Behind The Buoy - Column

Boat/US Magazine, Jan, 2000 by Richard Schwartz

As I write this column in the final days of Y1.9K, I hope that all the predictions for Y2K fizzled out with the last bottle of New Year's champagne. But, if Y2K didn't fizzle and ended up as a bang, by now you have no electricity and you've smartly retreated to your boat where you can remain comfortably sustained. Boaters, more than most people, know how to be self-sufficient Who needs civilization, anyway?

In any event, I would like to indulge just briefly in a look back to the last century to remind myself just how far boating has come.

In a column I wrote in BOAT/U.S. Reports in October 1966, I took issue with the lack of funding for boating facilities and took a shot at the government because boat owners -- rather than boatbuilders -- were about to be fined if their vessels' fuel ventilation systems did not meet federal standards. President Lyndon Johnson had just ordered a study of water pollution that year.

Today, these news items sound strange indeed. Beginning in 1971 consumers were no longer held responsible for defects in boat construction; by 1972 we had a Clean Water Act that is still doing its job today and in 1984 boating facilities began to be funded through a boating trust fund we successfully lobbied the federal government to create.

The 20th Century has been good for boating and we hope that the 21st will be even better. As an Association, we look forward to becoming larger, exerting even more influence and serving members with even more benefits.

To that end, BOAT/U.S. is launching two new and exciting programs that will make BOAT/U.S. membership even more valuable than it has been for our 500,000 members to date.

Our first new program will significantly enhance the value of having a BOAT/U.S. Visa or MasterCard and will bring new meaning to the contemporary adage, "A percentage saved is a percentage earned."

Association members who use these MBNA-issued credit cards will now be eligible for a 3% rebate on any BOAT/U.S. equipment purchase at a marine center, through our catalog, and Web site (www.boatus.com), or on any of the services at nearly 500 Cooperating Marinas.

Charge a total of $3,000, for example, for any of the services at a BOAT/U.S. Cooperating Marina or in BOAT/U.S. equipment purchases during the year and you will be eligible for a $90 rebate from MBNA.

That's the equivalent of getting 50 or more gallons of free gas or unlimited towing from BOAT/U.S. for free each year just for using the BOAT/U.S. credit card. All you have to do is circle any eligible BOAT/U.S. purchases on your statement and send it in to MBNA. They'll do the rest and post it on your next statement.

I believe this new member benefit, coupled with our existing Member Rewards program in which you automatically receive a "$10 off" coupon for every $250 of equipment you buy through BOAT/U.S., makes BOAT/U.S. membership a "must have" for every recreational boat owner this century.

We'll also soon be unveiling a new program for boaters who trailer their boats. The BOAT/U.S. "Trailering ClubPLUS" is designed to provide you with some extra peace of mind on the highway when you trailer your boat, make it less expensive to launch your boat, and provide you with a forum to hear from others who trailer their boats.

For $10 per year, Trailering ClubPlus members will receive up to $150 worth of on-the-road trailer or tow vehicle assistance, up to $40 in ramp fee rebates, access to our toll-free Ramp Locator Line with tens of thousands of listings and ramp locations and a subscription to "Rolling", our new newsletter for trailer boaters.

I think that this new club, which builds on the foundation of our existing trailering program, will help meet the needs of a large segment of our membership.

Which brings me to a request I have for you. As we begin our 34th year as an association of boat owners, I would very much like to hear from you about your ideas for new association services.

If you have an idea that you would like to share with me, you can e-mail me at magazine@boatus.com or send it to our headquarters the old-fashioned way.

Whichever way you choose, I promise that your idea will be read and, who knows, maybe you will be responsible for coming up with a new program that will benefit your fellow boat owners well into the 21st Century.

Finally, let me extend a heartfelt "thank you" for your support over these past 34 years. Together, we have made a difference!