ENGINEERING
RARITAN]
HALF A CENTURY OF INNOVATIVE MARINE PRODUCTS
I vividly recall my first encounter with a Raritan product. I was an
apprentice mechanic completing a winterization aboard a 40-
something-foot cruiser on a blustery November day. While
familiarizing myself with the boat and its systems—finding batteries,
tanks, pumps, etc.—I came across a white plastic box with a blue top.
Connected to it were various wires and hoses, and I was thoroughly
dumbfounded. I had never seen anything like it.
Based on the hose sizes and its proximity to the head, it was clear
that this mysterious box had something to do with the sanitation
system. I became acquainted with its function only after finding an
owner’s manual and reading the description of how it worked.
This was my introduction to the product that put Raritan
Engineering on the map: the Lectra/San marine sanitation treatment
device. It was many years and hundreds of winterizations ago, but I
still remember thinking, “Why don’t more boats have these?” Since
that time, I’ve encountered many more Lectra/Sans, along with a host
of other products made by this innovative company based in Millville,
New Jersey.
As a former New York resident with many relatives living in “Jersey,”
I’ve traversed the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway on
countless occasions. Aside from visits to the Atlantic City Boat Show,
though, I couldn’t recall ever having exited south of Toms River. Now I
found myself driving from Union, the north Jersey headquarters of Mack
Boring & Parts Company (see PMM Jan./Feb. ’ 11), to Millville, home of
Raritan Engineering.
