The sport of sailing, and particularly the pursuit of voyaging, is a technologically intensive enterprise, and every year new products emerge in the marine market. At Ocean Navigator, we have a way of tracking this phenomenon: via the Chuck Husick Marine Technology Award.
The Husick Award is named in honor of the late Ocean Navigator contributing editor Chuck Husick, who was a writer, photographer and, above all, a technologist. The Husick Award recognizes valuable advances in marine technology for voyagers.
In previous years, winners have included the Furuno DRS4D-NXT UHD Doppler radar, Icom’s M506 radio, the Green Laser Flare from Greatland Laser and Navionics mobile charts. All of these winners, along with the many other products nominated by our team of knowledgeable and experienced judges, have made contributions in advancing the technology of voyaging and made voyaging easier, safer or both.
This year, after a round of nominations and voting, our judges (Lawrence Husick, marine writer and son of Chuck; Ben Ellison, marine electronics expert and owner of Panbo.com; Ellen Massey Leonard, writer and voyaging sailor; Paul Exner, voyaging instructor at Modern Geographic; Jeff Merrill, writer and trawler expert; Steve D’Antonio, writer, photographer and marine systems expert; Roger Hellyar Brook, marine systems expert; Alex Agnew, voyager and publisher of Ocean Navigator; and Tim Queeney, editor of ON) have named a new winner.
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With the need to recharge hand-held devices on deck, the Scanstrut SC-USB-02 ROKK Charge+ waterproof USB socket is a timely solution. |
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Courtesy Scanstrut |
The 2017 Chuck Husick Award goes to Scanstrut’s SC-USB-02 ROKK Charge+ waterproof USB socket.
As smartphones and tablets proliferate on board, the need for a charging station to keep them topped up is obvious. And while a charging fixture belowdecks is helpful, what about charging while on deck and the unit is being used in the cockpit? And if it’s going to be in the cockpit, it better be waterproof. The ROKK Charge+ checks all those boxes.
According to Scanstrut, it works with any USB type A connector and you can charge two devices at once. It has a click-and-lock lid and is IPX6 waterproof with the cover closed. It also reportedly charges as much as three times faster than a standard USB socket. The unit has a 316-grade stainless steel hinge and spring and has an anti-snag cover that aligns the cables when the cover is closed.
This is a truly useful and timely product in the days of hand-held devices on board.
