Browsing: NMMA

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13 Innovation Award Winners in Miami

The National Marine Manufacturers Association announced the 13 winners of its annual innovation awards at the Miami show last week. The awards, judged by members of Boating Writers International, were made at the NMMA’s annual breakfast at the start of the show. The awards recognize boating manufacturers and suppliers who introduce new and innovative products to the market. The eight judges were all member of BWI who have experience in writing about boats and marine equipment. They were Ben Stein, Tim Murphy, Kelsey Bonham, Kevin Falvey, Alan Jones, Adam Quandt, Gary Reich, and Tony EspositoThis year’s winners are: The 2024…

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Suzuki Cruise Promotes New Eco-Friendly Fuel

A 26-foot Sea Pro center console just cruised 941 miles from Florida to Washington, D.C., powered by two Suzuki outboards using new eco-friendly fuel. The boat took ten days to travel from Jacksonville to the Capitol. Its Suzuki DF140 outboards burned 479 gallons of new EcoGen90 fuel, developed by VP Racing, along the way, for an average of just under 2 mpg in the deep-V boat. The boat’s arrival on Washington earlier this week was timed to coincide with the start of the annual American Boating Congress, organized by the National Marine Manufacturers Association. It then was used for demo…

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NMMA Announces Winners of Innovation Awards

The National Marine Manufacturers Association just announced the winners of its annual Innovation Awards at a breakfast during the Miami boat show. The awards recognize companies that produce new and innovative products. The winners were chosen by a panel of even judges from Boating Writers International, including Ben Stein, Zuzana Prochazka, Alan Jones, Lenny Rudow, Gary Reich, Frank Lanier, and Ryan Gullang. They considered practicality, cost-effectiveness and innovation in 14 categories. The winners are: Cabin Cruisers, Motor Yachts, Trawlers: Azimut Yachts Grande Trideck (pictured above). Center Console/Walkaround Fishing Boats: Pursuit Boats, S 428 Sport. Consumer Electronics, Mobile Applications and Software: Raymarine…

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New, Improved, Miami Show Opens Feb. 16

The recently improved, reorganized, and definitely easier to navigate Miami boat show will open in just a few weeks, on Wednesday, February 16, and run over President’s Day weekend, ending on Sunday, February 20. This year, for the first time, all the Miami shows will be run jointly by the National Marine Manufacturers Association and Informa Markets, the London-based exhibition company. In recent years they held separate, and essentially competing, shows, with the big NMMA show down on Virginia Key prompting traffic problems with fleets of buses and ferry boats coming down from Miami, where the Informa show was. There…

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EU Rolls Back Tariff Increase on U.S. Boats

The European Union will not double its tariffs on boats made in the U.S. to 50 percent on June 1 after all. Earlier this week, negotiators for the EU and the U.S. announced that the retaliatory tariffs on U.S. boats and some other American-made products would remain at 25 percent for the next six months or so. The temporary truce was regarded as a victory for Frank Hugelmeyer, president of the National Marine Manufacturers Association, and Gina M. Romando, the new Secretary of Commerce and former Governor of Rhode Island, who is particularly responsive to the needs of American boat…

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EU Tariffs on U.S. Boats To Double on June 1

The European Union’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S. boats is scheduled to increase, up to 50 percent, on June 1, a move that will cut even deeper into U.S. exports to that market. The current tariff is 25 percent. The National Marine Manufacturers Association says that since the tariff went into effect in 2018, U.S. boat exports to the EU have fallen by 42 percent. The EU is the U.S. boating industry’s second largest international market, after Canada. Earlier this year, the Biden Administration and the EU agreed to a four-month pause on tariffs related to World Trade Organization aircraft disputes,…

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Kris Carroll Named to NMMA Hall of Fame

Many years ago, Eddie Smith, the owner and CEO of Grady-White Boats, told me why he kept promoting Kris Carroll, the company’s president who is going to be inducted into the NMMA’s Hall of Fame on Sept. 29. “She was so good at every job she did that she just kept moving up,” he said. The NMMA (National Marine Manufacturers’ Association) will present Carroll with the 2020 NMMA Hall of Fame Award at the opening of the IBEX show online. She is the first woman to get the award. Among the previous 47 recipients are Ray Hunt, Olin Stephens, Nathanael…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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Cutwater 32 CB Wins in Miami Innovation Awards

Cutwater Boats just won a prestigious Innovation Award at the Miami International Boat Show for its new 32 Command Bridge. In announcing the awards, one of the judges said, “A lot of engineering went into making a trailerable 32-foot retractable flybridge boat with all the features included.” The annual Innovation Awards are a joint effort by the National Marine Manufacturers Association, which sponsors the boat show, and Boating Writers International. The jury is made up of seven boating writers. The awards recognize groundbreaking new consumer boating products. The Cutwater 32 CB (pictured above) is powered by two 300-hp Yamaha outboards.…

Miami Boat Show
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Big Miami Shows Coming Up: 1,800 Boats on Display

The long Presidents’ Day weekend is coming up and so are the two large Miami boat shows, the Miami International Boat Show on Rickenbacker Causeway on Virginia Key, and the Miami Yacht Show downtown. Both shows run from Thursday, February 13, through Monday, February 17, and they’ll have a total of about 1,800 boats on display and expected crowds of 132,000 people. The larger, more established show at the Miami Marine Stadium Park and Basin on Virginia Key (pictured above), is produced by the National Marine Manufacturers Association, and this will be its 79th year. It will have more than…

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Canada Ends 10 Percent Tax on Boats Imported from the U.S.

The Canadian government has some good news for the U.S. boating industry, and for new boat buyers there. It just announced that it is ending the 10 percent retaliatory tariff on boats imported from the U.S. The Canadian government imposed the 10 percent tax on boats imported from the U.S. last July 1 in retaliation for President Trump’s 10 percent tariff on aluminum and 25 percent tariff on steel imported from Canada. The tax hurt many U.S. builders who had been selling a significant percent of their new boats to dealers and buyers in Canada (see picture of the Cutwater…

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