When something’s got to give, how do you decide?

By Mike Davin, online editor, Boating Industry magazine — We highlighted an interesting article from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune in our e-newsletter the other day. The article reported on the difficult decision facing Florida’s Manatee Technical Institute, which is weighing whether to cut its boat-building curriculum. Read more >>

Numbers, not guts, will see you through the recession

By Mike Davin, Online Editor, Boating Industry — Every month, we publish the results of Info-Link Technologies Inc.’s Bellwether Report, which shows a rolling change in unit sales for various powerboat categories. (See the most recent report here or view the charts here.) Read more >>

Yes, we are real people, and we can prove it

By Mike Davin, Online Editor, Boating Industry — A year ago, had you ever tweeted? Boating Industry hadn’t, though now it’s a big part of how we share breaking news.

We hadn’t launched this blog yet either (that happened in March) or our Facebook page (April) or our LinkedIn group (April again). Actually, it’s been a pretty big year for us and our online social circle, and we hope the expanded offerings have made it easier for you to communicate with us and your fellow marine industry members. Read more »

Do Mercury and Brett Favre have something in common?

By Mike Davin, Online Editor, Boating Industry — The situation between Mercury Marine and its union is becoming a little dizzying for anyone closely following the news. Several times over the past weeks — most recently on Saturday when an important deadline passed — it has appeared that the company’s pending shift of manufacturing jobs to Oklahoma was a done deal. Read more >>

Fountain looks to rebound after bankruptcy

By Mike Davin, Online Editor, Boating Industry — The news coming out of Fountain Powerboats hasn’t been good for a while, but this week it got a little worse when the company filed for bankruptcy. In its heyday, Fountain employed more than 450 workers; today that number has dwindled to about a dozen. Read more >>

After 70 years, is Mercury leaving home?

By Mike Davin, Online Editor, Boating Industry — Mercury Marine was founded in 1939 as the Kiekhaefer Corporation of Cedarburg, Wis. Now, after a vote by workers in Fond du Lac to reject Mercury’s latest contract offer, the company just took a big step toward leaving Wisconsin, where it has been an institution for seven decades. Read more >>

Do you know what your employees are telling customers?

By Mike Davin, Online Editor, Boating Industry magazine — My wife and I are aspiring boat owners. At least, I thought we were — until last weekend when she informed me it wasn’t worth the headache.

Here’s the story: My wife and I were up at my parent’s cabin, where their boats had just been delivered from storage. We were the first ones up since the boats had gone in the water, so we were planning to enjoy what I thought at the time was a good thing — the inaugural ride of the season. Read more »