The last few years have shown us great advancements in technology. In fact it seems to be coming at us at faster and faster speeds, in some cases making what we have obsolete before its time.

One area that has seen new competition is in Thermal Imaging. These handy devices truly allow us to see in the dark, making night running quite a bit safer. This doesn't mean throwing caution to the wind, but it does make it easier to see those small boats or unlighted buoys and (hopefully) avoid them.

FLIR Cameras

iPhone 5

Iris Camera

These imagers range from just a couple hundred dollars for a lens for your iPhone to more than ten thousand dollars for the top of the line FLIR units. The Iris "camera" is an affordable alternative at approximately three to five thousand dollars and has had very good reviews throughout the market. Our boating season is short enough, and if running at night helps make those days a little more memorable, this just might be something to look into. We will be more than happy to check to make sure your electronics will interface with one of these units and estimate an installed price for you.

Approximately five years ago, the UL mandated that Carbon Monoxide Detectors have an End of Life Standard for those manufactured from that date forward. Fireboy-Xintex started shipping the new Carbon Monoxide Detectors to the boat manufacturers in March of 2010. This means that the initial End of Life for these detectors will start to come upon us this March.

At four years and eleven months, when powering up for the season these units will start their End of Life alarm. If this is the case with any of your units, when the alarm initially sounds, pressing the "Reset" button will silence the alarm for three days at a time. At the end of five years, it will enter an "absolute End of Life Mode". At this point in time, your detector must be replaced, as there is no allowable service that can be done to the unit, according to the UL.

So if your Carbon Monoxide detector starts to go off, and then stays off for three days and comes back on again, you will need to have your Carbon Monoxide unit(s) replaced. We mention this as many of you know, in the summer with rapid changes in humidity and temperatures, the CO detectors sometimes start to go off ( in low voltage situations also), but if it recurs every three days, it may indicate the "End of Life" for the detector. So please don't just disconnect it, we want to keep you safe.