I don't know when Fortress was first introduced, it could have been as early as the late 1980s but certainly in the early 1990s and Spade I think early 1990s. Rocna was introduced in 2006, maybe 2005 and Manson's Racer (Racer Anchor - Manson Anchors NZ ) about 10 years ago.

The big disincentive to copying a Fortress are the cost of the dies for the aluminium extrusions and only a company like Lewmar has the combination of financial muscle and breadth of marketing to take advantage of the opportunity. Spade is horrendously expensive to make 'as is' and Rocna is a fair attempt at cutting those costs with Vulcan Vulcan - Rocna Anchors a much better interpretation (though I have never used a Vulcan - so I'm guessing ). Peter Smith's use of casting using the lost wax process and cheaper Chinese costs has changed the parameters for anchor production but unit costs are only competitive if you have large production runs. Making the moulds for casting, like the dies for aluminium extrusions, is expensive - which is a big deterrent for the gifted amateur. Most anchor developments have commonly been a 'sideline' or hobby, think CQR, Fortress, SARCA, Spade, Knox, Bruce.

Jonathan

Additive manufacture (3d printing) may change these limitations. We could all be making our own designs in the workshop.

 

[Wing Mark]

How many people have had an impeller fail in the last 5 years?
There was a time late last century when it was very common for some reason.
Strangely, outboard motors seem to muddle on with a designs where you need to do serious dismantling to change the impeller, yet problems are rare, and always have been?

 

[rotrax]

I changed our impeller at 1000 hours, the time reccomended in the manual. It was good, just a small piece of one vane missing. Found that in the heat exchanger which is serviced at the same interval.

A fellow Island Packet owner used the same impeller for 26 seasons. He would remove it each winter and place it in a glass of water until he refitted it.

It was only ribbing from fellow owners that shamed him into buying a new one. He keeps the old one as a spare.

 

[Plum]

How many people have had an impeller fail in the last 5 years?
There was a time late last century when it was very common for some reason.
Strangely, outboard motors seem to muddle on with a designs where you need to do serious dismantling to change the impeller, yet problems are rare, and always have been?

In 40 years of owning boats with inboard engines, both sail and power, I have never had an impeller fail, although I have never used one for more than 250 hours and always left them in over a winter layup.

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

 

[dgadee]

How many people have had an impeller fail in the last 5 years?
There was a time late last century when it was very common for some reason.
Strangely, outboard motors seem to muddle on with a designs where you need to do serious dismantling to change the impeller, yet problems are rare, and always have been?

New engine installed and had about 100 hours that year (going Belfast to A Coruna). Leaving in the following Spring the exhaust was like a steam train - discovered that the impeller had broken off a tab and it was blocking the heat exchanger. I hadn't run the pump dry so no idea what the problem was - perhaps just a faulty impellor. However, it is not just emergency access to the impeller which I liked with the speedseal, but that there weren't the fiddly screws you could lose and also there was no paper packing. Every engine should really have that level of access even if just for routine maintenance.

 

[mattonthesea]

I inspected the impeller after three seasons. I don't know why I didn't do this earlier as much of the boat was suffering from under use for ten years. Anyway, we found 3 bits missing and found six in the heat exchanger! Somehow it had continued to work well. Now I check before and after season.

 

[Poignard]

How many people have had an impeller fail in the last 5 years?
There was a time late last century when it was very common for some reason.
Strangely, outboard motors seem to muddle on with a designs where you need to do serious dismantling to change the impeller, yet problems are rare, and always have been?

I've had my boat, and her BUKH engine, for 54 years and in that time I have only ever had one impeller shed a vane. It did not affect the cooling of the engine and I was unaware it had happened until I removed the impeller at the end of the season and saw it. It wasn't until a year later that I found the vane, in one piece, jammed well up in one of the CW pipes. To get there it must have had to turn through 90 degrees to exit the pump body before being forced into a pipe about 10mm diameter. A mystery!

 

[Jungle Jim]

I must be jinxed. Despite sailing orders of magnitude fewer hours than most of the posters here, I've been on 2 boats where they failed. Once just as we were entering Weymouth, so we dropped anchor just outside the harbour entrance and started repairs only to find we had anchored across the local dinghy club race finish line. I like to think we added a challenge to the competitors, to pass between the marks and guess where the anchored yacht will have swung to by the time they got there

I will of course keep the forum updated if 'Speedseal 2, the sequel' goes anywhere.

 

[Sailfree]

Had repeated failures of impellor on 30hp Volvo saildrive.

 

[Praxinoscope]

Over my years of sailing (about 50) I have had three impeller failures, the awful little screws on the standard water pump seem almost deliberately designed to make life difficult, so have always fitted the Speedseal replacement.
At the end of the season as part of my engine winterisation I remove the impeller, give it a light greasing of silicon grease and store it over winter.
Since adopting this impeller service I have had no impeller problems, but am still glad that I have the Speedseal cover.

 

[Ianqv]

Just checking to see if anyone has found a solution yet, or has anyone run this this idea?
My speedseal life is now worn and could really do with replacement.
Cheers
Ian

 

[Tim Good]

Just checking to see if anyone has found a solution yet, or has anyone run this this idea?
My speedseal life is now worn and could really do with replacement.
Cheers
Ian

Isn’t a french company now selling them at 3 times the original cost? Atmb marine?

 

[Ianqv]

Sadly ATNB have no stock.

 

[dslittle]

Just checking to see if anyone has found a solution yet, or has anyone run this this idea?
My speedseal life is now worn and could really do with replacement.
Cheers
Ian

I’m sorry, this is not at all helpful but should a Speedseal Life wear out???

It does remind me of the time that the SRU told me that my lifetime membership had expired…

 

[Praxinoscope]

I’m sorry, this is not at all helpful but should a Speedseal Life wear out???

It does remind me of the time that the SRU told me that my lifetime membership had expired…

I think the ‘Life’ part of the kit referred to the potential extended life of the impeller and in particular it’s life if ru dry, rather than the components of the Speedseal.

 

[Plum]

Just checking to see if anyone has found a solution yet, or has anyone run this this idea?
My speedseal life is now worn and could really do with replacement.
Cheers
Ian

What has worn? The plastic discs? I recall someone here saying they were cutting their own plastic discs from ptfe sheet.

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

 

[wizard]

Anyone hear on the lifeboats as I remember at one time reading they were fitting them?
Be a little earner for them if they are making their own.
Plus the safety at sea aspect for us.

 

[Cowbridge09]

I wanted to send a PM to Flaming about this, but I have hardly if at all posted anything so am not allowed to PM. I am a retired design engineer and I might be interested in working with a manufacturing company to produce a new version of the device. The tolerances required for the O ring groove are very tight because of the limited space. I have some ideas for improvements to the design. If Flaming or others are interested PM me or email at jh.francis@btinternet.com John