In 1966, boaters could buy a new mid-sized cruiser for about $7000. Outboard engines had just surpassed 100 horsepower, and boating was growing on a large scale. Also that year, the nation’s largest recreational boating group, Boat Owners Association of the United States (BoatU.S.), got its start thanks to founder Richard Schwartz who saw a need to make recreational boaters’ lives better. His vision was all rolled up into the “service, savings, and representation” motto that today remains at the core of the more than half-million-member organization that today celebrates its 50th anniversary.
“BoatU.S. has been there for boaters and always will be,” says BoatU.S. president and Annapolis sailor 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, BoatU.S. is 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.”
BoatU.S. will celebrate its golden anniversary this year. A few highlights of the organization’s significant impacts and innovation include:
1967: The BoatU.S. Marine Insurance program started offering the first recreational boat policy in clear language.
1971: BoatU.S. became first organization to fight for legislation on behalf of boaters, when Schwartz drafted the watershed Federal Boat Safety Act creating the U.S. Coast Guard Office of Boating Safety.
1980: After two years of BoatU.S. lobbying efforts, in 1980 President Carter signed 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.
1982: The BoatU.S. Insurance policy becomes the first in the nation to feature on water towing coverage to its insureds.
1994: TowBoatU.S. creates a 24-hour toll-free dispatch hotline to respond to members’ needs.
2006: Working with the marine industry, BoatU.S. launches a massive two-year lobbying effort to pass the Clean Boating Act, exempting recreational boats from permits intended to address ocean-going ships.
2011: BoatU.S. hand delivers more than 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.
2012: More than 65,000 recreational boats are damaged or lost when Superstorm Sandy strikes the Northeast, making it the largest recreational boat loss since the association began keeping track in 1966. BoatU.S. mobilizes its largest-ever Catastrophe Team salvaging thousands of boats from the NY-NJ region as far north as Maine and inland to Michigan.
Click here for a complete history of BoatU.S. with pictures. Congratulations from SpinSheet--and a big thank you for all you do to make boaters' lives easier!
