STILL A FEW SEATS FOR NSBA’S MARINE INDUSTRY CONFERENCE 2013

There are still a few seats available for the NSBA Marine Industry Conference this week at the Lord Nelson Hotel in downtown Halifax. The sessions run on March 7th and 8th, 2013.

Five internationally-renown speakers – all of whom were featured at the recent IBEX 2012 – will be talking on topics ranging from new and emerging marine electrical technologies to the design and construction of lightweight plywood boats.

Program outline:
Thursday, March 7th from 7pm – 10pm    Evening Industry Reception at Lord Nelson Hotel and Suites
Mingle and meet with industry professionals and enthusiasts, including Derek Hatfield – world-renown Canadian around-the-world sailor – conference seminar speakers, boatbuilders, designers, surveyors, marine suppliers, boaters, and regulators. Live music, light food and cash bar.

Friday, March 8th starting at 9:30 am           
Registration and 10am – 5pm, the Marine Industry Conference
Hotel: NSBA has secured a special rate at the Lord Nelson Hotel and Suites for people attending the conference. The rate is $119 / night plus applicable taxes. Parking is an additional $20.

Just tell them you’re attending the NS Boatbuilders Association conference for the rate.

Speakers and times:
10:15 am – 11:15 am
Nigel Calder
Calder Enterprises, ME
Emerging Technologies which will Revolutionize Boat Electrical Systems
In this seminar, we’ll take a look at the core components of emerging technologies: high charge rate batteries, very powerful and efficient brushless permanent magnet DC charging devices and/or synchronizing inverters with AC generators, and mechanisms to achieve battery conditioning cycles without extended engine run time (which is chronically inefficient).  

These methods include shore power, solar, and fuel cells. Nigel Calder is widely acknowledged as the world’s foremost writer on boat systems maintenance. A diesel mechanic for more than 25 years, he has been a boatbuilder, cabinetmaker and machinist and recently the technical director of the EU’s Hybrid Marine (HYMAR) project.

11:25 am – 12:25 pm
Dudley Dix
Dudley Dix Yacht Design, FL
Designing for Strength in Lightweight Plywood Boats
Improved adhesives and sound engineering have prompted builders to create new, innovative structures with wood. Here, we’ll offer several case studies of builders who have taken advantage of a toughened adhesive, the correct wood species, good engineering, and the proper assembly to build unconventional laminations that have performed very well in service. We’ll also feature a number of innovative designs for plywood boats that are lightweight and easy to build while also proving to be strong and durable. Join us to learn about the design methods and detailing applied to these boats, which range from planing dinghies to ocean cruisers and racers.
Dudley Dix has been designing and building lightweight plywood boats for over 30 years. Originally from South Africa and now living in Florida, Dudley has crossed the South Atlantic three times and sailed many thousands of coastal miles racing and cruising – all on plywood boats he designed and built. His designs appeal to both professional and home builders of boats.

12:25 pm – 1:25 pm
Lunch

1:25 pm – 2:25 pm
David Veech
Institute for Lean Systems, KY
Lean Thinking for Increasing Efficiency and Productivity
This seminar will change the way you see your company. Most likely, you associate ‘lean’ production only with manufacturing and believe it to be a highly standardized method, best employed in high-volume, low-variety plants. In this workshop, you’ll learn that lean thinking really comes down to focus, and that same focus is your key to increasing efficiency and productivity, while also triggering innovation and inspiring creativity in every function of your organization – including your supply chain. We’ll provide you with specific tools and techniques that will help when you develop your resources. We’ll offer case studies to show how the results of thinking have already been positive for large businesses as well as very low-volume, custom boat and yacht builders.
David Veech is co-founder and Executive Director of the Institute for Lean Systems based in Louisville, Kentucky. After 18 years in the US Army, David started his career teaching lean thinking to help create more effective working organizations in a variety of industries including boatbuilding. In 2011, David co-authored a book entitled “The C4 Process: Four Vital Steps to Better Work”.

2:35 pm – 3:35 pm
Dave Morschhauser
Mystic Valley Communications, CT
Proper Design & Installation of NMEA 2000
NMEA 2000 may seem ubiquitous, but some misconceptions and misunderstandings about proper design and installation remain. With its standardized cable and connectors, NMEA 2000 is robust and reliable, but improper design and installation can cause network problems. In
this seminar, we’ll aim to answer all of your technical and troubleshooting questions about NMEA 2000. You’ll learn how to measure for proper cable length and size and voltage drops, and ensure there’s enough power on the NMEA 2000 bus. We’ll also explain parameter group numbers, as well as what must be done for a product to be certified NMEA 2000. We’ll direct you to readily available products that make integration simple.
Dave Morschhauser is an independent consultant and founder of Mystic Valley Communications LLC – a company specializing in the development of maritime and business communication networks and devices, with particular focus on the NMEA 2000® networking standard.

3:45 pm – 4:45 pm
Andre Cocquyt
The GRPguru, ME
Clean Shop is a Smart Shop
With the average age of boatbuilding workforce hovering around 50, boatbuilding companies have to do more to make boatbuilding more attractive to young tradespeople to produce the next generation of boatbuilders. So what can we do? A big, yet relatively easy thing to do is to keep a cleaner shop – yes, even for those building boats in composites! This seminar will explain practical steps to take which will result in a cleaner shop, reduced waste and an improved working environment. You’ll learn how all these spin-offs will benefit your business and improve your bottom line.
Andre Cocquyt has been a leader in the marine composites industry for over 30 years. His experience includes serial production of North Sea fishing boats, one-off construction of racing boats such as the 85' Cote d’Or for the Whitbread-round-the-world-race, the 73' Desperado for the SORC, and several multi-hulls for the offshore racing circuits. Andre is a frequent speaker at the American Composites Manufacturing Association, IBEX and SAMPE composites industry conventions, and writes occasional articles for Professional Boat Builder magazine.

Registration Information:
NSBA Members – $135 + HST ($155.25)
– includes lunch and breaks
Non-NSBA Members – $235 + HST ($270.25)
– includes lunch and breaks

To learn more visit:   www.nsboats.com/marine-industry-conference-2013