Market Outlook

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) has signed a new partnership with GEICO insurance to offer a discount on auto and home or renters insurance for BoatUS members. Under the new agreement, BoatUS members may receive a discount of up to 8% on auto insurance, and may save on home and renters insurance as ...

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The National Sailing Center and Hall of Fame announced the debut of the American Women In Sailing Story Project. The story project will collect films, videos, written and audio narratives, and photo galleries, to create a collection of stories about American women in sailing. Entries for the collection can be submitted through the American Women In Sailing ...

SILVER SPRING, Md. – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) will be begin using a new navigational charge processing system in initial limited production that is designed to speed up the production process for navigational maps as well as increase the number of available products. The Office of Coast Survey will be transitioning all data to the new system ...

TEMPE, Ariz. – MedAire, an International SOS company, recently announced the acquisition of Yacht Lifeline, a provider of emergency onboard medical aid and medical assistance for the Superyacht industry. Under the terms of the agreement, Yacht Lifeline will merge all of its products and services with MedAire. Additionally, it will merge employees with MedAire, including key leadership and management positions. ...

CAPE CORAL, Fla. – Composites tooling and parts manufacturer JRL Ventures/Marine Concepts, located in Cape Coral, recently announced the expansion of its facility to meet growing demand in the wind energy and recreational marine industries. Along with the growth of its facilities, JRL Ventures/Marine Concepts announced the promotion of three employees at its facilities. Chris Hughes was promoted to Plant ...

COVINGTON, La. – Laborde, which distributes products for the U.S. Gulf Coast industrial market, recently announced the addition of American Rental Equipment to its network of Laborde-certified dealers. American Rental Equipment will perform service and warranty work for Diesel America, Yanmar and Hatz products from its location in Lafayette, La. “We did research and found that Laborde has a great ...

CHICAGO – Recreational boat recovery and remarketing activity appears to be cooling off after being steady or growing since 2007, according to an unscientific study by the Marketing Committee of the National Marine Bankers Association. According to the study, the recovery business appears to have peaked in 2009 while remarketing firms had two higher activity years in 2008 and 2010. ...

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Sea Ray boats will host its 2012 worldwide dealer meeting next week, unveiling their 2012 line-up of boats and yachts to over 250 dealers from 25 countries. The two-day event will be held at the Sea Ray headquarters in Knoxville, Tenn. The model-year 2012 dealer meeting will provide visitors with the opportunity to tour the manufacturing facility ...

ABILENE, Texas – Tigé Boats Inc. recently reported the addition of Heinen’s Motorsports to its worldwide network of authorized dealers. Heinen’s will offer sales and service support for Tigé owners from their location in Minnesota. Heinen’s Motorsports is located in Osseo, Minn., northwest of the Twin Cities metro area. The dealer is family-owned, and has a long history of success ...

VALCOURT, Quebec – Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) signed a multi-year agreement with TCF Inventory Finance (TCFIF) to provide financing for BRP’s line-up, including Sea-Doo. With the agreement, TCFIF will provide wholesale financing for BRP’s North American dealers, and preferred financing specifically to Evinrude and Johnson outboard engine dealers. TCFIF will be dedicating part of its staff to servicing BRP dealers. ...