Heavy Duty Marine Hinges and Shackles
It might sound like an after thought when discussing the purchase of a boat or other water craft, but don’t discount the importance of purchasing a heavy duty marine hinge for your boat.heavy duty marine hinge In the long run, if the door or hull of a boat were to sag in any way, not only would the integrity of your craft be compromised but also the safety of those on board could be in jeopardy. When one of these things happens, whether you’re using a sailboat, power boat, bass boat, cutter, yacht or anything else, you want to be sure the door or hull is stable and in place. How is this accomplished?
Heavy duty hinges and Shackles have been around for quite some time.In fact, these items are as important to our everyday lives as seatbelts and harnesses are to those who drive commercial vehicles. Consider this; if one half of your boat were to splay out, there is a good chance that there might be some tension on the pin, (like what causes a bind in a harness). More likely than not, the stress would not only cause the pin to break, but it would also cause the chain to become misaligned leading to further stress on the chain and pin.
Think about this… with the proper buckles and straps in place, how much upward pressure can be placed on the chain and/or pin? Let’s put it this way… even with the best installed seatbelts, the chances of your passengers being ejected from their seats due to sheer momentum and weight is extremely low. However, if the harness was misaligned or the seat belts were improperly installed, the chances are much higher. Think about it… if one half the equation is flawed, all of that potential safety flaw could go into the equation and raise the chances of your vessel being misaligned, buckled or caught upside down!
Now back to the original question – what makes a good, high quality Hinge/Buckle combination? Well, in many cases it comes down to the material being used in manufacturing. In the case of stainless steel, carbon steel and aluminium all make great Hinge/Buckle combinations. When looking at the different materials consider where they are most likely to be exposed to the sea water. If you are on a river or creek and need to support a boat under high flood waters, then most probably carbon steel is the best option.
Let’s think about this… where is a boat going to be exposed to the most upward pressure? In most cases it will be directly underneath the engine. Now consider this… when selecting a suitable seatbelt for use in your vehicle, you select the best possible material based upon your exposure to the most potential damage. So when looking at boat seats, consider using a material that is the most capable of withstanding upwards to and beyond the sheer force of a fast changing ocean swell. The same holds true when selecting a suitable Hinge for use with a boat. It should be strong enough to support the biggest downswing that you can get before buckling.
There was one issue I couldn’t quite find an answer to – where is a boat going to be placed when selecting the correct Hinge and Brace? Well, now the answer to this question is simple. Many ships have been outfitted with stainless steel tie downs that do exactly what we described above, provide high upfiture support, but are mounted on either side of the Boat so that the ship is securely in place when on top of it. Hiever can offer custom designed Stainless Steel Hinge and Brace combinations that include tie downs and shackles that will meet all your needs, requirements and of course price ranges.
