Essentials of a Marine Boat Alarm System

How To Avoid The Realization That Your Boat Insurance Company Isn't
Your Friend.

by Captain Dan Donaldson

Over the last couple of years it has been my awakening to have seen 3
boats sink in our 40 slip condo marina. As a boat owner, if you have
ever witnessed a boat sinking at the dock you know it will scare you
into action. In all three cases the boat floated fine with little or
no indication that momentarily it would find the bottom.

The last sinking was a 43' Wellcraft Portofino parked right behind its
owner's condo unit. I walked by the imminently doomed Wellcraft on my
way to the swimming pool and it half registered that the boat appeared
to be listing ever so slightly to starboard. Without giving it much
thought, as I walked by the boat it started gurgling and within 30
seconds it found its place on the muddy bottom with only the bow
exposed. I ran to the owner's condo and found the owner sitting in
his home office, not more than 50 feet from his boat, at his desk with
a full view of his nearly disappeared pride and joy.

The grim story was revealed when the boat was raised the next day.
Not unlike the previous two sinkings the Portofino had suffered
multiple undetected failures over time. One of the two bilge pumps
had a faulty float switch and the other had crimp connected wiring
that had corroded to the point that the pump wasn't receiving the
necessary voltage to make it run. When one of the 1¼" raw water inlet
hoses between the thru-hull fitting and the strainer gave way to
invisible deterioration the Portofino started filling with water. Of
course the owner had "recently" checked the operation of the bilge
pumps and "thought" he had told his mechanic to replace those hoses
when he replaced the belts and hoses on the engines.

At the local boatyard the Portofino sat for over 6 months while the
owner discovered his insurance company was not his friend, protector,
or remedy for his loss. The insurer commenced their investigation of
the claim by denying the claim altogether based on "neglect" on the
owner's part. The boat was surveyed and found to have damage
estimated at well over the market value of the boat. Estimates for
repairs and replacements verified that during his years of ownership
the value of his boat had declined but the cost of all of the damaged
components of the boat had increased. It's like buying a car from GM
for $30,000.00 and then getting a price of $200,000.00 for all of the
parts required to build the same car.

The insurance company placed the depreciated value of the boat and
it's contents at $70,000.00 of which they only wanted to pay
$30,000.00 because of the owner's "neglect". The estimated cost to
put the boat in same condition was over $100,000.00. The owner had
purchased the boat as a bank repossession for $55,000.00 and had
invested another $50,000.00 in the last two years in repairs and
improvements. The boat sat for another 6 months while the owner
commenced legal action against his insurance company. His lawyer
advised him that he couldn't sell the boat during the course of what
was estimated to be a "protracted" legal battle. After a year of
paying several hundred dollars a month for storage of the rapidly
deteriorating Portofino and faced with "years" of legal bills the
owner decided to settle with his friendly insurer for $45,000.00. A
whopping loss of over $70,000.00 including storage, out of pocket
expenses, and legal fees! Like Boat U.S. (one of the largest marine
insurers in the United States) says, "your insurance policy is your
last line of defense".

My research uncovered the fact that vessel sinkings are the single
largest recreational boating loss in the United States. According to
an article entitled "How to Keep Your Boat From Sinking"
(http://www.yachtsurvey.com/sinking.htm) by David M. Pascoe, a widely
respected marine surveyor, "Tens of thousands of boats of all types
and sizes sink every year, most of them at their dock." And according
to Captain Scott Thompson of Ocean Marine Services in his article "Why
Do Boats Sink" (http://www.oceanmarineservices.com/w...boats_sink.htm),
"If you were to consider a hole as small as 2" in diameter, the size
of most fathometer transducers, 3' below the waterline the flow rate
into the boat would be136.1 gallons per minute or 7,896 gallons per
hour! A boat equipped with three 2,000 gallon per hour bilge pumps
would sink! Now if this vessel is equipped with a bilge alarm, it
would be able to warn those on board (or ashore) of a problem and give
them precious time to find and plug the a hole that may have otherwise
gone unnoticed until it was too late." Key word "alarm"!

Even though I am a maintenance "nut", that third sinking and the
results of my research convinced me to seriously look into a marine
alarm system that would prevent this phenomenon from occurring to my
39' SeaRay. More research on the Internet found that Boat U.S. had
compiled statistics showing that 4 out of every 5 sinkings (80%) occur
at the dock. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources states
that over 11,000 boats are stolen in the United States each year and
Cole Hughes, of the Oregon Marine Board's Law Enforcement Program says
"The national boat theft recovery rate averages 10 to 15 percent".
These dismal facts, the Boat U.S. statement that they consider your
boat insurance to be your "last line of defense", plus a break-in and
theft aboard another boat in our small marina propelled me into action
at a faster clip. The Internet revealed a myriad of companies selling
boat alarms but when the foreign companies without real representation
in the U.S. were eliminated there only remained about 12 products that
justified further investigation. With a good layman's understanding
of electronics and the security industry in general I started to
examine the offerings of those 12 boat alarm systems.

Quickly I found that most of the "boat alarm systems" available at the
low end of the price spectrum ($99.00 to $399.00) are nothing more
than home alarms and car alarms being marketed as "boat alarms".
Nothing more needs to be said regarding the use in a boat of such a
system designed for dry land and a non-salt water environment. These
systems are marketed to unsuspecting boat owners who are looking for
low price without consideration for reliability and durability.
Speaking to yacht owners who had mistakenly installed these systems
revealed a virtually unanimous chorus of stories of complete system
failures that almost always coincided with the end of the products
warranty to stories of false alarms that occurred so frequently that
no one paid attention to the siren because they knew it would
automatically reset in one minute.

The other end of the price extreme ($1,000.00 to $12,000.00) was
equally interesting because each system required an expensive monthly
"monitoring" fee based on "plans" that would allow me to turn on my
air-conditioning via satellite and monitor the movement of my vessel
anywhere in the world. As the owner of a 39' SeaRay I don't need to
do anything more that look out of the cockpit window or at my
chartplotter to tell where my boat is. The initial expense and
commitment to continuously and escalating monthly fees render these
products beneficial only to larger chartered or commercial vessels. I
was equally surprised to find that these products were manufactured in
the same Chinese suburb as the low end products which gives pause to
the possibility of replacing a much more expensive unit upon failure
after the typical one year warranty period.

For the average boater this left only a handful of companies offering
marine security systems in the price range of $400.00 to $1,000.00.
Unfortunately, I eliminated all but two based on a total inability to
contact several of the companies. One company's phone was
disconnected, two had only answering machines no matter what time of
day, or day of week, I attempted to contact them. Only one of four
companies responded to the message I left on their answering machine
within a week. Figuring that it would be a chore to get any type of
support on their products they were not considered as a viable source
for my purchase.

The serious comparison began with trying to get an understanding of
the intent of a boat alarms and how that related to what I considered
to be the average boaters needs. One company in this price range
offered a system that consisted of nothing more than a motion detector
that was supposed to be mounted in the cockpit. Imagine the false
alarms from canvas, birds, or even blowing paper. Many of the
mid-range priced systems relied on arming and disarming the system
from inside the cabin of a boat and gave a two minute delay for the
owner to get on and off the boat after disarming or arming the alarm.
Any drunk thief could remove my new Furuno
Radar/ChartPlotter/FishFinder and be long gone in less than the two
minutes before the alarm went off. Interestingly, most of the
companies websites did not even mention high bilge water protection.
The more companies I researched the more it became clear that they
were selling home and car alarms for boats. I also started to note
that many of these companies only accepted money orders and would not
accept credit cards. I surmise this to be the result of many
customers wanting to return systems that didn't function on a boat.
If you pay by credit card you can always have your bank credit the
charge for defective merchandise. If you pay by cash or money order,
you're stuck!

The search was rapidly narrowing to two remaining companies from an
initial field of over 20. At this point I had determined that false
alarms are death to the desired effect of an alarm system and that
most companies selling "boat alarms" had no clue as to the particular
requirements of a marine alarm system. Only one company (Company A)
did not recommend any type of impact/vibration/shock sensor or motion
sensors based on the high likelihood of false alarms from everything
including high winds causing a boat to stretch the mooring lines
enough to allow an impact with the dock or piling to a pelican landing
on the cockpit floor (or dropping a fish from 50 feet above). The
other contender's (Company B) system revolved around an impact sensor
(by another name) that had "never" given a false alarm. As proof the
owner of Company B offered the name of a local marine electronics
company as a reference. Since they were close by I visited them
expecting a glowing report on the reliability of Company B's product.

The sales person, without prodding, indicated that they had installed
only a few of Company B's products and were currently involved with an
angry yacht owner over configuration issues and false alarms. Plainly
put, they couldn't get the alarm to function correctly. Seems that
being an old, reputable local provider of electronics and service had
them in a position where they were losing money by installing and
representing Company B's product. The sales person showed me the
control panel for the alarm system and the components inside. It
wasn't hard to see that the components were from a home alarm system
housed in a NEMA (sealed) enclosure to make it a "marine alarm
system". The siren looked like a child's toy. Looking at their siren
made me think that a siren that sounds the same as a car alarm siren
and doesn't differentiate between a high bilge water event and an
intrusion event provides much the same protection as the well-ignored
car alarm. Everyone just waits for it to reset and does nothing.

This $745.00 product did not include any high bilge water sensor, nor
was there any reference to it on Company B's website (although the
dealer did tell me that they could "hook one up"). Further
examination of www.CompanyB.com showed that their product line
included driveway alarms, home alarms, commercial alarms, alarm and
security equipment in general, and paging systems. Very obviously
this company was selling general alarm products and trying to sell a
few to the marine industry. At least give them credit for the NEMA
enclosure that the other companies selling home or car alarms for
boats didn't even bother with.

At this juncture I felt that the reason I hadn't seen many boat alarm
systems on mid size boats was because no such viable system existed.
As is usually the case I had wasted a lot of research time by only to
find that I had overlooked a truly viable product for my needs. I had
called Company A and only asked questions about impact/vibration/shock
sensors because of my decision to look hard at Company B's product.
So back to Company A with another phone call. After expressing my
dismay at the findings of my search the salesperson suggested that I
spend some time at their website. What I found (along with a writer's
profit motive) prompted me to write this article.

There is, indeed, at true marine alarm system. It wasn't designed to
track over-the-road trucks, or to protect your car, home, or business.
Marine Marketing (Company A) is a company that has spent over 20
years bringing innovative MARINE products to the boating population.
Their product, VoiceAlarm, is the result of Marine Marketing reaching
the same conclusion I did. Prior to the release of their product
earlier this year, there was no boat alarm system designed exclusively
for marine use. Virtually everything negative that I had encountered
with my search for a boat security system was right there in black and
white on the VoiceAlarm website (www.voicealarm.com) under a page
titled "Did You Know". This product was nearly two years in planning,
design, development, and testing with design criteria that included; a
true wish list of features, any imaginable optional equipment can be
easily connected to existing connections, U.S. manufacture of
sub-components, assembly in the U.S., no repair part cost more than
$50.00 (no other "marine alarm provider" offers repair), diagnosis and
repair accomplished in 30 minutes, and designed for owner
installation. Their slogan "The Only Marine Alarm System That Can't
Be Ignored" is an understatement.

At $499.95 for the basic system VoiceAlarm is a product that you
cannot outgrow, nor will it become obsolete. It was designed so that
each yacht owner can determine the level of protection he is
comfortable with and when that level of need increases the additional
equipment is simply "plug and play". With this company the emphasis
seems to be on high bilge water protection, which, as it was explained
to me, is the easy part of designing a marine alarm system. The
intrusion capabilities of VoiceAlarm are unlimited.

The basic system includes, as the name implies, a very loud speaker
system that has differential sounds for the type of alarm event
coupled with a voice message in the owner's recorded voice stating
(for example) the name of the boat, the location of the boat, the
exact nature of the alarm, and the action that persons hearing the
alarm should take such as calling the owner, neighbor, or dockmaster.
The high water alarm sound is called an industrial horn sound and is
similar to an industrial fire alarm sound. The intrusion sound is a
very high-pitched siren. Upon activation of the alarm the recorded
message and alarm sound are repeated a) until someone takes action, or
optionally b) until 30 minutes pass. The sound level is fully
adjustable from "off" to the loudest loudspeaker you have ever heard
(They even offer an option that will boost the 30 watts of speaker
power to an amazing 240 watts and claim the alarm will be heard
clearly for one mile). Also included are a key switch, RF (radio
frequency) Keyfob Transmitter to arm and disarm the system and control
cockpit lighting, a flashing LED to indicate the armed state of the
alarm, two protection stickers, cabin door magnetic sensor, and the
best installation manual and wiring diagram I have ever seen. The
installation manual has an abundance of photos and, for a pleasant
change, is written in English, not poorly translated into English.
Installation took my wife and I half a Saturday with no surprises or
confusing, contradictory instructions.

The philosophy behind VoiceAlarm stems from Marine Marketing's heavy
involvement in the marine industry in Latin America where one does not
find the proliferation of docks and marinas we have in the U.S. In
Latin America most yachts are kept at mooring buoys in protected
harbors a short distance to the landside facilities of major yacht
clubs. Since anyone that can swim could easily steal $10,000.00 worth
of electronics and a valuable yacht could sink without anyone knowing,
VoiceAlarm is designed to eliminate those possibilities by
broadcasting an alarm in a manner that can be easily heard and acted
upon by shore based personnel. Use of VoiceAlarm in the U.S. by
design will result in your neighbor calling you at work, or neighbors
at the marina contacting the dockmaster in the event of an alarm. In
the U.S. there are thousand of boats kept at mooring buoys that will
benefit in the same manner as our southern neighbors. In the case of
my neighbor who lost his Portofino, VoiceAlarm would have taken him
out of his chair long before his boat met the bottom and provided
ample time to take corrective measures.

Being on a "less than $1,000.00 budget" it was an easy decision to
include Marine Marketing's Cellular AutoDialer option to complete my
purchase. This $499.95 option was designed and is provided only by
Marine Marketing. It is incredible! Simply plug it into the basic
VoiceAlarm System, program up to 8 phone numbers that you wish to
provide alarm event notification, record your voice messages, get a
free cellular telephone from your local cellular service provider with
a $19.95 per month plan, and you have a fool proof method of
notification for any alarm event including high bilge water,
intrusion, loss of shore power, low ship's battery state, etc.
Although Marine Marketing doesn't recommend it, this option is so
reliable (and because my boat is docked right behind my home) I have
turned the volume of the audible speaker system off and rely sole on
the Cellular AutoDialer to notify me of an alarm event. I programmed
my home number to be dialed first, my cellular second, my wife's
cellular number, and then my next-door neighbor's phone number. If
there is an alarm event I can stop the sequence of phone calls by
entering a code in the telephone the Cellular AutoDialer reached me
at. If I am unreachable I am assured that the sequence of dialed
numbers will continue until a responsible person is reached and action
is taken to correct the problem.

Since my purchase and installation of VoiceAlarm three of my neighbors
have installed this product on their boats. So far it hasn't saved
anyone from a burglary or sinking, but it hasn't given any false
alarms either. The neighbor whose boat was broken into recently
installed much of the VoiceAlarm optional equipment, which has me
anxious to "keep up with the Jones'". Some of the remarkable "plug
and play" options are; a completely self-contained hidden GPS Locater
System, Extended Range RF Antenna which allows you to arm or disarm,
or control lighting from up to 1,600 feet from the boat, Low Ship's
Battery Sensor, Shore Power Loss Sensor, InfraRed Camera(s) hooked to
the ship's VCR recorder that automatically turn on the camera(s) and
VCR recorder during an intrusion alarm, Photoelectric Beam Sensor,
Pressure Sensitive Mats, an optional feature that allows you to
control the alarm and any equipment on your vessel (such as turning on
the air-conditioning) from any phone in the world, a 1.2Ghz Radio
Transmitter that can provide transmission of alarm notification and
video from on board cameras up to 3 miles, and much more. Each piece
of optional equipment is reported to have gone through extensive
testing, or was designed specifically to meet the high standards
required by Marine Marketing for use in the harsh marine environment.

Not only have I found a product that fulfills my current, and will
fulfill my future, needs, but also my neighbors and I have a lot of
earned faith and respect for the folks at Marine Marketing. Their
phone is always answered and so is every one of our questions. Marine
Marketing's website says that their employees are proud enough of the
product and their work that they sign every box, prior to shipping,
with the signature of the employee responsible for the assembly,
testing, and packaging of the product at their Florida facility. Sure
enough, the boxes arrive with a signature!

Rick Curtis wrote:
Essentials of a Marine Boat Alarm System

How To Avoid The Realization That Your Boat Insurance Company Isn't
Your Friend.

by Captain Dan Donaldson

Over the last couple of years it has been my awakening to have seen 3
boats sink in our 40 slip condo marina. As a boat owner, if you have
ever witnessed a boat sinking at the dock you know it will scare you
into action. In all three cases the boat floated fine with little or
no indication that momentarily it would find the bottom.

The last sinking was a 43' Wellcraft Portofino parked right behind its
owner's condo unit. I walked by the imminently doomed Wellcraft on my
way to the swimming pool and it half registered that the boat appeared
to be listing ever so slightly to starboard. Without giving it much
thought, as I walked by the boat it started gurgling and within 30
seconds it found its place on the muddy bottom with only the bow
exposed. I ran to the owner's condo and found the owner sitting in
his home office, not more than 50 feet from his boat, at his desk with
a full view of his nearly disappeared pride and joy.

Snip

It's nice to live in a latitude (56 deg N.) where the summers are short, and
most boats have to come out of the water end October until the following
Spring!

I didn't realise that much of your concern arises out of the vessel's
prolonged immersion, with the consequent need for fairly frequent year-round
attendance.

Our main concern at this time of year is of water freezing in the engine and
fresh water tanks, finding a warm enough day to commence the annual
bottom-scraping task, and making sure the boat is not blown off it's cradle
by a violent storm!

Your excellent treatise on this system has been noted here in the UK. No
doubt the company concerned can export such a system, even for use during
4-5months we are not shivering and dreaming of better days on the water
3-months hence!

It would be interesting to have your comments once the system has completed
a couple of years in use, and to see whether any unforseen snags have arisen
in that time. Incidentally, a lot of marine burglary can be prevented by
having as many systems as possible installed on a laptop, which can be taken
ashore at the end of each trip, but that's another story!

One of the reasons that I replaced EVERY hose coming from a thru-hull with
new, wire reinforced hose not too long after I bought her.

--


Keith
__
I am not a vegetarian because I love animals; I am a vegetarian because I
hate plants.
-- A. Whitney Brown
"Rick Curtis" wrote in message
om...
Essentials of a Marine Boat Alarm System

How To Avoid The Realization That Your Boat Insurance Company Isn't
Your Friend.

by Captain Dan Donaldson

Over the last couple of years it has been my awakening to have seen 3
boats sink in our 40 slip condo marina. As a boat owner, if you have
ever witnessed a boat sinking at the dock you know it will scare you
into action. In all three cases the boat floated fine with little or
no indication that momentarily it would find the bottom.

The last sinking was a 43' Wellcraft Portofino parked right behind its
owner's condo unit. I walked by the imminently doomed Wellcraft on my
way to the swimming pool and it half registered that the boat appeared
to be listing ever so slightly to starboard. Without giving it much
thought, as I walked by the boat it started gurgling and within 30
seconds it found its place on the muddy bottom with only the bow
exposed. I ran to the owner's condo and found the owner sitting in
his home office, not more than 50 feet from his boat, at his desk with
a full view of his nearly disappeared pride and joy.

The grim story was revealed when the boat was raised the next day.
Not unlike the previous two sinkings the Portofino had suffered
multiple undetected failures over time. One of the two bilge pumps
had a faulty float switch and the other had crimp connected wiring
that had corroded to the point that the pump wasn't receiving the
necessary voltage to make it run. When one of the 1¼" raw water inlet
hoses between the thru-hull fitting and the strainer gave way to
invisible deterioration the Portofino started filling with water. Of
course the owner had "recently" checked the operation of the bilge
pumps and "thought" he had told his mechanic to replace those hoses
when he replaced the belts and hoses on the engines.

At the local boatyard the Portofino sat for over 6 months while the
owner discovered his insurance company was not his friend, protector,
or remedy for his loss. The insurer commenced their investigation of
the claim by denying the claim altogether based on "neglect" on the
owner's part. The boat was surveyed and found to have damage
estimated at well over the market value of the boat. Estimates for
repairs and replacements verified that during his years of ownership
the value of his boat had declined but the cost of all of the damaged
components of the boat had increased. It's like buying a car from GM
for $30,000.00 and then getting a price of $200,000.00 for all of the
parts required to build the same car.

The insurance company placed the depreciated value of the boat and
it's contents at $70,000.00 of which they only wanted to pay
$30,000.00 because of the owner's "neglect". The estimated cost to
put the boat in same condition was over $100,000.00. The owner had
purchased the boat as a bank repossession for $55,000.00 and had
invested another $50,000.00 in the last two years in repairs and
improvements. The boat sat for another 6 months while the owner
commenced legal action against his insurance company. His lawyer
advised him that he couldn't sell the boat during the course of what
was estimated to be a "protracted" legal battle. After a year of
paying several hundred dollars a month for storage of the rapidly
deteriorating Portofino and faced with "years" of legal bills the
owner decided to settle with his friendly insurer for $45,000.00. A
whopping loss of over $70,000.00 including storage, out of pocket
expenses, and legal fees! Like Boat U.S. (one of the largest marine
insurers in the United States) says, "your insurance policy is your
last line of defense".

My research uncovered the fact that vessel sinkings are the single
largest recreational boating loss in the United States. According to
an article entitled "How to Keep Your Boat From Sinking"
(http://www.yachtsurvey.com/sinking.htm) by David M. Pascoe, a widely
respected marine surveyor, "Tens of thousands of boats of all types
and sizes sink every year, most of them at their dock." And according
to Captain Scott Thompson of Ocean Marine Services in his article "Why
Do Boats Sink" (http://www.oceanmarineservices.com/w...boats_sink.htm),
"If you were to consider a hole as small as 2" in diameter, the size
of most fathometer transducers, 3' below the waterline the flow rate
into the boat would be136.1 gallons per minute or 7,896 gallons per
hour! A boat equipped with three 2,000 gallon per hour bilge pumps
would sink! Now if this vessel is equipped with a bilge alarm, it
would be able to warn those on board (or ashore) of a problem and give
them precious time to find and plug the a hole that may have otherwise
gone unnoticed until it was too late." Key word "alarm"!

Even though I am a maintenance "nut", that third sinking and the
results of my research convinced me to seriously look into a marine
alarm system that would prevent this phenomenon from occurring to my
39' SeaRay. More research on the Internet found that Boat U.S. had
compiled statistics showing that 4 out of every 5 sinkings (80%) occur
at the dock. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources states
that over 11,000 boats are stolen in the United States each year and
Cole Hughes, of the Oregon Marine Board's Law Enforcement Program says
"The national boat theft recovery rate averages 10 to 15 percent".
These dismal facts, the Boat U.S. statement that they consider your
boat insurance to be your "last line of defense", plus a break-in and
theft aboard another boat in our small marina propelled me into action
at a faster clip. The Internet revealed a myriad of companies selling
boat alarms but when the foreign companies without real representation
in the U.S. were eliminated there only remained about 12 products that
justified further investigation. With a good layman's understanding
of electronics and the security industry in general I started to
examine the offerings of those 12 boat alarm systems.

Quickly I found that most of the "boat alarm systems" available at the
low end of the price spectrum ($99.00 to $399.00) are nothing more
than home alarms and car alarms being marketed as "boat alarms".
Nothing more needs to be said regarding the use in a boat of such a
system designed for dry land and a non-salt water environment. These
systems are marketed to unsuspecting boat owners who are looking for
low price without consideration for reliability and durability.
Speaking to yacht owners who had mistakenly installed these systems
revealed a virtually unanimous chorus of stories of complete system
failures that almost always coincided with the end of the products
warranty to stories of false alarms that occurred so frequently that
no one paid attention to the siren because they knew it would
automatically reset in one minute.

The other end of the price extreme ($1,000.00 to $12,000.00) was
equally interesting because each system required an expensive monthly
"monitoring" fee based on "plans" that would allow me to turn on my
air-conditioning via satellite and monitor the movement of my vessel
anywhere in the world. As the owner of a 39' SeaRay I don't need to
do anything more that look out of the cockpit window or at my
chartplotter to tell where my boat is. The initial expense and
commitment to continuously and escalating monthly fees render these
products beneficial only to larger chartered or commercial vessels. I
was equally surprised to find that these products were manufactured in
the same Chinese suburb as the low end products which gives pause to
the possibility of replacing a much more expensive unit upon failure
after the typical one year warranty period.

For the average boater this left only a handful of companies offering
marine security systems in the price range of $400.00 to $1,000.00.
Unfortunately, I eliminated all but two based on a total inability to
contact several of the companies. One company's phone was
disconnected, two had only answering machines no matter what time of
day, or day of week, I attempted to contact them. Only one of four
companies responded to the message I left on their answering machine
within a week. Figuring that it would be a chore to get any type of
support on their products they were not considered as a viable source
for my purchase.

The serious comparison began with trying to get an understanding of
the intent of a boat alarms and how that related to what I considered
to be the average boaters needs. One company in this price range
offered a system that consisted of nothing more than a motion detector
that was supposed to be mounted in the cockpit. Imagine the false
alarms from canvas, birds, or even blowing paper. Many of the
mid-range priced systems relied on arming and disarming the system
from inside the cabin of a boat and gave a two minute delay for the
owner to get on and off the boat after disarming or arming the alarm.
Any drunk thief could remove my new Furuno
Radar/ChartPlotter/FishFinder and be long gone in less than the two
minutes before the alarm went off. Interestingly, most of the
companies websites did not even mention high bilge water protection.
The more companies I researched the more it became clear that they
were selling home and car alarms for boats. I also started to note
that many of these companies only accepted money orders and would not
accept credit cards. I surmise this to be the result of many
customers wanting to return systems that didn't function on a boat.
If you pay by credit card you can always have your bank credit the
charge for defective merchandise. If you pay by cash or money order,
you're stuck!

The search was rapidly narrowing to two remaining companies from an
initial field of over 20. At this point I had determined that false
alarms are death to the desired effect of an alarm system and that
most companies selling "boat alarms" had no clue as to the particular
requirements of a marine alarm system. Only one company (Company A)
did not recommend any type of impact/vibration/shock sensor or motion
sensors based on the high likelihood of false alarms from everything
including high winds causing a boat to stretch the mooring lines
enough to allow an impact with the dock or piling to a pelican landing
on the cockpit floor (or dropping a fish from 50 feet above). The
other contender's (Company B) system revolved around an impact sensor
(by another name) that had "never" given a false alarm. As proof the
owner of Company B offered the name of a local marine electronics
company as a reference. Since they were close by I visited them
expecting a glowing report on the reliability of Company B's product.

The sales person, without prodding, indicated that they had installed
only a few of Company B's products and were currently involved with an
angry yacht owner over configuration issues and false alarms. Plainly
put, they couldn't get the alarm to function correctly. Seems that
being an old, reputable local provider of electronics and service had
them in a position where they were losing money by installing and
representing Company B's product. The sales person showed me the
control panel for the alarm system and the components inside. It
wasn't hard to see that the components were from a home alarm system
housed in a NEMA (sealed) enclosure to make it a "marine alarm
system". The siren looked like a child's toy. Looking at their siren
made me think that a siren that sounds the same as a car alarm siren
and doesn't differentiate between a high bilge water event and an
intrusion event provides much the same protection as the well-ignored
car alarm. Everyone just waits for it to reset and does nothing.

This $745.00 product did not include any high bilge water sensor, nor
was there any reference to it on Company B's website (although the
dealer did tell me that they could "hook one up"). Further
examination of www.CompanyB.com showed that their product line
included driveway alarms, home alarms, commercial alarms, alarm and
security equipment in general, and paging systems. Very obviously
this company was selling general alarm products and trying to sell a
few to the marine industry. At least give them credit for the NEMA
enclosure that the other companies selling home or car alarms for
boats didn't even bother with.

At this juncture I felt that the reason I hadn't seen many boat alarm
systems on mid size boats was because no such viable system existed.
As is usually the case I had wasted a lot of research time by only to
find that I had overlooked a truly viable product for my needs. I had
called Company A and only asked questions about impact/vibration/shock
sensors because of my decision to look hard at Company B's product.
So back to Company A with another phone call. After expressing my
dismay at the findings of my search the salesperson suggested that I
spend some time at their website. What I found (along with a writer's
profit motive) prompted me to write this article.

There is, indeed, at true marine alarm system. It wasn't designed to
track over-the-road trucks, or to protect your car, home, or business.
Marine Marketing (Company A) is a company that has spent over 20
years bringing innovative MARINE products to the boating population.
Their product, VoiceAlarm, is the result of Marine Marketing reaching
the same conclusion I did. Prior to the release of their product
earlier this year, there was no boat alarm system designed exclusively
for marine use. Virtually everything negative that I had encountered
with my search for a boat security system was right there in black and
white on the VoiceAlarm website (www.voicealarm.com) under a page
titled "Did You Know". This product was nearly two years in planning,
design, development, and testing with design criteria that included; a
true wish list of features, any imaginable optional equipment can be
easily connected to existing connections, U.S. manufacture of
sub-components, assembly in the U.S., no repair part cost more than
$50.00 (no other "marine alarm provider" offers repair), diagnosis and
repair accomplished in 30 minutes, and designed for owner
installation. Their slogan "The Only Marine Alarm System That Can't
Be Ignored" is an understatement.

At $499.95 for the basic system VoiceAlarm is a product that you
cannot outgrow, nor will it become obsolete. It was designed so that
each yacht owner can determine the level of protection he is
comfortable with and when that level of need increases the additional
equipment is simply "plug and play". With this company the emphasis
seems to be on high bilge water protection, which, as it was explained
to me, is the easy part of designing a marine alarm system. The
intrusion capabilities of VoiceAlarm are unlimited.

The basic system includes, as the name implies, a very loud speaker
system that has differential sounds for the type of alarm event
coupled with a voice message in the owner's recorded voice stating
(for example) the name of the boat, the location of the boat, the
exact nature of the alarm, and the action that persons hearing the
alarm should take such as calling the owner, neighbor, or dockmaster.
The high water alarm sound is called an industrial horn sound and is
similar to an industrial fire alarm sound. The intrusion sound is a
very high-pitched siren. Upon activation of the alarm the recorded
message and alarm sound are repeated a) until someone takes action, or
optionally b) until 30 minutes pass. The sound level is fully
adjustable from "off" to the loudest loudspeaker you have ever heard
(They even offer an option that will boost the 30 watts of speaker
power to an amazing 240 watts and claim the alarm will be heard
clearly for one mile). Also included are a key switch, RF (radio
frequency) Keyfob Transmitter to arm and disarm the system and control
cockpit lighting, a flashing LED to indicate the armed state of the
alarm, two protection stickers, cabin door magnetic sensor, and the
best installation manual and wiring diagram I have ever seen. The
installation manual has an abundance of photos and, for a pleasant
change, is written in English, not poorly translated into English.
Installation took my wife and I half a Saturday with no surprises or
confusing, contradictory instructions.

The philosophy behind VoiceAlarm stems from Marine Marketing's heavy
involvement in the marine industry in Latin America where one does not
find the proliferation of docks and marinas we have in the U.S. In
Latin America most yachts are kept at mooring buoys in protected
harbors a short distance to the landside facilities of major yacht
clubs. Since anyone that can swim could easily steal $10,000.00 worth
of electronics and a valuable yacht could sink without anyone knowing,
VoiceAlarm is designed to eliminate those possibilities by
broadcasting an alarm in a manner that can be easily heard and acted
upon by shore based personnel. Use of VoiceAlarm in the U.S. by
design will result in your neighbor calling you at work, or neighbors
at the marina contacting the dockmaster in the event of an alarm. In
the U.S. there are thousand of boats kept at mooring buoys that will
benefit in the same manner as our southern neighbors. In the case of
my neighbor who lost his Portofino, VoiceAlarm would have taken him
out of his chair long before his boat met the bottom and provided
ample time to take corrective measures.

Being on a "less than $1,000.00 budget" it was an easy decision to
include Marine Marketing's Cellular AutoDialer option to complete my
purchase. This $499.95 option was designed and is provided only by
Marine Marketing. It is incredible! Simply plug it into the basic
VoiceAlarm System, program up to 8 phone numbers that you wish to
provide alarm event notification, record your voice messages, get a
free cellular telephone from your local cellular service provider with
a $19.95 per month plan, and you have a fool proof method of
notification for any alarm event including high bilge water,
intrusion, loss of shore power, low ship's battery state, etc.
Although Marine Marketing doesn't recommend it, this option is so
reliable (and because my boat is docked right behind my home) I have
turned the volume of the audible speaker system off and rely sole on
the Cellular AutoDialer to notify me of an alarm event. I programmed
my home number to be dialed first, my cellular second, my wife's
cellular number, and then my next-door neighbor's phone number. If
there is an alarm event I can stop the sequence of phone calls by
entering a code in the telephone the Cellular AutoDialer reached me
at. If I am unreachable I am assured that the sequence of dialed
numbers will continue until a responsible person is reached and action
is taken to correct the problem.

Since my purchase and installation of VoiceAlarm three of my neighbors
have installed this product on their boats. So far it hasn't saved
anyone from a burglary or sinking, but it hasn't given any false
alarms either. The neighbor whose boat was broken into recently
installed much of the VoiceAlarm optional equipment, which has me
anxious to "keep up with the Jones'". Some of the remarkable "plug
and play" options are; a completely self-contained hidden GPS Locater
System, Extended Range RF Antenna which allows you to arm or disarm,
or control lighting from up to 1,600 feet from the boat, Low Ship's
Battery Sensor, Shore Power Loss Sensor, InfraRed Camera(s) hooked to
the ship's VCR recorder that automatically turn on the camera(s) and
VCR recorder during an intrusion alarm, Photoelectric Beam Sensor,
Pressure Sensitive Mats, an optional feature that allows you to
control the alarm and any equipment on your vessel (such as turning on
the air-conditioning) from any phone in the world, a 1.2Ghz Radio
Transmitter that can provide transmission of alarm notification and
video from on board cameras up to 3 miles, and much more. Each piece
of optional equipment is reported to have gone through extensive
testing, or was designed specifically to meet the high standards
required by Marine Marketing for use in the harsh marine environment.

Not only have I found a product that fulfills my current, and will
fulfill my future, needs, but also my neighbors and I have a lot of
earned faith and respect for the folks at Marine Marketing. Their
phone is always answered and so is every one of our questions. Marine
Marketing's website says that their employees are proud enough of the
product and their work that they sign every box, prior to shipping,
with the signature of the employee responsible for the assembly,
testing, and packaging of the product at their Florida facility. Sure
enough, the boxes arrive with a signature!

Mr. Curtis:

You really should disclose your relationship with the product/company
that you are advertising. Otherwise we tend to conclude you are just
one more spammer.


Domain Name: VOICEALARM.COM

Administrative Contact, Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
Agems, Inc.
Richard Curtis
Post Office Box 58031

Tierra Verde, FL 33715
US
727-864-9350
727-867-2983 [fax]



Eric

(Rick Curtis) wrote in message . com...
Essentials of a Marine Boat Alarm System

How To Avoid The Realization That Your Boat Insurance Company Isn't
Your Friend.

by Captain Dan Donaldson

Over the last couple of years it has been my awakening to have seen 3
boats sink in our 40 slip condo marina. As a boat owner, if you have
ever witnessed a boat sinking at the dock you know it will scare you
into action. In all three cases the boat floated fine with little or
no indication that momentarily it would find the bottom.

The last sinking was a 43' Wellcraft Portofino parked right behind its
owner's condo unit. I walked by the imminently doomed Wellcraft on my
way to the swimming pool and it half registered that the boat appeared
to be listing ever so slightly to starboard. Without giving it much
thought, as I walked by the boat it started gurgling and within 30
seconds it found its place on the muddy bottom with only the bow
exposed. I ran to the owner's condo and found the owner sitting in
his home office, not more than 50 feet from his boat, at his desk with
a full view of his nearly disappeared pride and joy.

The grim story was revealed when the boat was raised the next day.
Not unlike the previous two sinkings the Portofino had suffered
multiple undetected failures over time. One of the two bilge pumps
had a faulty float switch and the other had crimp connected wiring
that had corroded to the point that the pump wasn't receiving the
necessary voltage to make it run. When one of the 1¼" raw water inlet
hoses between the thru-hull fitting and the strainer gave way to
invisible deterioration the Portofino started filling with water. Of
course the owner had "recently" checked the operation of the bilge
pumps and "thought" he had told his mechanic to replace those hoses
when he replaced the belts and hoses on the engines.

At the local boatyard the Portofino sat for over 6 months while the
owner discovered his insurance company was not his friend, protector,
or remedy for his loss. The insurer commenced their investigation of
the claim by denying the claim altogether based on "neglect" on the
owner's part. The boat was surveyed and found to have damage
estimated at well over the market value of the boat. Estimates for
repairs and replacements verified that during his years of ownership
the value of his boat had declined but the cost of all of the damaged
components of the boat had increased. It's like buying a car from GM
for $30,000.00 and then getting a price of $200,000.00 for all of the
parts required to build the same car.

The insurance company placed the depreciated value of the boat and
it's contents at $70,000.00 of which they only wanted to pay
$30,000.00 because of the owner's "neglect". The estimated cost to
put the boat in same condition was over $100,000.00. The owner had
purchased the boat as a bank repossession for $55,000.00 and had
invested another $50,000.00 in the last two years in repairs and
improvements. The boat sat for another 6 months while the owner
commenced legal action against his insurance company. His lawyer
advised him that he couldn't sell the boat during the course of what
was estimated to be a "protracted" legal battle. After a year of
paying several hundred dollars a month for storage of the rapidly
deteriorating Portofino and faced with "years" of legal bills the
owner decided to settle with his friendly insurer for $45,000.00. A
whopping loss of over $70,000.00 including storage, out of pocket
expenses, and legal fees! Like Boat U.S. (one of the largest marine
insurers in the United States) says, "your insurance policy is your
last line of defense".

My research uncovered the fact that vessel sinkings are the single
largest recreational boating loss in the United States. According to
an article entitled "How to Keep Your Boat From Sinking"
(http://www.yachtsurvey.com/sinking.htm) by David M. Pascoe, a widely
respected marine surveyor, "Tens of thousands of boats of all types
and sizes sink every year, most of them at their dock." And according
to Captain Scott Thompson of Ocean Marine Services in his article "Why
Do Boats Sink" (http://www.oceanmarineservices.com/w...boats_sink.htm),
"If you were to consider a hole as small as 2" in diameter, the size
of most fathometer transducers, 3' below the waterline the flow rate
into the boat would be136.1 gallons per minute or 7,896 gallons per
hour! A boat equipped with three 2,000 gallon per hour bilge pumps
would sink! Now if this vessel is equipped with a bilge alarm, it
would be able to warn those on board (or ashore) of a problem and give
them precious time to find and plug the a hole that may have otherwise
gone unnoticed until it was too late." Key word "alarm"!

Even though I am a maintenance "nut", that third sinking and the
results of my research convinced me to seriously look into a marine
alarm system that would prevent this phenomenon from occurring to my
39' SeaRay. More research on the Internet found that Boat U.S. had
compiled statistics showing that 4 out of every 5 sinkings (80%) occur
at the dock. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources states
that over 11,000 boats are stolen in the United States each year and
Cole Hughes, of the Oregon Marine Board's Law Enforcement Program says
"The national boat theft recovery rate averages 10 to 15 percent".
These dismal facts, the Boat U.S. statement that they consider your
boat insurance to be your "last line of defense", plus a break-in and
theft aboard another boat in our small marina propelled me into action
at a faster clip. The Internet revealed a myriad of companies selling
boat alarms but when the foreign companies without real representation
in the U.S. were eliminated there only remained about 12 products that
justified further investigation. With a good layman's understanding
of electronics and the security industry in general I started to
examine the offerings of those 12 boat alarm systems.

Quickly I found that most of the "boat alarm systems" available at the
low end of the price spectrum ($99.00 to $399.00) are nothing more
than home alarms and car alarms being marketed as "boat alarms".
Nothing more needs to be said regarding the use in a boat of such a
system designed for dry land and a non-salt water environment. These
systems are marketed to unsuspecting boat owners who are looking for
low price without consideration for reliability and durability.
Speaking to yacht owners who had mistakenly installed these systems
revealed a virtually unanimous chorus of stories of complete system
failures that almost always coincided with the end of the products
warranty to stories of false alarms that occurred so frequently that
no one paid attention to the siren because they knew it would
automatically reset in one minute.

The other end of the price extreme ($1,000.00 to $12,000.00) was
equally interesting because each system required an expensive monthly
"monitoring" fee based on "plans" that would allow me to turn on my
air-conditioning via satellite and monitor the movement of my vessel
anywhere in the world. As the owner of a 39' SeaRay I don't need to
do anything more that look out of the cockpit window or at my
chartplotter to tell where my boat is. The initial expense and
commitment to continuously and escalating monthly fees render these
products beneficial only to larger chartered or commercial vessels. I
was equally surprised to find that these products were manufactured in
the same Chinese suburb as the low end products which gives pause to
the possibility of replacing a much more expensive unit upon failure
after the typical one year warranty period.

For the average boater this left only a handful of companies offering
marine security systems in the price range of $400.00 to $1,000.00.
Unfortunately, I eliminated all but two based on a total inability to
contact several of the companies. One company's phone was
disconnected, two had only answering machines no matter what time of
day, or day of week, I attempted to contact them. Only one of four
companies responded to the message I left on their answering machine
within a week. Figuring that it would be a chore to get any type of
support on their products they were not considered as a viable source
for my purchase.

The serious comparison began with trying to get an understanding of
the intent of a boat alarms and how that related to what I considered
to be the average boaters needs. One company in this price range
offered a system that consisted of nothing more than a motion detector
that was supposed to be mounted in the cockpit. Imagine the false
alarms from canvas, birds, or even blowing paper. Many of the
mid-range priced systems relied on arming and disarming the system
from inside the cabin of a boat and gave a two minute delay for the
owner to get on and off the boat after disarming or arming the alarm.
Any drunk thief could remove my new Furuno
Radar/ChartPlotter/FishFinder and be long gone in less than the two
minutes before the alarm went off. Interestingly, most of the
companies websites did not even mention high bilge water protection.
The more companies I researched the more it became clear that they
were selling home and car alarms for boats. I also started to note
that many of these companies only accepted money orders and would not
accept credit cards. I surmise this to be the result of many
customers wanting to return systems that didn't function on a boat.
If you pay by credit card you can always have your bank credit the
charge for defective merchandise. If you pay by cash or money order,
you're stuck!

The search was rapidly narrowing to two remaining companies from an
initial field of over 20. At this point I had determined that false
alarms are death to the desired effect of an alarm system and that
most companies selling "boat alarms" had no clue as to the particular
requirements of a marine alarm system. Only one company (Company A)
did not recommend any type of impact/vibration/shock sensor or motion
sensors based on the high likelihood of false alarms from everything
including high winds causing a boat to stretch the mooring lines
enough to allow an impact with the dock or piling to a pelican landing
on the cockpit floor (or dropping a fish from 50 feet above). The
other contender's (Company B) system revolved around an impact sensor
(by another name) that had "never" given a false alarm. As proof the
owner of Company B offered the name of a local marine electronics
company as a reference. Since they were close by I visited them
expecting a glowing report on the reliability of Company B's product.

The sales person, without prodding, indicated that they had installed
only a few of Company B's products and were currently involved with an
angry yacht owner over configuration issues and false alarms. Plainly
put, they couldn't get the alarm to function correctly. Seems that
being an old, reputable local provider of electronics and service had
them in a position where they were losing money by installing and
representing Company B's product. The sales person showed me the
control panel for the alarm system and the components inside. It
wasn't hard to see that the components were from a home alarm system
housed in a NEMA (sealed) enclosure to make it a "marine alarm
system". The siren looked like a child's toy. Looking at their siren
made me think that a siren that sounds the same as a car alarm siren
and doesn't differentiate between a high bilge water event and an
intrusion event provides much the same protection as the well-ignored
car alarm. Everyone just waits for it to reset and does nothing.

This $745.00 product did not include any high bilge water sensor, nor
was there any reference to it on Company B's website (although the
dealer did tell me that they could "hook one up"). Further
examination of www.CompanyB.com showed that their product line
included driveway alarms, home alarms, commercial alarms, alarm and
security equipment in general, and paging systems. Very obviously
this company was selling general alarm products and trying to sell a
few to the marine industry. At least give them credit for the NEMA
enclosure that the other companies selling home or car alarms for
boats didn't even bother with.

At this juncture I felt that the reason I hadn't seen many boat alarm
systems on mid size boats was because no such viable system existed.
As is usually the case I had wasted a lot of research time by only to
find that I had overlooked a truly viable product for my needs. I had
called Company A and only asked questions about impact/vibration/shock
sensors because of my decision to look hard at Company B's product.
So back to Company A with another phone call. After expressing my
dismay at the findings of my search the salesperson suggested that I
spend some time at their website. What I found (along with a writer's
profit motive) prompted me to write this article.

There is, indeed, at true marine alarm system. It wasn't designed to
track over-the-road trucks, or to protect your car, home, or business.
Marine Marketing (Company A) is a company that has spent over 20
years bringing innovative MARINE products to the boating population.
Their product, VoiceAlarm, is the result of Marine Marketing reaching
the same conclusion I did. Prior to the release of their product
earlier this year, there was no boat alarm system designed exclusively
for marine use. Virtually everything negative that I had encountered
with my search for a boat security system was right there in black and
white on the VoiceAlarm website (www.voicealarm.com) under a page
titled "Did You Know". This product was nearly two years in planning,
design, development, and testing with design criteria that included; a
true wish list of features, any imaginable optional equipment can be
easily connected to existing connections, U.S. manufacture of
sub-components, assembly in the U.S., no repair part cost more than
$50.00 (no other "marine alarm provider" offers repair), diagnosis and
repair accomplished in 30 minutes, and designed for owner
installation. Their slogan "The Only Marine Alarm System That Can't
Be Ignored" is an understatement.

At $499.95 for the basic system VoiceAlarm is a product that you
cannot outgrow, nor will it become obsolete. It was designed so that
each yacht owner can determine the level of protection he is
comfortable with and when that level of need increases the additional
equipment is simply "plug and play". With this company the emphasis
seems to be on high bilge water protection, which, as it was explained
to me, is the easy part of designing a marine alarm system. The
intrusion capabilities of VoiceAlarm are unlimited.

The basic system includes, as the name implies, a very loud speaker
system that has differential sounds for the type of alarm event
coupled with a voice message in the owner's recorded voice stating
(for example) the name of the boat, the location of the boat, the
exact nature of the alarm, and the action that persons hearing the
alarm should take such as calling the owner, neighbor, or dockmaster.
The high water alarm sound is called an industrial horn sound and is
similar to an industrial fire alarm sound. The intrusion sound is a
very high-pitched siren. Upon activation of the alarm the recorded
message and alarm sound are repeated a) until someone takes action, or
optionally b) until 30 minutes pass. The sound level is fully
adjustable from "off" to the loudest loudspeaker you have ever heard
(They even offer an option that will boost the 30 watts of speaker
power to an amazing 240 watts and claim the alarm will be heard
clearly for one mile). Also included are a key switch, RF (radio
frequency) Keyfob Transmitter to arm and disarm the system and control
cockpit lighting, a flashing LED to indicate the armed state of the
alarm, two protection stickers, cabin door magnetic sensor, and the
best installation manual and wiring diagram I have ever seen. The
installation manual has an abundance of photos and, for a pleasant
change, is written in English, not poorly translated into English.
Installation took my wife and I half a Saturday with no surprises or
confusing, contradictory instructions.

The philosophy behind VoiceAlarm stems from Marine Marketing's heavy
involvement in the marine industry in Latin America where one does not
find the proliferation of docks and marinas we have in the U.S. In
Latin America most yachts are kept at mooring buoys in protected
harbors a short distance to the landside facilities of major yacht
clubs. Since anyone that can swim could easily steal $10,000.00 worth
of electronics and a valuable yacht could sink without anyone knowing,
VoiceAlarm is designed to eliminate those possibilities by
broadcasting an alarm in a manner that can be easily heard and acted
upon by shore based personnel. Use of VoiceAlarm in the U.S. by
design will result in your neighbor calling you at work, or neighbors
at the marina contacting the dockmaster in the event of an alarm. In
the U.S. there are thousand of boats kept at mooring buoys that will
benefit in the same manner as our southern neighbors. In the case of
my neighbor who lost his Portofino, VoiceAlarm would have taken him
out of his chair long before his boat met the bottom and provided
ample time to take corrective measures.

Being on a "less than $1,000.00 budget" it was an easy decision to
include Marine Marketing's Cellular AutoDialer option to complete my
purchase. This $499.95 option was designed and is provided only by
Marine Marketing. It is incredible! Simply plug it into the basic
VoiceAlarm System, program up to 8 phone numbers that you wish to
provide alarm event notification, record your voice messages, get a
free cellular telephone from your local cellular service provider with
a $19.95 per month plan, and you have a fool proof method of
notification for any alarm event including high bilge water,
intrusion, loss of shore power, low ship's battery state, etc.
Although Marine Marketing doesn't recommend it, this option is so
reliable (and because my boat is docked right behind my home) I have
turned the volume of the audible speaker system off and rely sole on
the Cellular AutoDialer to notify me of an alarm event. I programmed
my home number to be dialed first, my cellular second, my wife's
cellular number, and then my next-door neighbor's phone number. If
there is an alarm event I can stop the sequence of phone calls by
entering a code in the telephone the Cellular AutoDialer reached me
at. If I am unreachable I am assured that the sequence of dialed
numbers will continue until a responsible person is reached and action
is taken to correct the problem.

Since my purchase and installation of VoiceAlarm three of my neighbors
have installed this product on their boats. So far it hasn't saved
anyone from a burglary or sinking, but it hasn't given any false
alarms either. The neighbor whose boat was broken into recently
installed much of the VoiceAlarm optional equipment, which has me
anxious to "keep up with the Jones'". Some of the remarkable "plug
and play" options are; a completely self-contained hidden GPS Locater
System, Extended Range RF Antenna which allows you to arm or disarm,
or control lighting from up to 1,600 feet from the boat, Low Ship's
Battery Sensor, Shore Power Loss Sensor, InfraRed Camera(s) hooked to
the ship's VCR recorder that automatically turn on the camera(s) and
VCR recorder during an intrusion alarm, Photoelectric Beam Sensor,
Pressure Sensitive Mats, an optional feature that allows you to
control the alarm and any equipment on your vessel (such as turning on
the air-conditioning) from any phone in the world, a 1.2Ghz Radio
Transmitter that can provide transmission of alarm notification and
video from on board cameras up to 3 miles, and much more. Each piece
of optional equipment is reported to have gone through extensive
testing, or was designed specifically to meet the high standards
required by Marine Marketing for use in the harsh marine environment.

Not only have I found a product that fulfills my current, and will
fulfill my future, needs, but also my neighbors and I have a lot of
earned faith and respect for the folks at Marine Marketing. Their
phone is always answered and so is every one of our questions. Marine
Marketing's website says that their employees are proud enough of the
product and their work that they sign every box, prior to shipping,
with the signature of the employee responsible for the assembly,
testing, and packaging of the product at their Florida facility. Sure
enough, the boxes arrive with a signature!

Subject: Essentials of a Marine Boat Alarm System
From: (Rick Curtis)

Not only have I found a product that fulfills my current, and will
fulfill my future, needs, but also my neighbors and I have a lot of
earned faith and respect for the folks at Marine Marketing. Their
phone is always answered and so is every one of our questions. Marine
Marketing's website says that their employees are proud enough of the
product and their work that they sign every box, prior to shipping,
with the signature of the employee responsible for the assembly,
testing, and packaging of the product at their Florida facility. Sure
enough, the boxes arrive with a signature!


They are pieces of garbage, signature or not. Mine crapped out after a month.

Savvy Sailor

Subject: Essentials of a Marine Boat Alarm System
From: (Rick Curtis)

I have a lot of
earned faith and respect for the folks at Marine Marketing.

I'm not surprised you have faith, after all your entire post is an advert
for the company you work for.
In other words it's SPAM, SPAM and nothing but SPAM.

Boats sinking because a hose failed whilst at the dock, wouldn't happen if
the owner closed the sea cocks.
My boat is never left without me first closing all sea cocks, which includes
the 3" at the exhaust outlet.

"Figment" wrote
My boat is never left without me first closing all sea cocks, which
includes
the 3" at the exhaust outlet.

Jeeze, sounds like a poor design. My exhaust outlet is a foot out of the
water then the hose is routed up under the gunwale to provide a trap. The
deck would have to be awash before water got past it and then where would it
go? Back thru the engine cooling system to a seacock that is below water
but kept closed unless the motor is running?

Marine Marketing is very proud of a zero failure rate with VoiceAlarm
after 3 years of testing and sales. Zero failure rate means not even
a failed sensor to date. The VoiceAlarm system is "rock solid". The
fact that an anonymous moron can post here to the contrary is an
insult to the intelligence of those reading this thread. Only a child
with a computer would make such a claim of a failure after one month
when the VoiceAlarm product line has a full year warranty. Of
hundreds of VoiceAlarm systems sold world-wide there has never been a
warranty claim.

PlaynTravel (aka Savvy Sailor) should read up on the costs of
defending against a libel action. Maybe he doesn't understand that an
easily obtainable legal document forces AOL to remove his anonymity.

Rick Curtis
Marine Marketing



(PlaynTravel) wrote in message ...
Subject: Essentials of a Marine Boat Alarm System
From: (Rick Curtis)

Not only have I found a product that fulfills my current, and will
fulfill my future, needs, but also my neighbors and I have a lot of
earned faith and respect for the folks at Marine Marketing. Their
phone is always answered and so is every one of our questions. Marine
Marketing's website says that their employees are proud enough of the
product and their work that they sign every box, prior to shipping,
with the signature of the employee responsible for the assembly,
testing, and packaging of the product at their Florida facility. Sure
enough, the boxes arrive with a signature!


They are pieces of garbage, signature or not. Mine crapped out after a month.

Savvy Sailor

Subject: Essentials of a Marine Boat Alarm System
From: (Rick Curtis)
Date: 2/8/2004 3:53 PM Pacific Standard Time
Message-id:

Marine Marketing is very proud of a zero failure rate with VoiceAlarm
after 3 years of testing and sales. Zero failure rate means not even
a failed sensor to date. The VoiceAlarm system is "rock solid". The
fact that an anonymous moron can post here to the contrary is an
insult to the intelligence of those reading this thread. Only a child
with a computer would make such a claim of a failure after one month
when the VoiceAlarm product line has a full year warranty. Of
hundreds of VoiceAlarm systems sold world-wide there has never been a
warranty claim.

PlaynTravel (aka Savvy Sailor) should read up on the costs of
defending against a libel action. Maybe he doesn't understand that an
easily obtainable legal document forces AOL to remove his anonymity.

Rick Curtis
Marine Marketing



(PlaynTravel) wrote in message
...
Subject: Essentials of a Marine Boat Alarm System
From: (Rick Curtis)

Not only have I found a product that fulfills my current, and will
fulfill my future, needs, but also my neighbors and I have a lot of
earned faith and respect for the folks at Marine Marketing. Their
phone is always answered and so is every one of our questions. Marine
Marketing's website says that their employees are proud enough of the
product and their work that they sign every box, prior to shipping,
with the signature of the employee responsible for the assembly,
testing, and packaging of the product at their Florida facility. Sure
enough, the boxes arrive with a signature!


They are pieces of garbage, signature or not. Mine crapped out after a
month.

Savvy Sailor

In my opinion any company that has to stoop to using the newsgroups for free
advertising is spamming. It is also my opinion that any company that sells
itself as a marketing firm and then presents a negative image of the client by
spamming newsgroups is a lousy marketing company. It is also my opinion that
the company that would hire such a company to do their marketing has no idea
what spamming usenet users will do to the reputation of their product.

Arrrgh we'll pay em with the mainsheet

Savvy Sailor

Boy, threatening a usenet poster sure is a great marketing tactic! Go ahead,
sue us all...
In the meantime, stop SPAMMING!

--


Keith
__
One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor.
"Rick Curtis" wrote in message
om...
Marine Marketing is very proud of nothing

PlaynTravel (aka Savvy Sailor) should read up on the costs of
defending against a libel action. Maybe he doesn't understand that an
easily obtainable legal document forces AOL to remove his anonymity.

Rick Curtis
Marine Marketing




They are pieces of garbage, signature or not. Mine crapped out after a
month.

Savvy Sailor