Search results

Annual fishing license sales in California have dropped nearly 55 percent since 1980, according to the California Sportfishing League, despite census numbers reporting a population increase from about 23 million to more than 38 million in the same period. The study shows that California fishing...

Grand Banks Yachts said construction is under way on the 44 Eastbay, an all-new model that is scheduled to debut at U.S. boat shows in the fall. The boat is the latest model in the builder’s Eastbay line of Down East-style yachts. Just a year removed from the 20th anniversary of the Eastbay’s...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. —The 30th annual Palm Beach International Boat Show kicked off Thursday with a record number of boats that includes surges in megayachts and boats from 40 to 60 feet. The number of new boats on display in the water jumped 8 percent from last year, Show Management CEO Efrem...

Sea Tow Services International said its founder and chief executive Capt. Joseph Frohnhoefer Jr. died peacefully Tuesday at his home in Southold, N.Y., after a brief battle with cancer. His wife of more than 46 years, Georgia, was by his side, the company said. Frohnhoefer remained at the helm...

Correct Craft said Tuesday that it is entering the bass and walleye fishing markets with the acquisition of Bass Cat and Yar-Craft. Correct Craft said it has no plans to change the location or the management teams of the companies it is acquiring. Bass Cat bass-fishing boats and Yar-Craft...

Front Street Shipyard’s in-house design team is collaborating with yacht designer Bill Tripp to develop a new line of modern sloops that are now available for construction. The shipyard said the line includes 84-foot, 102-foot and 112-foot yachts that are performance-oriented with a range of...

Training — it’s a word that can excite or illicit groans, depending on a person’s perspective. But most boat dealers are always looking to improve their business, regardless of how they go about it, and presumably all of them want their team and staff to be as knowledgeable as possible. A...

Last February, amid a bitterly cold winter across much of the nation, the marine industry’s spring selling season opened with a single-digit sales slump. This year, despite an equally harsh season that featured plenty of snow, the industry reversed its fortunes as sales rose 5.5 percent to 4,261...

The Brevard County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office says a group of skillful, well-rehearsed thieves are plaguing boat businesses, stealing thousands of dollars of equipment from boats along the highway. Often it appears they’ll see a boat that’s visible from U.S. 1 in one of the area’s many boatyards...

Grow Boating Inc. has transferred ownership of the Marine Industry Certified Dealership Program to the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas. The group had tapped the MRAA to oversee the program in mid-2013, but the MRAA now has ownership of the entire program, said MRAA president Matt...

The marine industry offered widespread support for a plan under which the Gulf states would manage their red snapper populations 200 miles offshore, as opposed to the federal management that the species has faced to this point. In a move long awaited by the recreational fishing and boating...

Sea Ray Boats is denying allegations that it infringed on a Cobalt Boats patent with its submersible swim step. Parent company Brunswick Corp. said in documents filed in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Virginia late last week that there was no “actual or legal basis” for the...

In a move long awaited by the recreational fishing and boating community, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas have agreed to state-based management of Gulf of Mexico red snapper. The directors of the state fish and wildlife agencies from those states announced their agreement on...

  Led by four segments that topped 40,000 in sales, the recreational boating industry finished 2014 with moderate growth of 6 percent in the main powerboat segments and 8.5 percent industrywide. Aluminum fishing and pontoon boats, small to midsized fiberglass outboards and personal watercraft...

New data show that wholesale shipments of U.S. outboard engines were up 5.5 percent in February on a rolling 12-month, year-over-year basis. The National Marine Manufacturers Association’s control group of manufacturers, which represents 95 percent of the market, reported that gains continue to...

The U.S. brokerage market improved in February as 1,652 boats were sold, 85 more than changed hands in January and a 3 percent increase from the same month a year earlier. The total value of boats sold was $208.6 million, a 1 percent increase from the previous February, according to YachtWorld...

New maritime laws that will affect both the commercial and recreational yachting sectors could change the way megayachts are designed moving forward. Floating Life International, a Swiss yacht and superyacht charter and sales company, held a summit Feb. 26-27 to discuss Maritime Labor Convention...

The marine industry’s behemoth floorplan lender increased several credit lines in the last year or two as boat sales continue their steady, albeit slow ascent and confidence rises among consumers and dealers. “I would say virtually every one of our largest customers has come back to us for...

NEWPORT, R.I. — Two Rhode Island marine trades groups held their 10th annual Marine & Composites Industry Career Day on Saturday amid steadily improving news about business and employment. “In terms of hiring, we have the highest number of positions open from marinas, dealerships and...

A lawsuit filed over plans to hold the Miami International Boat Show at Miami Marine Stadium in 2016 is being resolved and is in mediation. The town of Key Biscayne, Fla., filed suit in February against Miami over the city’s decision to redevelop the Miami Marine Stadium grounds to host the boat...