BOAT STORE

Preview of the latest boating products.

This smaller midi filter, which has been added the Bilgeaway portfolio, is suitable for boat owners who have little or no bilge pollution, but want peace of mind that they will not pollute the water if anything does happen.

Retailing at £60, the cartridge-free, ‘plug and play’ filter removes up to quarter of a litre of hydrocarbon contaminants (such as petrol, diesel, engine oil) from the bilge area, using a non-toxic solution to render them non-reactive.

Typically requiring maintenance only once it reaches capacity, users empty out the filter by unscrewing the top and decanting the ‘crumb-like’ environmentally friendly deposits into a container before disposing of them. The filter can then be refilled and repositioned.

The Bilgeaway team describes the Midi as an ‘ideal solution’ for those keen to have a filter in place to maintain their bilges. With midi refills costing £12, the firm reckons there is no excuse for pollution from bilges

Its larger 10-inch counterpart – launched last year and described as ‘the world’s first truly environmentally-friendly bilge discharge filter’ – extracts half a litre of contaminants, leaving them in a cartridge that can be disposed of and the housing re-used.

In 12 months, demand for the 10in filter pushed its price down to £99. ABC marinas and Lakeland Leisure now stock it in their chandleries.

Simple to install and intended for use with a conventional bilge pump, both filters work with any current bilge system.

■ For more info, visit: www.bilgeaway.com