The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has now authorized seven companies to sell its paper nautical charts. The information on the charts is still maintained by NOAA, and the charts are corrected with Notices to Mariners up to the week of purchase. The companies include OceanGrafix, East View Geospatial, Frugal Navigator, Marine Press, Paradise Cay [...]

Seattle is celebrating a successful nine-day Seattle Boat Show and strong January boat sales. The Northwest Marine Trade Association and the Northwest Yacht Brokers Association closed the show one day early to accommodate the 2014 Super Bowl which featured the Seattle Seahawks. Final attendance for the show, which ended on Feb. 1, was up 2 [...]

Boats.com, the global online resource for boat enthusiasts and a division of Dominion Marine Media, has launched a downloadable online buyer’s resource for new boats called Boat Reviews 2013. The document includes links to more than 200 written reviews, 16 video reviews, and 50 “First Look” videos produced by Boats.com. It also features the “10 [...]

Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee has signed legislation establishing the Rhode Island Sailing Events Commission. The commission is charged primarily with identifying and attracting more internationally recognized sailing and marine events to the Ocean State, which has a long history of sailing and a worldwide reputation as a premiere venue for marine and boating [...]

The National Marine Manufacturers Association, in conjunction with Lauderdale Marine Center and the National Fire Protection Committee on Spray Finishing, recently drafted and approved a new standard that reduces the fire risks of spray painting large objects, including yachts in temporary membrane enclosures. Temporary membrane enclosures are used in the marine industry to paint yachts [...]

The Lake Norman Carefree Boat Club of Cornelius, N.C., was recognized as the nation’s leading Carefree Boat Club at the company’s annual conference. The four-year-old company bested 30 other Carefree Boat Clubs based on three metrics: customer service, sales leadership, and corporate and affiliate support. In addition to the 2013 Boat Club of the Year [...]

The National Marine Manufacturers Association Canada (NMMA Canada) has announced its support for the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement. This trade agreement is the first for Canada with the Asian market. The Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement will eliminate Korean duties on products exported by recreational boating companies. Tariffs on yachts and other vessels for pleasure or sports, as [...]

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Maritime Professional Training, the largest private maritime training school in the United States, has named Al Stiles the school’s vice president of curriculum development. He will focus on broadening MPT’s course offerings in both on-campus and online settings. Stiles most recently worked with the Justice Department for eight years as the Enterprise [...]

Discover Boating is inviting all industry stakeholders to attend its webinar on Tuesday, April 22, during which Carl Blackwell, president of Discover Boating, will unveil the 2014 marketing campaign. Webinar: Discover Boating Marketing Campaign Date: Tuesday, April 22 Time: 2:00 pm EDT / 1:00 pm CST Register today to join the 45-minute webinar covering: Content [...]

The National Marine Manufacturers Association ended 2013 with the optimistic report that recreational boating in the United States will continue its post-recession climb with an estimated 5 percent increase in new powerboat retail sales. The increase comes on the heels of the industry’s 2012 rebound when new powerboat retail sales increased 10 percent—the industry’s first [...]