WATERWAY BILL COULD BENEFIT BOATERS A bill that the U.S. House of Representatives recently passed
expenditures to waterway operation and maintenance costs for use at
with bipartisan support, H.R. 3080, the Water Resources Reform
these emerging harbors. Although these harbors and waterways may
and Development Act of 2013, has the BoatOwners Association
not carry the millions of tons of cargo of the bigger ports, they play a
of the United States (BoatUS) seeing many potential benefits for
vital role in supporting recreational boating and commercial fishing,
recreational boaters.
BoatUS said.
“We have national highway and air transportation systems,” said
The bill also takes innovative approaches to waterway development
David Kennedy, BoatUS Government Affairs Senior Program
policy, such as streamlining project studies and looking at all of
Coordinator. “This is the first time since 2007 that Congress is moving
the individually authorized projects in the Great Lakes Navigation
forward with a much needed transportation bill for our waterways,
System as a single comprehensive system that recognizes the
and boaters stand to gain from it.”
interdependence of the projects. Additionally, USACE is directed to
Recreational boaters will benefit from language in the bill that directs the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to target funding to emerging harbors or those that ship less than one million tons of
assess the maintenance needs of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, taking into account their benefits to recreation, commercial fishing, and navigation.
cargo annually. H.R. 3080 allocates 10 percent of the total amount of
NOAA STOPS PRINTING PAPER NAUTICAL CHARTS The federal government will no longer be
The decision to stop production is based
electronic navigational charts and raster
printing lithographic nautical charts effective
on several factors, including the declining
navigational charts are available for free
April 13, 2014, according to a press release
demand for lithographic charts, the
download from the Coast Survey website.
from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
increasing use of digital and electronic
Administration (NOAA) Office of Coast
charts, and federal budget realities.
Survey. The Office will continue to create and distribute other forms of nautical charts, including print-on-demand paper charts, as well as electronic and digital formats.
NOAA said that it also has a new product for users: full-scale PDF nautical charts that
NOAA will continue to create and maintain
are now available for free download on a
other forms of nautical charts, including the
trial basis.
print-on-demand charts. It added that NOAA’s
INDMAR MARINE ENGINES NOW BUILT FORD TOUGH Ford Motor Company is back in the business
heavy weight—which is exactly what
of time, research and development dollars to
of marine engines in an agreement with
today’s high-performance watercraft need,”
find an engine that will best fit the demands
Indmar Marine Engines to offer high-
said Chuck Rowe, president of Indmar
of watersports.”
performance boaters the 6.2-liter V8 engine,
Marine Engines.
which powers the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor and F-Series Super Duty trucks. Indmar Marine Engines will offer three models of varying horsepower and torque that will have plenty of power to pull water-skiers and wake boarders.
“Our sport has evolved, and with heavier boats, bigger wakes and larger ballast and passenger capacity, the demand on the engine is even greater,” Rowe added. “We
“The 6.2-liter engine was specifically built for
looked at the total market,
a truck, providing the torque needed to tow
and have spent a great deal
ACCUWEATHER OFFERS MARINE WEATHER FORECASTS AccuWeather
information, water currents, radar, wind speed and direction, dew
now offers
point, air temperature, barometric pressure, weather maps, radar,
marine weather
sun and moon rise and set times, moon phase and transit, and sea
forecasts online and within a suite of mobile apps. For the first time,
surface temperatures. It is currently available in the Apple App Store
AccuWeather will provide mariners and other water hobbyists with
and Google Play markets and as a Web application.
important marine-related weather information useful for activities such as boating, fishing, sailing, and surfing.
The AccuWeather marine weather forecasts are available for the United States, Europe, and Australia. For the United States, Marine
Marine Weather™ by AccuWeather provides users with weather
Weather™ includes all coastal regions, including the Great Lakes,
information pertinent for water activities including buoy data, tide
Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. greatlakesboating.com | 51