Archives

The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas and the North Central Marine Association announced today that the MRAA has been selected to assume the management of the NCMA.

The NCMA, based in Minneapolis, is a nearly 60-year-old marine trades association that serves the state of Minnesota and businesses from neighboring states. The award-winning trade association was managed for years by a local management firm, but when the recession hit, it narrowed its offerings to the services of a full-time lobbyist. Now, the NCMA is officially back up and running at full capacity, thanks to a working relationship between the two associations.

The United States Powerboat Show 2013 will be scheduled a week preceding the sailboat show.  The US Powerboat Show will be presented October 3-6, 2013 with the sailboat show to follow on the traditional Columbus Day weekend.  All activities, show features, seminar programs, and other aspects of the boat shows will remain the same as has been the custom through four decades of boat shows in Annapolis.  In addition, other show featrues and innovations will be developed and announced throughout the year.

Free and available at your convenience, the digital editions of both the national version of the October Canadian Yachting magazine and our Canadian Yachting West editions are available, both as business references and for your personal enjoyment.

Both Canadian Yachting magazine and our Canadian Yachting West editions are always converted into full and complete digital editions including hotlinks to advertisers and companies referenced in the articles and in the advertising.

Baja Marine, Inc. (bajamarine.com) has resumed production on new boats, as well as offering Elite Service for customers' existing boats, at its facility in Washington, North Carolina. The company announced it will re-introduce three popular offshore models for 2013: the Baja 278 Performance, 30 Outlaw and 35 Outlaw, with exciting new graphics and a full range of Mercury power options. Baja's family-friendly performance boat line also includes the 23 and 26 Outlaw, 247 and 277 Islander models.

"Baja is back in production after a few months' shutdown," said Baja Marine CEO Johnny Walker.

The following notice was released on September 5, 2012 by Mustang Survival. In keeping with Mustang Survival’s commitment to the highest levels of quality and safety, we are notifying the public of an urgent advisory for specific Hydrostatic inflatable PFDs manufactured during April and May of 2012. A portion of these PFDs may be subject to delayed or non-inflations. To determine if you are impacted by this precautionary advisory please reference the instructions below.

Skyline Marina  has announced that they have already sold both a 391 and a 441 Meridian 2013 model.

These represent great value in a flying bridge boat. Meridian Yachts is the industry leader in the growing Sedan Bridge segment of the marine market. The lineup consists of four models, 341 Sedan, 391 Sedan, 441 Sedan and the Flagship 541 Sedan.

With the expectation of warm temperatures and mostly sunny skies in much of Ontario right through to Labour Day Monday, it was the perfect opportunity for boaters to get out their cameras and capture those on-water memories for our "I Love Boating" Photo Contest!

Boat show exhibitors, their families, and their customers, are eligible to enter the contest, and those who manage to capture images communicating why they love boating, could win one of three $1,000 SHOPPING SPREES, or one of ten $100 SHOPPING SPREES at the next Toronto International Boat Show!

SALTS, the Sail and Life Training Society has announced that they have secured long-term leases at new shipyard and office locations in Victoria. Back in 2005 the organization found out that their future at 203 Harbour Road was uncertain, since the site was being eyed for redevelopment. It became apparent in August 2011 that SALTS could not stand in the way of the significant physical and economic expansion of Point Hope Shipyard, nor could it be accommodated within that redevelopment.

They spent the past year exploring every other option available that might best meet the facility’s needs.

The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas announced that the organization has hired Liz Walz as Director of Membership & Marketing

“Liz and I have had a long working relationship together, and I’m absolutely thrilled to add her passion and enthusiasm for the marine industry to the MRAA team,” says Matt Gruhn, President of MRAA. “There are very few people who are as passionate about the marine industry and the dealer body in particular than Liz has proven to be, and that, along with her well-known communication skills, makes her the ideal person for this position and this association in general.”

Canadian cruisers and marine industry business people may find this conference interesting.

Every fall, thousands of snowbirds – of the recreational boating kind – migrate south by boat via the Intracoastal Waterway that threads along the coast from Norfolk, Virginia to Miami. With severe shoaling in many areas, following the course isn’t easy, with groundings and delays getting more common each year. At just about the same time this annual migration peaks, another course to ensure the future of the historic waterway will be charted out at the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association’s Conference Nov. 13 – 14 in Charleston, South Carolina. Interested parties and Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) advocates are urged to attend.

STATS™ which stands for "Sierra Touch And Test System" is an innovative new handheld engine diagnostic tool from Teleflex Marine. Now a marine technician can plug into a marine engine’s Electronic Control Module (ECM) and diagnose engine problems without needing a laptop or PC. Technicians will save time – and dealers will save money – moving directly to the job, instead of having to maneuver a boat trailer or motor on a stand to the computer bay, or roll around an ungainly computer cart. Engine diagnostics can even be performed on boats while they’re still in the water.

Mercury Marine has launched two important construction projects to support growth and the company’s commitment to provide the most advanced products, and to increase manufacturing capacity within its Fond du Lac facilities.

The areas under expansion include product development and engineering, component manufacturing and fabrication.

The enhanced capacity and operations will be fully operational by the end of 2013. The total cost will near $20 million.

Canadian native Bruce Kirby (Ottawa, Ontario) has been named as one of the nine sailors who are members of the 2012 class of inductees into the National Sailing Hall of Fame.  Kirby, a newspaperman and former editor of One Design Yachtsman (predecessor to Sailing Worldmagazine) is internationally known as the designer of the Laser which is sailed in Olympic competition.  Over 250,000 of the one-design single-person boat have been built since the early ‘70s.  His designs also include the America’s Cup 12-Metres Canada I and Canada II, as well as the Ideal 18, San Juan 24 and the Sonar, which is raced in the Paralympics.  Kirby represented Canada at the Olympic Games:  sailing a Finn in 1964 and a Star in 1968. At the young age of 82 he can still be found racing a Sonar – his favorite of the 63 boats he has designed – out of the Noroton Yacht Club in Darien, Conn.

Brock Elliott and his team at Campion Boats has just wrapped up their annual dealer meeting at the Delta Grand Hotel on Okanagan Lake.

Meeting highlights included the introduction of their new Chase 550 and other models. Our Boating Industry Canada people attending the meeting noted that Campion was moving towards outboard power in many of their new boats. As Brock Elliott explained, Campion knows outboard engines are getting quieter and also more fuel efficient plus, winterization is often far easier with new-technology outboards. Another consideration is that the outboards give more room inside the boat by placing the engine outside on the transom rather than in the interior.

Please note the September 2 deadline for community organizations to apply for a 2012 Interlux® Waterfront Challenge award. Last year, no one in Canada received support through this great program. Can your group get an application to them in time?

Interlux will award a total of $50,000 in October to organizations to create sustainable waterfront environmental improvements in their communities. Eight awards from $4,500 to $20,000 will be made to groups in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean.

The Moorings, the world’s leading yacht charter company, announced today it will now offer Power Yacht Charters aboard the Moorings 393 Powercat in the Pacific Northwest with their Preferred Partner, Anacortes Yacht Charters.

The expansive cruising range offered by this power catamaran will allow charter guests to enjoy the natural splendor and lively cosmopolitan atmosphere offered by a two-country itinerary throughout U.S. and Canadian waters.

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2012 National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) Canada Hall of Fame. Recipients of the NMMA Canada Hall of Fame include those who have, or those who continue to generate substantial and lasting contributions toward the advancement of the marine industry.

The Hall of Fame honours individuals whose achievements are synonymous with the pursuit of quality, innovation and perfection within their respective spheres of expertise.

The 9th edition of the annual Rendez-Vous Nautique earned once again an A+ note. After two consecutive postponements due to bad weather, the event was held on Sunday, August 19th, at the beach of Oka National Park on the Lake of Two Mountains. The event organizers, Aquanaute Training Centre, were delighted with this year’s overall attendance of over 100 boats, which makes this event still the most popular in its kind in Quebec.

The Rendez-Vous Nautique is held once a year for pleasure craft operators – motor boats, sailing boats, PWCs, canoes, kayaks and all other types of vessels – who join the celebration from all parts of Quebec and, for the first time, even from Ontario.

Mercury angler Sam Anderson won the AIM Pro Walleye Lake of the Woods tournament Sunday in Baudette, Minn., while Mercury’s Marianne Huskey became the first female Angler of the Year for the AIM Pro Walleye Series.

The tournament – the final AIM event in 2012 – got off to a rough start when day one was canceled due to high winds. But, according to the tournament anglers, the bite was strong on Lake of the Woods and, with only two days to compete, Anderson finished first with 98.92 pounds. He was handed the keys to a $35,000 1875 Lund boat powered by Mercury’s new 150 FourStroke, by Jason Oakes of Lund Boats.

Rec Boat Holdings presented the top retailer awards for Four Winns and Glastron dealers at their recent dealer meeting, held at Lake Geneva in Fontana, Wisconsin. Each brand presented the awards during a presentation of the 2013 model year programs.

Glastron award winners, presented by company Vice-President, Bruce Sargent, were honored for Outstanding CSI as well as Top Volume. The Four Winns sales achievement awards were presented by company Vice-President, Jeff Brunson, in the categories of Outstanding CSI, Best Market Growth, Largest Volume and the prestigious Admiral Awards. And finally, International awards were presented by Vice-President, Bruce Baron, to those dealers ranking best in Top Volume and Admiral Award for both brands.