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KCS International Inc. (KCS), parent company of Cruisers Yachts and Rampage Sport Fishing Yachts, announced Monday Sept 24, that the recently acquired Azure Sport Boats line will be renamed Cruisers Sport Series in order to reflect the true essence of the Cruisers Yachts craftsmanship. The acquisition means the Cruisers name now offers a full product line of vessels from 22-54’.

“We learned, after conferring with consumers, dealers and media observers that the new Azure boats, recently produced at our Oconto plant, possess all of the quality craftsmanship that Cruisers Yachts are known for,

The American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC) and Rulefinder.net invite all 2012 IBEX Exhibitors to “Compliance and Standards Coffee” on Wednesday, October 3 from 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. Meet and network with compliance experts from around the globe while enjoying free coffee and pastries.

Exhibitors are encouraged to come hungry with topics in mind and walk away full from picking the best minds in the industry. Leaders from both ABYC and Rulefinder.net will be on hand to talk about topics such as the Standards and Technical Information Report for Small Craft Supplement 52 that was released in July 2012, CE and ISO compliance, and much more!

As of September 18th, Buckeye Marine has started selling tickets in support of Women’s Resources of Kawartha Lakes, bedroom restoration project.

“The raffle marks the kick off of our work with Women’s Resources on their bedroom restoration project” states Carly Poole, marketing co-ordinator for Buckeye. “Annually Buckeye hosts a Product Preview & Charity Night on the Friday of Thanksgiving weekend. We are always looking for a worthy project in the community to help with and this year Women’s Resources’ bedroom project really struck a chord with our committee.

After 5,137 nautical miles and nearly four months traveling the circumnavigation of the Eastern U.S. and Canada commonly referred to as the Great Loop, Beneteau’s Swift Trawler 34 has returned to her home port in Annapolis, MD last week.

“Beneteau is most grateful for the warm welcome received at the many marinas we visited, the dedication of The Greatest Loop’s twelve crews throughout her journey and the unfailing loyalty of her many followers on TheGreatestLoop.com, said Maryline O’Shea, marketing director of Beneteau’s North American Powerboats Division. “Our sponsors were instrumental in this awesome endeavor. We would not have even considered such an undertaking without their support,” O’Shea said.

Volvo Penta has just launched two new V8 gasoline engines for their sterndrive and inboard applications; the V8-225 and the V8-380.

Claimed to be the cleanest engine ever from Volvo Penta, the V8-225 combines fuel economy of a V6 with high altitude power, durability and class leading acceleration.

With eight cylinders and 5.7 liter displacement, the V8-225 delivers torque, power and world class performance across the entire speed range.

Charles Industries, Ltd. has announced that Fred Kolacki has joined the company as National Sales Manager – Marine Group effective immediately.

Kolacki’s responsibilities include coordination and management of Charles’ worldwide marine sales representative team. In addition, he will lead and oversee implementation of strategic sales and customer development to achieve profitable growth and market share objectives with Charles’ Marine OEM, distribution, and retail customers. He will also be responsible for driving pricing strategy and marketing plan development and execution, while also providing leadership and input to new product development and design.

Wearing a Canadian Yachting logo shirt,  Boating Industry Canada and Canadian Yachting Managing Editor Andy Adams had just arrived at the Sea Ray Homecoming Event in Knoxville, Tennessee when he heard, “Hey! Canadian Yachting!”

It was a couple who had come all the way from Vernon, BC (and won the Long Distance Award as well) to attend the 2012 Sea Ray Homecoming. They have a 370 Sundancer and their enthusiasm as owners was all it took to convince them to make the trip.

BRP announced on September 14th, that it will exit the sport boat business over the coming months, citing the continued global sales decline in the marine industry, particularly the drop in sales of sport boats since the financial crisis.

“This is a difficult but necessary decision for BRP,” said José Boisjoli, president and CEO.  “We worked hard to grow our sport boat business through a serious sales decline that began in 2007. But now, we must focus our research and development resources and capital investments in areas of our business that offer greater growth potential.”

Mercury Marine has received 2012 Marine Industry Customer Satisfaction Index Awards in the outboard, sterndrive and inboard categories from the National Marine Manufacturers Association.

Mercury Marine is the only engine manufacturer to win awards in multiple categories.

The Marine Industry CSI Awards program honors manufacturers that actively measure customer satisfaction and emphasize continual improvement to better serve the customer.

A detailed schedule for IMI’s fall workshop “Marina Makeover: An Interactive experience” scheduled for October 21–22, 2012, and the annual Southeast Florida Marina and Boatyard Study Tour scheduled for October 23–24, 2012, is now available on the Association of Marina Industries’ (AMI) website. The events, organized by the International Marina Institute (IMI), a subsidiary of AMI, are being held at the Renaissance Boca Raton in Boca Raton, Florida.

Marina Makeover: An Interactive Experience is based on the same proven methods IMI uses in its Advanced Marina Management courses to train hundreds of Certified Marina Managers (CMMs) worldwide.

Canadian dealers were three of the eight boat dealerships from across North America that earned Crestliner’s prestigious Million-Dollar Club Award for 2012, an increase in the number of award winners compared to the previous year. The Million-Dollar Club Award winners were awarded by Crestliner President Ben Cast, who was accompanied by Andy Graves, president of Brunswick Boat Group, and Jeff Kinsey, president of Freshwater Boat Group, during the company’s Dealer Meeting, heldrecently in Crestliner’s home state of Minnesota.

To earn Million-Dollar Club membership, a dealer’s annual sales of Crestliner products must be in excess of $1million.

Navico — a world leader in recreational marine electronics and parent company to the Lowrance, Simrad Yachting and B&G brands — announced today that it has been awarded the West Marine Vendor of the Year Award for the second year in a row. Presented at the company’s 2012 Annual VIV (Very Important Vendor) Conference, West Marine awarded Navico the top honor for consistent excellence in collaboration, product quality, sales growth and excellent customer service.

“We are truly honored that West Marine has recognized us as Vendor of the Year for the second year running,” said Louis Chemi, chief operating officer, Navico Americas.

Nova Scotia's sailing ambassador, Bluenose II, will officially relaunch in Lunenburg on Saturday, Sept. 29, during an all-day celebration for Nova Scotians, Canadians and international visitors.

The official relaunch will lower the Bluenose II into the water from the 1,200-tonne marine railway and winch it out, link by link, to be towed beside the Fisheries Museum for the event.

Registered attendees at the International BoatBuilders’ Exhibition & Conference (IBEX) this year will have access to a free planning and networking online tool called myIBEX.

“myIBEX is a new service we are introducing for the first time this year to enhance the IBEX experience for exhibitors and attendees,” said Carl Cramer, IBEX co-director. “Even before the show begins, you can log onto your myIBEX portal and start building business relationships at the boating industry’s number one networking event.”

There is still time to register for the 5th Annual Boating Ontario Dealer’s David de Eyre Classic Golf Tournament being held on Thursday September 13th, 2012 at the Nottawasaga Inn & Resort in Alliston.  Registration and the Driving Range will be open at 11:00am, with shot gun start at 12:30pm.  Cost per player is $135.00 plus HST which includes:  driving range, golf, power cart, bbq lunch & steak dinner.  What a great way to meet some new people in the industry and network out of the office.

Gordon Bay Marine is pleased to announce that Rick Layzell joins the company as Sales Manager for their Muskoka-based dealerships. Layzell brings more than 23 years of experience in the recreational boating industry, including more than 18 years at Yamaha Motor Canada.

Says Gordon Bay owner Bruce Hatherley, “I am truly thrilled that Rick has agreed to come and join the Gordon Bay team and we look forward to his motivational, leadership and management skills to propel our sales growth in the coming seasons.”

The International BoatBuilders’ Exhibition & Conference (IBEX) has announced that the new mobile app for IBEX 2012 is now available for download.

This new smartphone app will make it easier to navigate your way around the expansive IBEX exhibit halls, and offers complete show information in the palm of your hand. The new IBEX app was designed specifically for use in a trade show environment. It is user-friendly, and operates on all major smartphone brands.