American Boat And Yacht Council

The American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC) is a non-profit, member organization that develops voluntary safety standards for the design, construction, maintenance, and repair of recreational boats. ABYC is the premier global standards organization in the marine industry and a leader in technical education and technician certification. Did you know th... at 90% of boats on the water are built to ABYC Standards? Many people dont realize that in the U.S. there are a few laws within the Code of Federal Regulations (CFRs) with regard to the construction of recreational boats. There are a few regulations for fire extinguishers, life jackets, navigation lights and visual distress signals but for the most part the government in the U.S. has left it up to private industry to create a body of guidance for building safe recreational boats. Responding to a mid-'50s boom in recreational boating, the American Boat & Yacht Council was formed by members of the Motorboat and Yacht Advisory Panel of the U.S. Coast Guard's Merchant Marine Council. It was incorporated on February 1, 1954, in New York State as a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) corporation. The standards and technical information reports cover all the major boat systems and the development and annual review of these standards provide boat building guidelines which correlate directly to the significant reduction in the number of boating accidents over the past six decades. ABYC is on the leading edge of the movement toward greater reliance upon standards that improve boating safety for the recreational boating community. Additionally our seminars, workshops and technician certification courses are instrumental in increasing the level of knowledge and professionalism throughout the boating industry.Read More