Con-Tech is a leader in boat strainers, scuppers, and cockpit drains, custom manufactured by suppliers in China, Taiwan, India or elsewhere, many of whom are ISO certified. Con-Tech customers using outside water to cool their boat engines need our metal boat strainers covering their scupper and cockpit drains to prevent grass and other solids from reaching their pumps.
Con-Tech supplies rectangular scoop, scoop and round boat strainers in different sizes with either stainless steel or brass screens. We can also supply a variety of cockpit drain scuppers and other similar items from castings in both stainless steel and bronze.
High-grade stainless steel marine hardware is preferred in many applications as it may last more than 1000 years. Con-Tech’s stainless steel marine hardware is highly resistant to rust and less likely less to corrode in saline conditions. Our stainless steel marine hardware benefits from the properties of stainless steel which is used in marine and shipbuilding as well as innumerable other applications and industries.
Covid 19 increased marine hardware sales and the post-pandemic effects have been equally strong. According to the National Marine Manufacturers Association, sales of all marine products and services including boats rose to 13-year high in 2020 to $47 billion, increasing 9% from the prior year. The boating industry has touted data showing that new powerboat sales are strong, along with sales of pontoon boats, wake sport boats, and jet boats.
The trend has shown enormous potential for the future as first-time buyers are entering the market in record numbers increasing wait times and straining dealer inventories. The EU and U.S. reached an interim agreement in 2021 that prevents the doubling of tariffs on U.S. boats and engines – which also offered encouraging news for marine manufacturers.
As an iron-containing alloy—a substance made up of two or more chemical elements—it is stain and rust resistant with more than 57 stainless steels recognized as standard alloys, in addition to many proprietary alloys produced by different stainless steel producers.
The Importance of Brass Marine Hardware
Many underwater applications favor brass marine hardware and its alloys in saline, high-pressure marine environments. Brass marine hardware is the ideal material for boat fittings due to its durability and strength as well as its’ rust and corrosion resistance features. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc that is prized for its many valuable properties which vary depending on the copper-zinc ratio. In general, all brasses are valued for their machinability or the ease with which the metal can be formed into desired shapes and forms while retaining high strength. While there are differences between brasses with high and low zinc contents, all brasses are considered malleable and ductile.
Bronze marine hardware has superior resistance to ammonia stress corrosion cracking compared with brass. On the whole, the higher the tin content, the higher the seawater corrosion resistance. When properly manufactured, bronze tends to corrode evenly and has little tendency to pit. Thus, bronze is used for marine hardware like cockpit drain scuppers, as well as propellers, submerged bearings, springs, bearings, gears, and fasteners.
The Con-Tech Difference
Whatever your needs for boat strainers, scuppers and cockpit drains, Con-Tech can accurately and quickly quote your job and provide you with a manufacturing plan. What makes Con-Tech different than others is our attention to detail and our knowledge of your industry. We are tenacious and thrifty and we use our expertise to stay with you every step of the process. And Con-Tech works exclusively with foundries and fabrication shops to ensure you get the consistent, high-performance products you need.
Each boat strainer, scupper and cockpit drain project begins with Con-Tech listening to your manufacturing needs and product specifications. Then you send us a drawing, a specification or the actual product you need and we will take it from there. We convey the specifications for your boat strainer, scupper and cockpit drain to the right manufacturer for your unique application. And Con-Tech will stay with you every step of the way from design, prototype, production and import to delivery.
Choosing the right hardware is always a key element of boat safety. If the right choices are not made at the time marine hardware is selected, marine hardware may be severely compromised when exposed to marine environments.
Con-Tech can supply individual lines of scupper, cockpit drain, or scupper drain items. Click the RFQ button, email info@con-techinternational.com or call with your specifications at 1-504-523-4785.