• Life-jacket design contest deadline April 15

    Published On: April 6, 2015Categories: Industry News, News

    The deadline for design entries with the 2015 Innovations in Life Jacket Design Competition is April 15. The BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water and the Personal Floatation Device Manufacturers Association, contest sponsors, encourage boaters, armchair inventors, design, engineering or high-school students to submit designs. The grand prize is $10,000. (Additional cash prizes [...]

  • American Welding Society to highlight shipyard work

    Published On: March 16, 2015Categories: Industry News

    Welding is the most vital and fundamental manufacturing process in the construction of ships and metal-hull boats. Attendees at the American Welding Society’s 2015 Shipbuilding Conference-slated for April 7-8 in Virginia Beach, Va.-will learn about emerging technologies in both commercial and Navy shipbuilding. The conference will benefit designers, engineers, fabricators and suppliers who seek to [...]

  • Senate Committee Approves Vessel Discharge Reform Legislation

    Published On: March 9, 2015Categories: Industry News

    The bipartisan effort to establish a uniform national framework for the regulation of vessel discharges took another step forward as the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation approved S. 373, the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act, with strong bipartisan support. A broad-based coalition of nearly 60 organizations joined the American Waterways Operators in urging the [...]

  • Bellwether report shows continued boat sales gains

    Published On: March 1, 2015Categories: Industry News

    U.S. boat sales were still running slightly less than 10 percent ahead of 2013 through November, according to a report by Info-Link, which tracks the outdoor-recreation industry. Its Bellwether report tracks boat sales across the country based on new U.S. boat registrations. Continuing a trend the service had noted during 2014, every segment of the [...]

  • City’s OK secures Miami Boat Show

    Published On: March 1, 2015Categories: Industry News

    The City of Miami Commission has approved the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) to produce the Progressive Insurance Miami International Boat Show at Miami Marine Stadium Park. “In 2016, the Miami International Boat Show will mark 75 years in Miami,” noted NMMA President Thom Dammrich, “and I’m not sure there’s a better way to commemorate [...]

  • Heytex Group acquires BondCote

    Published On: March 1, 2015Categories: Industry News

    Hendersonville, N.C.-based technical textile maker Heytex has purchased BondCoat of Pulaski, Va., and will retain all current management and employees. Established in 1949, BondCoat specializes in coated and laminated textiles for defense equipment, transportation, specialized industrials, commercial tents, and leisure and sports markets. The combined company now has a total of four production sites on [...]

  • US Sailing team partners with Sunbrella

    Published On: March 1, 2015Categories: Industry News

    The US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider has announced a major partnership with Sunbrella fabrics. Sunbrella will be named a Gold-level sponsor of the team, the nation’s Olympic and Paralympic sailing team, and also as the presenting sponsor of ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami, North America’s premier Olympic and Paralympic classes regatta. The Glen Raven, N.C.-based [...]

  • USCG issues new boating safety paper

    Published On: March 1, 2015Categories: Industry News

    The National Boating Safety Advisory Council recently announced the publication of Issue 88 of the Boating Safety Circular (BSC #88) to continue to inform the public and boat builders of the latest safety related news and announcements in the form of a brief newsletter. The publication is an official communication from the U.S. Coast Guard [...]

  • Engine shipments gain in Canada

    Published On: March 1, 2015Categories: Industry News

    Wholesale shipments of outboard engines in Canada were up 4.1 percent over the previous year through November, the NMMA reports. Corresponding dollars were up 5.2 percent, while warranty card registrations were down 2.1 percent.

  • Michigan Senate OKs drunken-boating crackdown

    Published On: March 1, 2015Categories: Industry News

    The Michigan Senate in December 2014 unanimously passed a package of bills that “stiffen penalties” and lower the blood-alcohol content—to 0.08 percent from the current 0.10 percent—“for people who are found to be intoxicated while driving their recreational vehicles and boats,” the Detroit Free Press reported. According to the U.S. Coast Guard’s 2013 Recreational Boating [...]