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Chris-Craft welcomes a new member to the family. Chris-Craft introduced the new Corsair 32 at the 2012 Sales Meeting, held in July, in Sarasota, Florida, USA, to Chris-Craft Dealers from around the world. Steve Heese, Chris-Craft President, said: “The Corsair line carries the main DNA of the legendary Chris-Craft brand. We built her to fill a need in our closed-deck series of cruisers.” The Corsair 32 is the newest member of the Corsair family and is also the sister ship to the new Launch 32; which made its debut to rave reviews at the 2012 Miami International Boat Show. The Corsair 32 is well-suited to accommodate overnight excursions but is also built for day cruising and quick turns around the bay before a champagne sunset.

Companies working together often achieve far more than they can separately.  This is certainly true for Canada Metal (Pacific) Ltd. and SI-TEX Marine Electronics, who shared their specialties and strengths to launch a winning autopilot package.  By further collaborating on marketing materials, customer development and sales support, Canada Metal (Pacific) Ltd. has doubled its sales to SI-TEX this year.

As SI-TEX was introducing its newest SP110 autopilot, Canada Metal (Pacific) Ltd. worked with them to supply its unique Octopus Products drive unit.  It mounts behind the dash to replace the manual steering helm for cable-steered boats.  It turned out that the new SI-TEX autopilot also complemented a range of smaller Octopus drives with varied applications.

Ron Huibers has been appointed the new president of Volvo Penta of the Americas.  He succeeds Clint Moore who announced his plans to retire earlier this year.

Ron Huibers, currently President of Sales & Marketing North America within Volvo Trucks Americas, will assume his new position on September 1, 2012.

Marinas, dealers and suppliers alike all took the time to drop into Hutchings Marine Products in Gravenhurst, Ontario on August 8 to help owners Scott Crichton and Judy Semple at their 40th anniversary celebration.

Guests started arriving at 1 PM but the first pig went on the barbecue at 4 AM to slow roast for the guests. Hutchings is well known for their March Shirtsleeves dealer education sessions but this year, in honor of the 40th anniversary of Ralph Hutchings founding the business, Hutchings decided to honor their customers and suppliers instead.

Carver Yachts has just announced the first model in a series of exciting new yachts currently in development and production at their Wisconsin based shipyard – the all new Carver 34 Fly.

Carver Yachts are well known for their spacious, ergonomic interiors that are logically designed to meet the demand of the avid yachtsmen, and the 34 Fly will not disappoint. Sleek new lines paired with forward thinking naval architecture and supported by fine North American design, engineering and craftsmanship define this new series of yachts from top to bottom. The Carver Systems and Design Engineers focused on developing a yacht that meets the need of today’s and tomorrow’s yachting enthusiasts.

Marine insurance market conditions remain generally favorable to buyers despite a succession of natural catastrophes and other significant losses since the beginning of 2011, according to a report published August 6th by Marsh.

The Japan earthquake and tsunami, flooding in Thailand, the Costa Concordia loss, and Rena oil spill have resulted in significant cargo, hull, and liability claims, notes Marsh’s latest Marine Market Monitor. But despite poor claims experiences from these and other disasters, underwriting capacity for marine risks remains high and insurers have not sought significant premium increases.

Beneteau will launch the all new Swift 50 simultaneously in Europe and in North America beginning this fall. The newest in the Swift Trawler range, the Swift 50 incorporates significant design innovations to make living aboard easy. The addition of pod propulsion enhances performance and maneuverability at slower speeds without sacrificing the attributes that has made the Swift range unique in the trawler/motoryacht category.

“Architect Michel Joubert and designer Pierre Frutschi created a masterpiece with the new Swift 50. The boat features a more modern silhouette and smart interior design for living onboard.

EH Yachts, manufacturers of Egg Harbor Yachts, Buddy Davis Yachts, Buddy Davis Edition, Predator and Topaz Boats announced its acquisition of Silverton & Ovation Yachts in a move that continues its strategy of acquiring companies to offer the industries most complete range of cruising and sportfishing yachts. 

Silverton, an over 40-year old company located in Millville, NJ creates sport and convertible yachts in a different package than the Egg, Davis, Topaz or Predator lines, which now gives EH Yachts the ability to offer both fishing and cruising solutions for every boater.

The Formula 3, Region 6 Championships were held in beautiful Marietta, Ohio at the 12th annual Riverfront Roar.  Formula powerboat racing has become the primary event in this quaint Ohio town.  Once a year, this historic riverfront area is ignited into a powerboat racing arena.  Thousands of people gather along the Ohio River to watch the powerboat races.

Last Friday as race teams arrived to set up there pit area.  Gary Williams, chair of the Riverfront Roar committee said “The turnout this year is great…Friday evening was very crowded and, we believe, set a record for the Riverfront Roar opening night attendance.

GE Capital, Commercial Distribution Finance (CDF) has released its outlook for the Canadian recreational vehicle (RV), motorsports and marine industries. In general, each is performing well, with volume growth and relatively healthy inventory turns, in spite of some regional variations.

CDF provides inventory financing, also known as floorplan financing, that allows dealers to stock, market and sell a wide variety of products from manufacturers, including those in the RV, motorsports and marine industries. It’s an important element of a successful manufacturer-dealer business model.

ASA Electronics, an international manufacturer and supplier of premium audio and video electronics is pleased to announce they have entered into a new distribution agreement with Shakespeare Electronic Products Group to bring their SiriusXM® satellite radio antenna to the Marine OEM Industry and other Specialty Markets at a significantly lowered price.

"SiriusXM satellite radio is a fantastic entertainment product. It goes hand-in-hand with enjoying the boating experience. We are pleased to help bring this service to the market at an affordable price," said Brent Barrow, President of ASA Electronics.

The sale to Marlow Acquisitions, LLC, for all of the assets of Hunter Marine Corporation, and selected assets of Mainship Corporation and Luhrs Corporation has closed, according to John T. Peterson, President of Hunter and Chief Restructuring Officer/Treasurer of Morgan Industries Corporation, the holding company of Mainship and Luhrs. “With this behind us it is time to shift all our resources to get back to the task at hand, building and marketing boats”, stated Peterson.

The August 2012 issue of Boating Industry Canada magazine is devoted to alerting the industry to changes in Canada’s Employment Insurance program that could drive literally hundreds of workers out of our marine industry.

Ontario and Quebec seasonal marine industry workers are likely to be hardest hit.

A July 27 article from The Canadian Press reflected the concerns raised in both Western and in Atlantic Canada.

NMEA 2000® is about to take off! Over the last few years, marine electronics manufacturers have been working overtime to develop a common infrastructure to transport NMEA 2000® messages over Ethernet. The solution is called OneNet®, and it’s scheduled to be operational by late 2014.

Some manufacturers currently use higher bandwidth Ethernet for video as well as for proprietary messaging on Ethernet to add NMEA 2000® messages. While this approach may be expedient, there are problems with individual solutions, including a lack of interconnectivity and support of many different implementations.

Beginning last week, the NMMA  announced that they are distributing 100,000 E15 warning labels to member boat manufacturers to place on their boats in hopes of alerting boaters to the potential dangers of fuel with a high volume of ethanol. The labels will help educate boaters that E15 should not be used in their boat.

Contrary to numerous studies that have shown ethanol to be hazardous to marine engines, the Environmental Protection Agency recently approved a plan submitted by the ethanol industry that effectively completes the last step in the regulatory process and allows E15 to enter the marketplace.

The David de Eyre Classic has become a popular event for Boating Ontario Dealers as well as industry colleagues and friends over the past few years.  It is now time for you to join us too!

Boating Ontario suggests that you treat your staff to a day out of the office and take them to the 5th Annual David de Eyre Classic Golf Tournament.

This tournament is a great way to: Meet others in the marine industry, Celebrate the end of a busy boating season, Network,

The Portuguese Association of Recreational Harbours (APPR) has joined the ICOMIA Marinas Group. Established in 1992, APPR is a not-for-profit organisation representing 20 recreational marina and port facilities.

The ICOMIA Marinas Group’s (IMG) mission is to be recognised globally as the peak Marina Industry body with respect to planning, development and best practice management for marinas, boat harbours, boat storage and service facilities, waterways access and associated infrastructure for recreational boating throughout the world.

3M has just introduced its new 3M™ Reinforced Polyurethane Foam, a lightweight and rot-resistant alternative to plywood for use in structural and semi-structural applications. These polyurethane foam boards with fiberglass reinforcement provide high strength in applications including marine, transportation and general construction, with a weight savings ranging from 30 to 60 percent versus plywood.

Available in five densities ranging from 15 pounds to 26 pounds per cubic foot, Reinforced Polyurethane Foam complements 3M’s existing line of lighter density foam boards and rounds out the company’s innovative offerings in the field.