US Boating By The Numbers

Alexandria, Virginia-based Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) is America’s largest boating advocacy, service and safety organization. The group just released some new data on boating based on surveys of its nearly 550,000 members, which reveals some interesting information. Here’s a sneak peak, looking BoatUS members by the numbers.

28.4 feet
Average length of a BoatUS member’s primary boat.

27
Average number of years of boating experience.

1,062,990
Total number of boats owned by BoatUS members.

76%
The percentage of members who  day cruise, making it the most popular boating activity followed by fishing (59%), overnight cruising (44%), and watersports (26%).

605
The number of towboats in the organization’s US towing fleet.

70,535
Total number of annual requests to TowBoatUS 24-hour dispatch centers for on-water assistance including towing, battery jumps, fuel drop-offs, tows home and soft ungrounding services.

$748
The nationwide average cost of on water towing and soft ungrounding service.

1,259,994
The number of students who have taken the BoatUS Foundation’s free Online Boating Safety Course to date.

540
Locations across the United States where you can borrow a child’s life jacket for free from the BoatUS Foundation’s Kids Life Jacket Loaner Program.

$1.3 million
Funding over the past 26 years provided to local community groups by the BoatUS Foundation Grassroots Grant Program, which promotes safe and clean boating education.

3,042
The number of pounds of derelict fishing net removed on June 15, 2016, by TowBoatUS Ocean City, Maryland, under a NOAA Marine Debris Removal Grant administered by the BoatUS Foundation.

For full information, visit the BoatUS website at www.boatus.com.