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Boating Industry Canada readers who are interested in electric boats and related technology will find this interesting. Founded in 2006, Electric Mobility Canada (EMC) is a national not-for-profit organization that is dedicated to the promotion of electric vehicles as a readily available solution to Canada’s emerging energy and environmental issues. EMC strives to raise public understanding of the larger issues affecting transportation and seeks regulations and other conditions favourable to the increased use of electric vehicles.

Mercury Propellers is proud to introduce “Spitfire,” their first four-blade aluminum performance propeller designed for boaters using 25 hp to 125 hp outboards.
 
Mercury claims Spitfire provides the best performance in the world of aluminum propellers – in fact, it’s 25 percent faster from 0 to 30 mph than Mercury’s best-selling Black Max propeller, and there’s no penalty in top speed.
 
Key to Spitfire’s performance is its four-blade design. Four blades allow Mercury Marine engineers to increase the blade area of the propeller while keeping the diameter low, which allows the propeller to spin up quickly and improve acceleration.

To support current and planned growth initiatives in US target markets, Mustang Survival is pleased to announce that Michael Grupa will be transitioning from his current role as Director of Business Development, Professional, to join the Sales team as Director of Sales – US Professional & Military Major Accounts. Grupa joined Mustang Survival in 2009 and has been instrumental in shifting Mustang’s focus from selective markets in the first responder and commercial/ industrial marine categories to becoming an industry leader and full-line supplier of flotation and thermal protection products in these market categories.

The DAME (Design Award METS) – the world’s most prestigious design competition for new marine equipment and accessories is now open for entries. METS/SYP organiser, Amsterdam RAI invites this year’s exhibitors to enter their most innovative designs to be judged by an independent, international jury. Exhibitors wishing to submit products for the DAME 2011 should complete the online application by September 20, 2011.
 
The METS Team and the Exhibition Committee are conscious of the importance being placed in the marine world on environmental sustainability, and the jury for the DAME – Design Award METS – will place more emphasis on the ‘green’ benefits of every product it assesses, where applicable. The winner of the Award will be announced on the first day of METS, November 15, 2011.

Scarborough, ON (August 8, 2011) – Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons (CPS) and Canadian Yachting Association (CYA) announce a new partnership to grant CYA, in conjunction with the Provincial Associations and its qualified affiliated instructors, permission to offer the Pleasure Craft Operator Card (PCOC) classroom education using the CPS Boating Basics Transport Canada approved manual and related materials. The agreement was signed in Kingston on June 8, 2011.

Combined, these two national organizations provide a comprehensive portfolio of practical and classroom courses for pleasure craft operators on sailing, boat safety and handling, seamanship, navigation, marine weather, communications and electronic navigation through their networks of certified instructors.

We recently learned about a legislation change that could have a significant impact on the number of superyachts traveling through the Great Lakes. Now, non-Canadian vessels over 35 metres (115 feet) going into the Canadian Great Lakes will be required to have a pilot aboard.
 
We want to know; does your business benefit from superyacht visitors?
 
We first learned of this when Brian Donovan of Premier Marine Services, Halifax,

Some of the agenda highlights for the upcoming Boating Ontario Conference and Trade Show have been announced – sounds like a great event.

Starting Sunday, December 4th, the Boating Ontario Dealers group is once again offering the opportunity to take the Georgian College / Boating Ontario Certified Professional Course. The training session will be conducted by Jack Pady, of Jack Pady Marine Inc, and Kevin Marinelli of Skyline Marina Ltd.  The exam will follow the training session.  Separate registration is required.                

Next, Boating Ontario invites guests to join in for a fun evening to launch the new Boater Assist Canada program.

Sea-Dog Line and ProMariner are the winners of the 2011 National Marine Distributors Association (NMDA) Supplier of the Year Awards. The awards were announced at a luncheon during the NMDA’s annual Sales, Training, Education & Purchasing (S.T.E.P.) Conference in Rosemont.

Sea-Dog Line won for the seventh year in a row in the Platinum category. The Everett, Washington-based company is a leading supplier of over 5,500 marine dock, deck and rigging hardware items, 12-volt electrical/lighting and ventilation accessories. Runners-Up in this category were Blue Sea Systems (1st) and Tie Down Engineering (2nd).

Vancouver-based Xantrex Technology USA Inc., is supporting ILCHASE, a firm that supplies data on weather storms to government agencies, universities and major television networks, in an ongoing weather research initiative. The ILCHASE team includes Engineers, Programmers, Technicians and Meteorologists who conduct informational programs on weather storms, storm chasing and spotter training with the National Weather Service. Their work is featured in children’s geography specials for National Geographic, Storm Stories for the Weather Channel, and the TLC show, Beyond Tough.

ILCHASE has designed and built a mobile command vehicle called MOOCH (Mobile Observation Operations Command Housing) to help ILCHASE and other emergency management companies in a stricken area.

BC-based WestWinn Group, builders of Harbercraft all-welded aluminum boats has announced the appointment of its new Director of Product Development, Neil Gilbert.

“Neil Gilbert brings an extensive amount of experience in boat design, business development and project leadership. This addition to our senior management team has been made to develop key territories. Mr. Neil Gilbert’s experience and enthusiasm will enable us to expand in new markets,” explains Byron Bolton, CEO.

The 2011 edition of the “Rendez-vous nautique” hosted by the Aquanaute Training Centre was held last Sunday July 31st on the beautiful beaches of Oka National Park, on the Lake of Two Mountains in the greater Montreal area.

Hundreds of boaters and PWC riders beached along miles of the Oka sandy coast. Accompanied by beautiful weather, people gathered at the event where boating safety was one of the main topics. Boaters received a bag filled with give-aways and information, and they enjoyed free BBQ with DJ music and a great entertainer.

Rec Boat Holdings announces the appointment of marine industry veteran, Julie Johnson, as Director of Marketing for the company.  Johnson will oversee the global marketing and public relations activities for the three brands of Rec Boat Holdings group – Glastron, Four Winns and Wellcraft boats.

Johnson comes to Rec Boat Holdings after serving in several marketing, communications and public relations roles during her 18-year career with BRP (Bombardier Recreational Products), primarily on their personal watercraft, boats and outboard engine businesses.  Prior to BRP, Julie served in various marketing positions at Wellcraft Marine. 

Mermaid Marine Products is pleased to announce the addition of Miriam Bois to their Sales Team. Hailing from Grand Falls, New Brunswick, Miriam brings significant experience in retail and inventory control to benefit the customers of Mermaid Marine Products. Also, Miriam is fully fluent in both English and French.

Miriam looks forward to speaking with you and to making sure your experience with Mermaid is one of a kind.

Canadian Boat Shows is looking for an experienced, hard working and hands-on individual to add to our show team.  We are planning to hire a Controller, with the position located in our Bolton, Ontario office. (25 minutes north of the Toronto airport).

This is a newly created position and presents an exciting and rewarding full-time opportunity.  If you know of anyone who would be a great fit, please forward this job posting to them.

Canadian Boat Shows is responsible for the production of the Toronto International Boat Show and the Vancouver International Boat Show – the

The International Upper Great Lakes Study (IUGLS) is holding public meetings this summer in the United States and Canada to provide information regarding the status of the second and final phase of its work, examining Great Lakes water levels. Those who attend the meetings will have an opportunity to hear from Study Board members and researchers about preliminary findings and potential regulation plans. Those who are unable to attend, or have further comments, can submit them via a form on the IUGLS website, and by e-mail or via traditional mail. The comment period for this Phase 2 portion of the Study begins Monday, July 18, and ends Wednesday, August 31, 2011.

BDO Canada Limited, Receiver of 1673747 Ontario Inc. and 2045227 Ontario Ltd is offering for sale by tender its right, title and interest in the following assets of boatbuilding company Grew Manufacturing:

•           Land, buildings and improvements located at 317574 Hwy 6 & 10, RR 4, Owen Sound, Ontario and;

•           Equipment associated with the boat production business operated on the site

Visitors to the International BoatBuilders’ Exhibition and Conference (IBEX) this year will see firsthand how electronic devices operate on an NMEA 2000® network. Called ConnectFest, the live event will demonstrate the use of cable, connectors, and products from multiple manufacturers on a single NMEA 2000® backbone. Equipment on the network will include engine controls, navigation electronics, power distribution, diagnostic tools, displays, gauges, and more. IBEX will take place October 17-19 at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville.

Attendees will see for themselves how information is exchanged among NMEA-certified products made by different manufacturers. Experts will be on hand to demonstrate equipment function so that visitors can switch displays between various sources of information, query the backbone for information about connected products, and plug and unplug products to see how installation and integration can be simplified.

This year, the organizers of IBEX, the International Boatbuilders Exposition are giving you even more ways to refine your boatbuilding techniques with a selection of three diverse pre-conference training sessions.   Take advantage of early access to advanced training for you and your staff by attending one of the IBEX pre-conference training sessions being offered like this one being held by Composites Consulting Group.

The Composite Infusion Technology -CIT Workshop; Composite Infusion Technology (CIT) is a standard manufacturing process in the marine, public transportation, wind energy, and industrial markets. CIT makes emission problems a thing of the past.

Boating Industry Canada is hearing more and more about hybrid electric power for boats so we wanted to share this potential source of new information. Electric Mobility Canada (EMC) invites interested parties to attend the Electric Mobility Canada 2011 Conference and Tradeshow to experience first hand the future of Canada’s electric mobility industry and electric vehicles (EVs).

The event will be held September 26 to 29, 2011 with the Media ‘Ride N’ Drive’ Event held on Monday, September 26, 2011 from 2:00 – 5:00 pm.

The event takes place at the Allstream Centre, 100 Princes’ Boulevard, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.