LEEUWARDEN – The 2023 edition of Boat Holland proved again that small innovations can have a significant impact.
Take the Blow Top. At first blush, a so-so thing, but that inflatable boat cover makes a difference. No more broken nails or painful fingers from dragging a rebellious sprayhood taut over a frame.
Bernard Menken of boat maker Menken Maritiem promised a client the solution and developed the inflatable tube cover frame with Tom Schot, a sailmaker.
“I open and close a hood about 20 times a week,” says Bernard. “I know many customers curse their sprayhood because they can’t get the snaps closed. A hood must fit tight, or it doesn’t drain properly.”
The solution lay in the inflatable frame used in the kiting world, but the other way around.
Kite frames are inflated when in use. Boat frames are inflated when the boat is not used. “That required a lot of research and engineering with negative pressure, positive pressure, compressors and pressure vessels,” says Schot.
The Blow Top debuted at Boat Holland, and Menken Maritiem quickly took an order for 20 units.
Blow Tops will be developed for several series-built boats in the coming months. In a few years, it will be custom-made for all boats.
