Thursday marked the one-month anniversary of the explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that killed 11 people and the containment failure of the rig's underwater well. With oil continuing to spill into the Gulf of Mexico, and the stopgap strategies and half measures that have been tried so far failing to halt the flow, untold damage has been, and ...

One year ago yesterday, I posted a blog entry to this site outlining how we go about compiling the information for our annual Dealer Directory, which is published each May. I thought it might be time to revisit that topic as, a couple of weeks ago, our 2010 Directory was mailed out and we’ve begun to hear from the dealers ...

Four years from now, more people will be accessing the Internet using a mobile device than a desktop computer. That was the prediction offered by Mary Meeker, head of Morgan Stanley’s global technology research team, during a presentation streamed live over the Internet last month. Meeker, who was dubbed “Queen of the Net” by Barron’s magazine in the late 90s, ...

We live in a time of consolidation, as the news of Garmin’s bid to acquire Raymarine this week once again illustrates. Airlines, automakers and certainly media companies, among others, are combining forces like never before in hopes of increasing their returns in an uncertain economic future. The boating industry has seen its share of mergers and acquisitions as well. That’s ...

Small numbers of boat buyers working together on the definition and specifications of a yacht and then, when several have expressed an interest in getting the vessel made, finding a builder to manufacture it for them: That’s the concept Truebuild Yachts is working to bring to the boating industry. The company said this week that it had reached a key ...

There’s Lollapalooza, Pet-A-Palooza, Mitch-A-Palooza (from the movie Old School) and even Stooge-a-Palooza, a television program that features blocks of Three Stooges episodes. But, of all the Paloozas that now exist, Aquapalooza has to be the best. Country music star – and avid boater – Alan Jackson certainly thinks so. After performing at Aquapalooza’s Signature Event in 2009 on Lake Martin, ...

During the first week of each month, Boating Industry publishes an e-newsletter that ranks the Top 10 most read stories from the previous month. Over the past year, nearly all the stories that have garnered the greatest attention have had to do with bankruptcies, layoffs, union disputes, etc. To put it more simply: bad news. That’s why it was so ...

A proposal that would cap the sales tax on boats sold in Florida was recently passed, as part of a larger tax-incentive package, by both houses of the state’s legislature and could become law by this summer. Under the plan, all boats purchased in Florida would be subject to the state’s 6 percent sales tax, until the tax reached $18,000 ...

Last summer, in the midst of one of the toughest selling seasons anyone can remember, Boating Industry published an e-white paper on inventory management. The final article of that 30-page document was written by Peter Houseworth, director of client services for Info-Link Technologies. In it, he suggests the marine industry would know a corner had been turned, and the dismal ...

With the news this morning that Delta Air Lines is once again raising its fees for checked bags, here is at least a little evidence the company is not completely oblivious when it comes to public perception and customer service.