Dometic Marine, a division of Dometic Group, a global provider of leisure products for the marine, truck, RV and automotive markets, today announced that Crest Marine is now offering the Dometic Eskimo Cup as a featured amenity exclusively on its high-end Caribbean, Continental and Savannah pontoon boat models. Crest Marine is branding the refrigerated cup holder, installed at the helm, as the “Captain’s Cooled Cup Holder” – a special luxury for captains.
Dometic’s Eskimo Cup technology keeps drinks refrigerator-cold even on the hottest days. The unit fits in the same space as a standard 4-inch (102 mm) cup holder. It’s large enough to fit a 20-ounce (591 ml) water or soda bottle, and also accommodates a standard-size beer or soda can. A specially angled bottom insert keeps bottles or cans of any size in constant physical contact with the sidewall thermoelectric cooling element.
“When Dometic first introduced its refrigerated cup holder, we immediately recognized it as a comfort item that could help convince pontoon buyers to choose our brand over the competition’s,” says Joe Antonneau, sr. vice president of sales & marketing at Crest Marine. “Dometic’s engineering team has invented a truly effective way to keep drinks cold without the need for ice or a cooler. We are excited to be among the first builders of pleasure boats to be offering it as a value-added feature.”
At Crest Marine’s dealer meeting in July, the boatbuilder used the “Captain’s Cooled Cup Holder” as a sales incentive, offering it free on every Caribbean, Continental and Savannah pontoon boat ordered at the meeting.
“Using an infra-red temperature gauge, we demonstrated to dealers how a room-temperature drink could drop 20 degrees with the refrigerated cup holder. We sold a record number of boats at the meeting,” says Antonneau. “In the months since, customer feedback has been very positive.”
A marine-tough, open-top thermoelectric cylinder, the Eskimo Cup runs on power generated from the house battery. Control of all the boat’s Eskimo Cups can be managed with a single switch or set up with zone switching. The Eskimo Cup is designed for flush-mounting into decks of various thicknesses. A polished marine-quality 316 stainless steel trim ring finishes the surface installation and is accented with two blue LED interior lights. The aluminum interior has a marine-friendly corrosion-resistant, non-stick surface for easy cleaning. A built-in drain eliminates condensation, rain, and water splashes.
Each unit includes a low-voltage cut off to avoid a dead battery, a high-voltage cut off to prevent damage to the unit, a high-heat cut off, and an in-line fuse.
“A soda or beer may be cold enough when you pull it out of the ice chest, but from that moment on, it starts warming up,” says Ed Todd, director of National OEM Sales at Dometic Marine. “With Dometic Eskimo Cup technology, your beverage actually gets colder as you drink it. There’s no need to ever drink warm beer or soda again.”
