Product Development
Product design service for the marine and custom automotive industries
Billet Air Cleaner
Custom oval air cleaner in polished aluminum. Separate customized cover (your logo). PCV hose adapter. 12″ x 2″ washable filter. Carb gasket. Variety of finishes available. Email for details.
Exhaust Block Off Plates
OMC Cobra Exhaust Block Off Plates: These are the plate patterns for both variants of the transom assembly. They’re waterjet cut to order in 316 S.S.
Dry Joint Headers
Marine Headers with an integrated (no hose jumper) water inlet with a dry joint. The water inlet and exhaust gas joint are separated by an air space. Should the joint ever leak, it won’t be into a cylinder. Header design allows for a variety of riser pipe heights and lengths. Designed for Chevrolet LS Engines and clears the standard coil packs. The tip-in of the headers allows for more room between engines installed side by side.
SB Ford Engine Mount
A simple and robust marine engine cradle mount to fit small block Fords with an aft or mid-pickup marine sump. Applicable to both inboard and stern drive configurations, the design is easily adaptable to different mount heights and stringer spacing. In a Ford application, this cradle mount improves access to the bilge, engine drain plugs and does not rely on the exhaust manifolds to help support the engine.
FORD “Kent” Marinization
Design of a new marine exhaust manifold and intake horns to fit a 1.5L Ford “Kent” pre-crossflow engine.
Design completed for Dan Lee Boatbuilding in the UK. https://danleeboatbuilding.co.uk/
Dan has some excellent renderings of the entire installation in his boat, “Miss Isle”.
Marine Exhaust Manifold
Stainless fabricated center rise exhaust manifolds to fit Ford Small Block heads.
Accessory Drive Sheaves
Custom developed accessory drive sheaves for both V-belt and Serpentine belt applications.
Slim Line Header
Ultra slim marine header design to improve clearance between the inboard banks of side by side installed marine engines as well as improved clearance over the valve covers. The design is adaptable to other engine architectures.
Sump Design
Design of new mid-pickup marine sump to fit a small block Ford.
Air Intake Horn
A simple, elegant billet aluminum air horn designed to be cut in two mirrored halves and welded together.
The air horn shown is to fit an SU-HS2 carburetor with a K&N filter but the design can be adapted to about any carb/filter combination.
Fuel Filter Bracket
An elegant Billet Aluminum Fuel Filter bracket design that’s adaptable to a variety of mounting locations. Replaces the typical stamped steel units.
Custom Marine Hardware Design & Development
Quadrant External Steering
Custom Designed External Quadrant Steering. A beautiful and fairly common steering design often found on Gold Cup boats of the 20’s & 30’s. This design is scaleable and can be adapted to a variety of designs. Utilizing an inner quadrant of the same diameter, the quadrant can be actuated by either hydraulic cylinder or, for smaller craft, a push-pull cable. This design in particular was developed for and plans can be purchased through Dan Lee Boatbuilding in the UK. https://danleeboatbuilding.co.uk/product-category/boat-mechanical-system-plans/
Tiller External Steering
Customed designed external tiller steering. A common steering design found on classic performance craft. This design allows placement of the propeller closer to the transom resulting in a more favorable propeller shaft angle. The design is completely scaleable and can be configured to fit nearly any design. For plans to build the system shown contact Dan Lee Boatbuilding in the UK. https://danleeboatbuilding.co.uk/product-category/boat-mechanical-system-plans/
Inboard Steering Systems
Complete steering system design for pleasurecraft. New, better performing rudders and hydraulic conversions can be designed and built for nearly any craft. Existing rudder patterns can be utilized or new patterns built and cast. Stainless fabrications are also possible. Patterns shown built by Ken Stolpmann.
Driveline Hardware
As with steering, BDM offers driveline hardware design and development. Bronze castings or stainless fabrications can be created for new or exisiting pleasurecraft. Casting Patterns shown built by Ken Stolpmann.
Seating Systems
Complete seating systems designed for a variety of needs and styles. Frames can be built of wood, composite panel, fiberglass or aluminum.
The 1st images show an Eames-inspired helm chair design that captures the style and warmth of Ray’s original design but with correct ergonomics for a proper helm chair. Like the original, the shells can be laminated and finished in a variety of wood species and perched atop industry-standard pedestals. A flip up bolster for this chair is in the works.
The 2nd images show a pneumatic shock mitigating helm chair with swivel, fold up bolster that can be configured with or without fold-up armrests. The design incorporates CNC milled anodized aluminum side plates with pocketed decorative inserts. Foam cushion blocks of various densities are easily hand shaped and tailored to an individual comfort preference. A variety of back inserts can be configured with storage and a fold down table. By design, the chair width is easily reconfigurable for single and double wide occupancy. Standard pedestals can also be used in lieu of the suspension mount as shown.
Deck Hardware
With an infinite number of possibilities custom deck hardware can be designed and created to suit nearly any function, budget and taste. Artistic pieces created in Aluminum, Bronze and Stainless can be machined, cast or fabricated or any combination of the three. Shown is a horn cowl with burgee pole.
Gauge Clusters
Gauge clusters and other helm fixtures can be developed in nearly any combination of layout and style. Machined and finished backplates can be produced in aluminum, stainless, acrylic or wood. Wood veneer inlays can be set into the gauge bezels and IP shrouds produced in painted or gelcoated molded fiberglass are also possible. Gauge design and art can be tailored to the boat’s interior and coordinated with the gauge manufacturer.
Bezels, Faceplates & Doors
Switch Bezels, doors and faceplates designed to fit most any style and budget. The combinations of materials, finishes, layout and colors are nearly limitless.
Fuel Tanks
Fuel Tank Design and Development for both gasoline and diesel fuel systems. Tanks are built by certified marine fuel tank fabricators to EPA/ABYC/Coast Guard Standards.
Exhaust Systems
Marine Exhaust Systems for both diesel and gasoline engines. Inline muffler, Resonator and Waterlift muffler systems from engine to exhaust tip can be designed for most any installation and tuned to give the desired exhaust note. Systems are developed in concordance with the engine manufacturer’s recommended back pressure allowance. Stainless tips with or without surge flaps can be developed and fabricated for a variety of installations. Stainless and fiberglass tube runs can be fabricated to fit most any installation.
Production Tooling
Hull composite stringer and bulkhead cores installation fixture developed for Thoroughbred Boat Company’s U23.
The installation fixture utilizes CNC cut interchangeable aluminum plate stringer spreaders and bulkhead holders to suit several hull variants for this model and upcoming models.
Removeable guide “feelers” capped with soft rubber bumpers are slid into receivers in the ends of the main rails and used to initially align the fixture to the mold surface and to then locate registers permanently installed on the mold frame outboard of the mold flange. Once the registers are added, the fixture is then easily and accurately keyed to the mold for each production cycle. Built as a powdercoated aluminum weldment from square aluminum tube and angle, the fixture incorporates “Vice-Grip” type sheet metal clamps screwed to the bulkhead alignment cross rails which hold the aluminum stringer spreaders in place allowing a quick changeover from stringer spreaders to bulkhead holders without needing tools. The stringer and bulkhead cores are held in place to the fixture by a few temporary screws. Once the cores are set into the bedding compound and filleted, the fixture remains in place until the bedding compound firms. The fixture is removed, the stringers remain and FRP application over the stringers takes place. Should the stringer system change from one model year to another, the fixture is configured to be easily modified.