Author: BoatUS

CA Honored For Lifesaving Acts When recreational boaters need a tow home, a battery jump or fuel drop-off, captains from the red TowBoatUS on-the-water towing fleet are there 24-hours a day to provide routine assistance. When recreational boaters are in grave trouble, TowBoatUS captains don’t hesitate to act. Ten TowBoatUS captains who acted as Good Samaritans to save lives in 2017 were recently honored by their peers at a ceremony held at the annual BoatUS Towing Conference in Jupiter, Florida, on January 18. The 10 captains serve TowBoatUS towing locations in Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts and California.  These are their actions:…

While many of the more than 63,000 boats damaged as a result of 2017 hurricanes will be repaired and have more years of life on the water, some used boat buyers in 2018 could end up with storm-damaged lemons. The nation’s largest advocacy, services and safety group for recreational boaters, Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS), cautions used boat buyers that some boats affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma are beginning to hit the market, and that getting a prepurchase survey (called a Condition and Value survey) is very important. “It’s not that you don’t want to buy…

Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS), the nation’s largest advocacy, services and safety group for recreational boaters, estimates that more than 63,000 recreational boats were damaged or destroyed as a result of both Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma, with a combined dollar damage estimate of $655 million (boats only). These numbers are strikingly close to 2012’s Hurricane Sandy, which remains the single-largest industry loss with more than 65,000 boats damaged and more than $650 million in estimated losses. Breaking down the 2017 season storms, Hurricane Irma damaged or destroyed 50,000 vessels with approximately $500 million in recreational boat…

More than 40 million Kidde fire extinguishers equipped with plastic handles, some on the market for more than 40 years, have been recalled. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), “The fire extinguishers can become clogged or require excessive force to discharge and can fail to activate during a fire emergency. In addition, the nozzle can detach with enough force to pose an impact hazard.” The BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean water is urging recreational boat owners to check their boats for the recalled extinguishers and get a free metal-handled replacement by going to the CPSC recall…

If a boater has an emergency on the water, there’s no better way than to call for help than with a Digital Selective Calling (DSC) VHF radio which can give rescuers critical GPS location information. But that doesn’t mean these technologies come without a few quirks, especially when buying or selling a boat with DSC-VHF radios aboard. Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) has some practical advice to ensure that when you do need help, it arrives as quickly as possible. The MMSI issue: DSC-VHF radio-equipped vessels must be registered and issued a Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI)…

A month after Hurricane Irma struck Florida, the BoatUS Catastrophe (“CAT”) Field Team is still hard at work. Here, in Marathon’s Boot Key Harbor, salvage crews from TowBoatUS Marathon raise a sunken sailboat and navigation hazard off the harbor bottom. Since the CAT Team’s arrival in Florida the day after the storm struck, hundreds of recreational vessels have been recovered. After initially blanketing the state with BoatUS CAT Team crews traveling in recreational vehicles, recovery efforts are now focused on the Florida Keys where work is expected to be completed in about two weeks. For a look at Hurricane Irma’s…

The battle to protect your boat’s engine is not over. Right now, the Environmental Protection Agency is asking for public comments on the amount of ethanol that must be blended into the nation’s fuel supply for 2018, and Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) is urging recreational boaters to speak up and be heard by providing comments at http://cqrcengage.com/boatus/app/act-on-a-regulation?2&engagementId=389053. The deadline is midnight August 31. “While the nation’s proposed ethanol levels for 2018 are slightly lower than the 2017 mandate, boaters can expect to face higher ethanol-fuel blends, such as E15 (15-percent) at more gas stations next year…

In tournament angling, speed and power are what get you to the best fishing spot before the other guy. The high-performance nature of bass boats is leading many tournament organizations to increase the amount of boat-liability insurance required for entry, and that’s causing some angst among tournament anglers. “In a change we have seen this year, many fishing tournaments now require entrants to have $500,000 liability insurance,” said BoatUS Marine Insurance Representative Dustin King. “That’s up from $300,000 in years past.” On the front lines of the fishing-boat insurance-buying season, King added, “This season we’ve received a lot of phone…

Boat Handling Tips From BoatUS Learn five tactics to get away from the dock when the gusts are against you. 1. Wind Pushing Starboard Side, Stern Out Step 1: Hard left rudder. Engine forward will kick out the stern. Step 2: Reverse engine with left rudder, after releasing line and clearing dock. Step 3: Forward out of the marina. 2. Wind Pushing Away From Dock, Stern Out Step 1: Engine forward and right rudder kicks out the stern. Step 2: Engine reverse with left rudder after releasing line and clearing dock. Step 3: Forward out of the marina. 3. Wind Pushing Port Side, Bow Out Step…

Just as outdoor enthusiasts enjoy federal lands, recreational boaters need access to federal waters. Access, however, can be threatened due to aging marina infrastructure, lack of funds for ramp and dock maintenance, or government will. The Department of Interior oversees about one-fifth of the nation’s land, including the national parks. Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) was eager to sit down with U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke yesterday at an event in Washington to discuss his agency’s support for maintaining boating infrastructure and growing access to federal waters. The Secretary’s interview with BoatUS was part of…

Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS), says July Fourth is shaping up to be the busiest time of the year on the water for the nation’s recreational boaters, with boating traffic potentially surpassing last year’s levels. This also means boaters will face additional safety concerns with waterway congestion and nighttime operation. In a recent survey of more than a half million BoatUS members, 88 percent of respondents say they are “very-to-extremely likely” to go boating during the 2017 July Fourth holiday period (June 30 through July 9). That compares to 73 percent who went boating over the similar…

The nation’s largest recreational boating advocacy, services and safety group, Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS), issued its 2017 Top Ten Boat Names list today. The names come from tallying up requests for boat names to the BoatUS Graphics service, and each reveal much about the personality of the vessel’s owner. BoatUS 2017 Top 10 Boat Names Serenity: The utter calm and quietude boating brings Seas the Day: A nautical wordplay on the Latin saying “Carpe diem,” taking boating to its fullest Andiamo: “Let’s go!” in Italian and a perennial favorite boat name Irish Wake: Mourning and merrymaking…

“Big Ethanol” is at it again. In a new advertising campaign timed with the start of boating season, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), the leading trade association for America’s ethanol industry, continues to spread mistruths in its support of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), a 2005 law that mandates the blending of biofuels such as corn-ethanol into our gasoline. The nation’s largest recreational boating advocacy, services and safety group Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) clarifies the ad campaign’s spin with hard truths. Hard Truths VS RFA Spin On Ethanol SPIN: “E10 is the fuel of choice for…

A new law says California boaters will need to go to school, and the BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety has the right course to fit their schedule and budget. Starting January 1, 2018, Golden State boaters ages 20 or younger who operate a motorized vessel on state waterways will need to have a boater safety card showing successful completion of a boater safety education course. Each year thereafter on January 1, more age groups will be added to the requirement so that by 2025 all California boaters will need to carry a boater card issued by California State Parks Division…

Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) Consumer Protection Department is advising boaters with vessels having a US Coast Guard Certificate of Documentation to be wary of any letter arriving by US mail offering renewal. An increasing number of BoatUS members have complained that these letters direct them to websites that may be mistaken for the actual US Coast Guard Vessel Documentation Center located in Falling Waters, West Virginia, and appear to show a significant increase in the annual fee to renew US Coast Guard (USCG) documentation. BoatUS advises that while the USCG does send official annual renewal notices…

Flares Distress Signals At Sea Their intended purpose is to summon help should the need arise and should be displayed only when immediate or potential danger exists. Visual distress signals (Flares Distress Signals) can only be effective when someone is in a position to see them. Therefore, when employing pyrotechnic devices, do so only when you see or hear a boat or airplane or you are reasonably sure that someone on shore is in position to see your signal and take action. Good judgment is an essential part of successful use of visual distress signals. Examples of Pyrotechnic and Non-Pyrotechnic…

In an effort to improve boat fire safety aboard recreational boats, the nonprofit BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water today issued “Foundation Findings #55.” The report, part of a long-running educational series devoted to boating-safety topics, includes a five-minute video showing three actual boat burns captured by 12 cameras. The video depicts an electrical fire aboard a small open fishing boat, an engine compartment fire aboard a typical sport boat, and a cabin fire aboard a larger cruiser. By simulating various types of boat fires and capturing on video, Foundation Findings #55 offers boaters a look at how little time they…

If you get in an accident while trailering your boat, do you know which insurance policy will pay for repairs to the trailer? If it’s a simple accident with damage to the trailer only, it’s likely to be the trailer insurance coverage that pays. But what happens when you back the trailer into a neighbor’s stone wall or a tree comes crashing down on your trailer in your backyard? Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) understands how the combination of homeowners, auto, boat and boat trailer insurance add up to protect trailer boaters and offers these tips: Start…

Trailer wheels get doused in harbors, rivers, and lakes. Why does this matter? Signs Of Bearing Wear The hub feels hot to the touch during refueling stops on the highway. This can also be the result of a brake shoe or brake pad rubbing while traveling. Grease on the bottom of the boat hull near the trailer wheel or grease on the trailer frame near the trailer wheel. Obvious noise is heard when spinning the wheel while it’s jacked up. If the usually reliable dust cover suddenly comes off, this can be the result of excessive heat and pressure buildup…

The BoatUS Foundation gets so many questions from boaters about fire extinguishers and they hear so many falsehoods from the world of boating.  So they created this quick video to debunk four popular myths about boats and fire extinguishers and the requirements by the Coast Guard. 4 common Fire Extinguisher Myths Debunked Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) is the nation’s leading advocate, services and safety group for recreational boaters. From 24-hour on water towing service from the nation’s largest fleet, TowBoatUS, to discounts at over 1,200 fishing and boating businesses nationwide, BoatUS offers over 25 benefits and…

Most states require that trailers be fitted with lights — taillights, stoplights, and turn signals, at a minimum.  This seems simple enough but trailer lights can be a huge source of frustration for boaters.  Here are some tips from BoatUS to make trailer wiring more dependable. You’ll need to maintain electrical wiring that will be immersed in seawater. Just as wheel bearings heat up on the road and then create a vacuum when they hit the cold water, illuminated trailer lights generate heat, too. Most of the maneuvering — stop, turn, reverse — occurs at the ramp during launch and retrieval.…

The Congressional Boating Caucus was formed in 1989 as an informal, bipartisan group of US Senators and Representatives to advocate for the interests of the recreational boating industry. Recreational boaters have also benefitted from the Caucus’ leadership on shared issues such as restoration of the Everglades, fisheries management reform, flood protection efforts, and projects that support waterway access. Today, Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) joined with the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) to welcome the new co-chairs of the House of Representatives Recreational Boating Caucus, Representative Lois Frankel (D-Florida) and Representative Tom MacArthur (R-New Jersey). Representative MacArthur…

BoatUS offers so many services and protections for boaters that is  hard to list them all.  Of course everyone is familiar with BoatUS’s amazing towing memberships which back up boaters all around the country both on the water and on the trailer.  But did you know they also have BoatUS Insurance to protect your investment from catastrophe and major issues?  The BoatUS Foundation also offers education and services for boaters worldwide. Here is a quick video tip on how to change out a worn or aged boat hose.  It may seem unimportant, but a failed hose can sink your boat.…

How do you get the right boat loan for your new or previously owned dream boat? Here are 10 tips from Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) just in time for the winter buying season. Top 10 Boat Loan Tips Check your credit: Before applying for a loan, ensure your credit report is accurate, and get your current credit score. The closer to 700 and higher, the better the rate you’ll get. A free copy of your credit report is available annually from each of the three national credit bureaus at www.annualcreditreport.com. To get your credit score, first…