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In 1974, just eight years after its founding by Richard Schwartz (4th from L), BoatUS moved to new headquarters in Springfield, VA with just 17 staff
– far less than the over 500 employees today.
In
2016, Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) Celebrates 50th Anniversary
In 1966,
boaters could buy a new mid-sized cruiser for about $7,000, outboard engines
had just surpassed 100 horsepower, and recreational boating was growing on a
large scale across America. It was also in ’66 that the nation’s largest
recreational boating group, Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS), got its start thanks to Founder
Richard Schwartz who saw a need to make recreational boaters’ lives better.
His vision of offering representation, improving
safety, providing quality services at competitive prices and saving boaters
money was all rolled up into the “service, savings and representation” motto
that remains at the core of the more than half million member organization
today.
“BoatUS has always been there for boaters and
always will be,” said BoatUS President Margaret Podlich. “Whether it’s helping
boaters have a safe day on the water, ensuring that boating taxes go to boating
programs, offering competitive boat insurance coverage, or having the largest
on water towing fleet in the nation, BoatUS is proudly the single source of
exceptional service and savings. We’re steadfast in our commitment to protect
boaters and their rights, making boating safer, more affordable and
accessible.”
BoatUS will be celebrating its golden anniversary
in 2016 with a series of special member events and coverage in its flagship
publication, BoatUS Magazine, and other programs. A look back at five
decades of BoatUS’ significant impacts and innovation include:
- BoatUS is the first
organization to fight for legislation on behalf of boaters, shaping
national boating policy when Schwartz helps draft the watershed Federal
Boat Safety Act of 1971 creating the US Coast Guard Office of Boating
Safety. He also secured passage of the Recreational Boating Safety and
Facilities Improvement Act of 1979 – also known as the Biaggi Bill – which
affirmed that taxes and fees paid by boaters should support boating
programs.
- The BoatUS Marine Insurance
program starts in 1967 offering the first recreational boat policy in
clear, understandable language rather than the unintelligible,
centuries-old language from Lloyd’s of London.
- BoatUS creates the only
Consumer Protection Bureau (1970) for boaters to seek redress with
manufacturers, suppliers or businesses as well as a Dispute Mediation
Program. BoatUS Reports, the association’s early member
newsletter, eventually grows to become BoatUS Magazine, the
largest boating magazine in the country with over half a million
circulation.
- After two years of BoatUS
lobbying efforts, in 1980 President Carter signs the Recreational Boating
Safety and Facilities Improvement Act, authorizing $60 million in boating
fuel taxes to be spent on boating safety programs and boating facilities
improvements over the next three years.
- In 1982 BoatUS leads the
successful fight to repeal the Federal Boat “User Fee” Tax, saving boaters
up to $600 annually.
- As a result of the U.S. Coast
Guard no longer offering non-emergency assistance to boaters where towboat
companies existed, the BoatUS Insurance policy becomes the first in the
nation to feature on water towing coverage to its insureds.
- Also in 1983, the first BoatUS
Catastrophe Team is established to assist the Houston Yacht Club following
the disastrous landfall of Hurricane Alicia. Comprised of expert marine
surveyors, claims adjusters and heavy equipment operators, in subsequent
years the team becomes the “gold standard” for service to insured boaters
after storm-related disasters. As a result of what it learns, BoatUS sets
course to become the nation’s expert at hurricane damage avoidance for
boats and marinas, offering free preparation materials for boat and yacht
clubs, marinas and boatyards.
- In 1984, Schwartz is widely
credited in leading the passage of the federal Wallop/Breaux Trust Fund
Amendment, today part of the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund
that now returns over $600 million annually to federal and state boating and
fishing programs.
- BoatUS was an early pioneer in
discount marine retailing, starting with a single product – a floating
flashlight – eventually opening a nationwide chain of 62 BoatUS retail
stores and catalog. The retail division was sold to West Marine in 2003.
- In 1994 TowBoatUS creates a
24-hour toll-free dispatch hotline to respond to members’ needs. The
dispatch system pioneers the use of computer mapping to find the closest
towboat while connecting the boater directly with the towing captain
through teleconferencing.
- Already a major influence on
the national boating safety stage, in 2000 the BoatUS Foundation and the
BoatUS Clean Water Trust merge to become the nonprofit 501(c)(3) BoatUS
Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water, which runs innovative
programs ranging from the only free Online Boating Safety Course and
nationwide Life Jacket Loaner Program for Kids to the Help Stop the Drops
marina spill prevention program and EPIRB rental program for offshore
passages.
- Long before there was publicly
available data on the causes of insurance claims, BoatUS develops the only
recreational boat Damage Avoidance Program and publication to help BoatUS
members avoid claims and injuries, Seaworthy. BoatUS insurance
programs today total over $8 billion in hull value.
- BoatUS acquires Vessel Assist
Association of America in 2003, the largest on water towing fleet on the
Pacific Coast. The move adds a new West Coast 24-hour dispatch center
connected to a coastal high-site VHF communications system which provides
VHF radio communications far out to sea – a unique aspect not found with
any other on water boat towing company. Today, TowBoatUS is the nation’s
largest on water towing fleet with over 600 towboats and 300 locations.
- In 2006, the EPA starts
wrestling with a proposed operational permit that could be required for
each boat in each state. Working with the marine industry, BoatUS launches
a massive two-year lobbying effort to pass the Clean Boating Act,
exempting recreational boats from permits intended to address ocean-going
ships and offshore sources of invasive species.
- In 2007, BoatUS is sold to a
Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary, National Indemnity Company. More recently,
on January 1, 2015 BoatUS is transferred in a change of ownership to
GEICO, another Berkshire Hathaway company.
- In an effort to help the storm-struck
marina industry recover after years of intense hurricane activity and
ensure boaters have dockage for their boats after a storm hits, in 2008
BoatUS holds the first ever, two-day Marina Hurricane Preparation
Symposium designed to reduce damage and the loss of boats and marinas in
storms.
- In 2011, BoatUS hand delivers
over 15,000 comments from concerned boaters, sailors and anglers to the
Federal Communications Commission demanding that the agency not go forward
in its plans to allow a private company to put the reliability of the
Global Positioning System (GPS) system at risk. The plans fail to win
government support.
- Over 65,000 recreational boats
are damaged or lost when 2012’s Superstorm Sandy strikes the Northeast,
making it the single-largest industry loss to recreational boats since the
Association began keeping track in 1966. BoatUS mobilizes its largest-ever
Catastrophe Team salvaging thousands of boats from the NY-NJ region as far
north as Maine and inland to Michigan.
- In 2015, BoatUS offers the
first insurance policy for boats rented through peer-to-peer rental
programs. Fighting for anchoring rights in Florida, amending the nation’s
renewable fuels corn ethanol mandate, and reauthorization of the US Coast
Guard budget top the list of legislative priorities. Forty-nine years
after its founding, BoatUS begins a new era of growth and service to
America’s boaters.
For more information, visit BoatUS.com.
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