NORTHERN LIGHTS TO ATTEND ANTIGUA CHARTER YACHT SHOW

November 30, 2009

Northern Lights will be attending the 48th Annual Antigua Boat Show from 7-11 December 2009.  This year Operations Manager Larry Repman will attend from the factory.  I will be attending from Parts & Power.  Of course Flemming Niehorster, from Seagull Services, and Steve and Janetta Miller, from Marine Power Services, the Northern Lights dealers on Antigua will be present as well.  As of this writing, the Organizers are expecting over 100 yachts to attend.  Although these numbers are down from a few years ago, they are still impressive, considering the world economic climate, and up from last year.  In the past, between 50-78% of the yachts attending had Northern Lights products on their vessel.

We started attending this show over 10 years ago.  At the time, I had been getting complaints from captains and engineers about problems with their generators.  One even said: "isn't there any other product we can use other than Northern Lights?".  This was very alarming to me because they were getting 15,000 hours + from their generators without a major overhaul and their problems were very simple to resolve.  In the case of the one captain, his complaint was excessive smoking on the dry exhaust with big gobs of carbon spitting out onto the white cushions on the top deck.  We adjusted the valves and replaced the injectors and the problem went away.  The captain was ecstatic.  The sad thing was this was called out to be done annually in the Operator's Manual.  It was obvious that we had an education issue and not an operational one.

As many of mega yachts are continually on the move and not often near a dealer familiar with their equipment, Antigua gave us a unique opportunity in the Caribbean to visit with these crews and make sure that their equipment was running right, and they didn't have any questions.  The first few years that we did the show, we had lots of complaints.  In fact, we brought an engineer with us one year to address the complaints.  The vast majority of these complaints were addressed at the Show and everyone went home happy.  After a few years, the complaints and problems went away, for the most part, and we were left with mostly questions.  Now the most common response to our question of "How is it running?" is "Great, I wish the other one was a Northern Lights," or "I had Northern Lights on my last boat.  I sure wish this one had them."

After a few days of visiting boats and answering questions, we throw a party for all the crews.  The party is arranged by Seagull Services and Marine Power Service, and is always a hit.  It is an opportunity for the crews to get away from brokers for a few hours and for us to thank them for using and supporting our products.  In the past, we've held the party at Temo Sports in Falmouth Harbour.  This year, due to scheduling conflicts, we are holding it the Yacht Club Restaurant, Cloggy's.  The party will be Wednesday, 9 December, at 1800 hrs.

If you be in Antigua, we look forward to seeing you there.

- Tom Gerker

Greetings from All Points Marine located in lovely

St Thomas USVI

November 24, 2009

There are lots of boats coming from everywhere. This is a great way to start off the season and we are getting busier every day. We have a few new satisfied Northern Lights customers and are looking forward to building our client base.  Currently, we have a staff of six; we are all ready to help you with any of your boating needs, just give us a call and we’ll do our very best to assist you.

Innovative, visionary Maltese Falcon powered by Northern Lights

Sept 8, 2009

Maltese Falcon sailing down the Sir Francis Drake Channel in the BVI

It is among the most remarkable sailing vessels ever built. It is a 297 foot leviathan, with 58-meter rotating carbon-fibre masts that displaces 1,404 tons. It is The Maltese Falcon. Showboats International calls it "one of the most innovative sailing yacht projects ever." And which generator sets power the Black Bird? Northern Lights, of course.

Northern Lights is known throughout the yacht industry as the standard bearer for power production solutions. Northern Lights’ key virtues - Reliability, Durability and Simplicity - make them the generator sets of choice for the most elaborate megayacht projects in the world.

Perini Navi chose four Northern Lights generator sets - two M6140AL2's (280 kW @ 50 Hz), one M6125T (155 kW @ 50 Hz) and one MP668H emergency set (80 kW @ 50 Hz). Together, they power not only the traditional sail yacht features on the Maltese Falcon - the lights, the air conditioner, the windlass and so on - but they also provide power to the unique technology of the Dyna Rig sailing system, a first of its kind.

Northern Lights’ powers the yachting world’s most demanding applications and elaborate dreams. Contact your sales representative to learn how it can power yours, too.
Innovative, visionary Maltese Falcon powered by Northern Lights

A Brief Generator Overview Video

Sept 8, 2009

Northern Lights Factory Trainer Bob Senter delivers a brief generator overview from the engine room in a video shot at the Trawler Fest in Anacortes, WA.

Video courtesy of PassageMaker Magazine.

NORTHERN LIGHTS UNVEILS THE NEXT-GENERATION IN GENERATOR DESIGN: M944T

Sept 7, 2009

The Northern Lights M944T is the new industry leader in power density in the 32-40kW range.

Producing a conservatively-rated 38kW at 60 Hz (1800 RPM), or 32kW at 50 Hz (1500 RPM), the M944T is based on a heavy-duty industrial block engine and custom marinized for optimal marine performance.

The cast iron, two-pass exhaust manifold promotes even temperature control and is formed of sturdy cast iron. The cupro-nickel heat exchanger is built with removable end caps for easy cleaning. The gear driven seawater pump is self-contained with no unreliable belts. The turbo charger is fresh water cooled for safety.

All systems on the M944T are designed to provide reliable power production in a small space. At 38kW, the M944T is smaller than some competitors’ 32. And because power is produced at a low 1800 RPM, engine wear is dramatically reduced.

Easily customizable, the M944T is an ideal set for increased power in the footprint of 25-33kW machine. Further maximizing engine room, is Northern Lights’ exclusive new base frame and sound enclosure configuration (see table on back). Add custom panels, mufflers or even a front PTO to power your winches, bow thrusters or deck gear. The M944T meets all current emission standards, providing clean and quiet power production.

All the reliability, durability and simplicity that has made Northern Lights the industry leader for five decades are on display in the M944T.

The sound enclosure shares a base frame with the generator set, creating a compact power and sound attenuation package that reduces noise and vibration while maximizing engine room space.
This design allows for the easy installation of an additional set of vibration mounts for a smoother, quieter package with only a minimal increase in height.

• Stainless steel paddle latches on top, front and service side provide easy access to service points.
• Interior latches on non-service sides improve aesthetics.
  
• Three layers of firm and flexible sound dampening materials absorb low-, mid- and high-frequency noise.
  
• Protective film coating ensures safety and longevity.
  
• Fuel and oil drains outside of the sound enclosure for easy connection.
  
• Front exhaust exit option.
  
• Tough, white, powder-coat finish.

TECHNICOLD BY NORTHERN LIGHTS ANNOUNCES REVOLUTIONARY LOAD BANK SYSTEM

May 5, 2009

Technicold by Northern Lights is proud to introduce the marine industry’s most advanced solution for electrical load management – the variable output Automatic Linear Load Bank System. The Technicold Automatic Linear Load Bank System is the ideal solution for a vessel requiring electrical load balancing. It is the only fresh-water cooled, non-modular load bank commercially available that features variable outputs to manage electrical load on each individual 3-phase leg.

By supplying a supplemental electric load to the generator, Technicold load banks ensure that the generator is always properly loaded. A ship’s load activity is easily monitored with the load bank controller, which tracks phases from the ship’s electrical panel. The digital controllers analyze the data and transmit commands to the load bank processors. When the vessel’s power usage fluctuates, the controller uses pre-programmed parameters to manage electric loads, ensuring optimal loading of the ship’s generator sets.

Units are available with the optional PLC system that includes a full-color touch screen.

“High-energy demand systems like air conditioning, stabilizers and bow thrusters are becoming more common in all types of vessels,” said Clive Cox, Technicold director of engineering. “With multiple staterooms, power configurations and night-versus-day demands, properly loading your generator set can be challenging. Without proper load management, the generator set can run under-loaded, leading to potential maintenance issues. A fully variable load bank can manage your generators’ loads to ensure optimal performance.”

Power production and climate control are among the most critical systems on any vessel. A climate-control provider with the experience of Technicold, backed by the power production specialists at Northern Lights, is uniquely qualified to produce a load-banking solution that truly sets the industry standard.

The Technicold Linear Load Bank will be on display at the American Superyacht Forum in Seattle, Washington from May 11-14. About Technicold by Northern Lights (www.technicold.com) Technicold by Northern Lights has been an industry leader in marine environmental control systems since its inception in 1981. Technicold offers a comprehensive line of chilled-water air conditioners from 24,000 to 180,000 BTUs, a line of chilled-water air handlers 8,000 to 32,000.

Click here to download the PDF brochure for the Automatic Linear Load Bank.

Service Tip #4: Standby Generator Annual Maintenance
Many land based Standby Generators do not get enough hours accumulated in a year to qualify for an oil change. Therefore, it is very important to do an Annual Maintenance on those generators. We usually use the advent of the Hurricane Season as our time to do this.

What does Annual Maintenance consist of? Read More

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