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| Just how small is a nanometer? |
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A nanometer doesn’t sound like much, but just exactly how small is it? About 1/75,000th of a human hair, which is also about the width of a strand of DNA. But, since when did we boaters and fishers care anyway? Since now, because there are a couple of products on the market that are engineered on the level of nanometers, and they’ll help both you and your boat look shiny and new.
Eagle Eye
Eagle One has a line of cleaners and waxes which were developed for automobiles, but turn out to work well for boats, too. The science behind them is the use of particles the size of a nanometer, which can fill in minute scratches and imperfections, leaving your boat’s surfaces with a better-looking finish. At least, that’s what the Eagle One marketing guys say. Yeah, it sounds cool… but does nanotechnology really work any better then traditional cleaners?
To find out, I started by treating my boat’s vinyl seats, cushions, and coaming bolsters with the Nano-Protectant for Vinyl and Leather. Two coats and lots of rubbing didn’t remove the mildew stains which had been present for a couple of years, but it did leave a slickery surface that looked good and beaded water. Was it any better then the old stand-by, Nu-Vinyl? So far as I could tell, they work about the same.
Next, I hit my aluminum rails and T-top supports with Nano-Polish for Metal. It did a good job of shining and didn’t leave a slippery coating—the downfall to waxing aluminum pipework. So score one for nanotechnology, when it comes to metal maintenance.
Finally, I hit my fiberglass helm and center console with Nanowax. This stuff is thin and very watery, and doesn’t create the thick paste layer we usually associate with wax. Instead, it’s a spray-on, wipe-off coating, which is a breeze to apply and doesn’t require buffing. It did leave a shine that was well above the norm, and a finish so slick that once I treated the dash the bottle kept sliding off of it. The down-side? It didn’t take up dirt like regular wax does. So you’ll probably want to keep using wax for your big initial spring cleaning, then during the rest of the season apply a coat of nanos after wash-downs, to boost your gel coat’s glimmer factor. You can check out all of this stuff and/or buy it over the web at www.eagleone.com; prices vary by product and size, but they’re about average for car and boat care products.
Tex-Mess
Chum stains are responsible for the ruination of 99.8-percent of the clothing owned by hard-core saltwater fishermen, according to a recent scientific study by the ACA (the Academy of Clothed Anglers, a non-political non-denominational think-tank consisting of my wife and my mom). Once ground menhaden touches cotton, it’s all over—unless you have clothes treated with Nano-Tex. Wives and moms everywhere will love this stuff – it actually works!
When I first heard about Nano-Tex I was sure it was a crock. The company said that through molecular engineering, Nano-Tex transforms fibers and creates fabric with “applied nano-technology,” which repels stains. (You can read their spiel at www.nano-tex.com .) Even stains like fish blood. Hah! This would be an easy one to disprove, I figured. I put on a shirt and a pair of Khakis that had been treated with Nano-Tex, and wore them on a fishing trip with the family. After we chummed up a cooler full of tasty stripers, I put down my rod and stepped up onto the bowdeck.
“Kids,” I said, “this will be the one and only time in your lives you’ll be allowed to throw chum at someone – me. Everyone get two handfuls out of the chum bucket, and toss away.”
Splat! Chum slammed into my chest. Gloop! Ground menhaden hit me below the belt. Plop! Hey – no aiming at the head.
After target practice was over I took off the shirt and pants, rolled them into a ball (without shaking off the excess chum,) and stuffed them into the empty chum bucket. Then I let it bake in the sun for the rest of the afternoon.
The next day I ran them through the wash, and miracle of miracles, there was only one pea-sized discoloration visible on any of the clothing. I was truly astonished; life may never be the same. There is one disadvantage to using Nano-Tex clothing: according to the tag you can’t run it through the drier with fabric softener. But that’s a small price to pay. Nano-small, in fact.
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