Press Room

Frank Kowalski, Managing Director of Safehaven Marine, provides a first-hand account of a mighty 2,500nm journey from Cork in Ireland to Porto Cervo on Sardinia’s idyllic coast. It was a delivery voyage extraordinaire made in one of his own Safehaven XSV20s, a striking 23m all-weather vessel that has the power to court both wealthy superyacht owners and professional mariners alike.

The newly-built Safehaven XSV20 was put to the test during its 2,500nm delivery voyage from Cork Harbour to Porto Cervo on the Sardinian coast. Six-meter waves and 40-knot winds were no match for the vessel and its crew as it journeyed across the Bay of Biscay to its awaiting new owner. A unique hybrid hull design features an asymmetrical catamaran with a wave-piercing monohull, achieving a carefully-calibrated combination of stability and rough-weather performance. 

Updated April 2022. Metal Shark Boats, a shipbuilder specializing in the design and construction of welded aluminum and steel vessels, recently announced an award from the US Navy for 160 patrol vessels for worldwide deployment with the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command's Coastal Riverine Forces (CRF).  Shock mitigating seating is a critical feature on these new boats, and the program has selected Allsalt Maritime to supply Shoxs seating.

Allsalt Maritime pleased to announce that Phil Gibson has joined the Business Development team, representing both the Shoxs and Kinetix brands. In his new role, Phil’s primary responsibilities are to foster relationships with key decision-makers to educate and negotiate for seats and impact monitoring products and services.

Targeting the Latin America, Asia Pacific, and Middle East regions, as well as US State and Local Programs, Phil will identify and seek out relationships with potential dealers and representatives for all business sectors, including recreational, commercial, and military.

Ambex Ltd of Sussex, UK has selected Allsalt Maritime Shoxs seats for a unique refit project for the former armed forces high speed watercraft.  The boat is known as a Very Slender Vessel (VSV) 50, a 16m carbon fibre interceptor. Instead of slamming across the top of the waves, it is designed to pierce through them. 

A low-to-the-water profile makes it hard to detect on radar, making it an ideal reconnaissance platform. The design came about as a response to reduce the 20g-plus shocks being experienced by the crews of patrol and interceptor boats when pushing speed to the extreme.

When it comes to suspension travel, size truly matters when it comes to preventing injury from wave impacts on high speed boats. 

Consider this scenario: you must take the wheel of one of two cars speeding along straight tracks. Both cars are traveling at 100 km/hour, but the first is 100 meters from a brick wall while the second is only 10 meters from an identical wall.  There is nothing to do but decelerate before the crash, and assuming your decision is guided by self-preservation, the choice is obvious. 

Shoxs is excited to announce the launch of Kinetix, an advanced vessel and crew monitoring program for high-speed craft. When working on the water, the risks of crew injury and vessel damage resulting from wave impacts and vibration can be significant. Now, maritime agencies can optimize their shock mitigation strategies using more complete data, more easily comply with legislation, and keep their personnel and assets safer.

We're pleased to announce we'll be exhibiting at METS 2022. Stay tuned for booth details!

We plan to launch exciting new seats, the Helmcaster and Saltcaster series, designed for the recreational boater, so be sure to stop by the Allsalt Maritime stand if you're planning on attending. We'll have our UK team there to update you on a better way to manage your impact mitigation strategy. 

What is an Infoset from Allsalt Maritime, and why should I use one? You asked, we answered. When planning any new boat build involving shock mitigating seats, there are number of questions that likely need answers. 

How many seats will fit at the helm, and how much space should be between them? Can the occupant see over the console? Will the driver’s knees hit the dash?

Put our seats to the test and see why maritime agencies around the world trust Shoxs to protect crews and extend careers on the water. We exhibited our latest impact-mitigation technology and provide on-water demos at this year's Defence and Security International (DSEI), the world's leading event for governments, national armed forces and industry.  

Berthon Boats displayed a Gemini Wave Rider 880 RIB outfitted with Shoxs 5000 series seats.

While designing for dynamic environments, like those found on high-speed vessels, engineers are constantly challenged with problems of acceleration. Acceleration is often measured in units of “g”, with 1 g equal to what is experienced due to gravity at earth’s surface (9.8 m/s^2).Acceleration imposes strict limitations on safety, and under severe exposure humans and hardware can quite literally break. 

The human response to acceleration can include all sorts of adverse reactions to the body. Prolonged exposure can affect circulation and rupture blood vessels and endanger skeletal structures. At high accelerations, G-LOC, redding-out, and greying-out are among the possibilities. For comparison's sake, astronauts can sustain 3 to 4 g during launch, but the limits of human tolerance depend on multiple factors, including magnitude, direction and rate of change. What a person can withstand in the forwards-facing direction might be entirely different from what they will tolerate in the vertical.