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NEWS From BoatU.S.
Boat Owners Association of The United States
880 S. Pickett St., Alexandria, VA 22304
BoatU.S. News Room at http://www.BoatUS.com/news/releases.asp

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Scott Croft, 703-461-2864,
Date: June 15, 2005

BOATU.S. ONLINE CONSUMER DATABASE DEBUTS

One-of-a-Kind Reference Tool Now Available Online

If a boat could talk, what would it tell you?

For nearly 20 years, the BoatU.S. Consumer Protection Bureau has
maintained the only nationwide database of consumer complaints and
safety information reported by boat owners, the U.S. Coast Guard,
manufacturers, marine surveyors and marine technicians. Now, for the
first time, this one-of-a kind database previously only available only
via phone and fax is now accessible online as an exclusive reference
tool available to BoatU.S. members.

"Whether you are buying a boat, trying to determine if a problem on
your current boat is widespread, or just curious, we can help," said
BoatU.S. Consumer Protection Bureau Director Caroline Ajootian.

The database contains thousands of specific reports about boats, marine
engines, boating products, dealers, marinas and related boating
services as well as information about how, or whether, the companies
involved responded to each complaint. Also included are manufacturer's
defect recall notices and safety alerts published by the U.S. Coast
Guard and a selection of service bulletins issued by boat builders.

BoatU.S. members can search the database by boat and engine make,
model, year, hull number or serial number, or by the type of problem
and they can also register a new problem. The database has been used
by the U.S. Coast Guard to issue defect recall notices.

To increase accuracy, BoatU.S. makes every effort to collect boat make
and model information and hull and engine identification numbers.
Having this data is vital because analysis often shows that problems
are confined to specific models or a series of hull numbers.

Ajootian also cautioned, "We do not rate or evaluate boats, engines,
marine products or services, so users should not expect to find an
overall company report card. Also, boaters searching the database will
most likely find reports about larger companies simply because large
companies have more products on the water. Keep in mind that the
presence - or absence - of reports is as much a reflection on market
share, rather than the quality of a boat or lack of it."

The database is located at http://www.BoatUS.com/consumer If you
aren't a BoatU.S. member yet, this Web site also gives boaters the
option of easily signing up at a special online rate of only $14.00.
BoatU.S. - Boat Owners Association of The United States - is the
nation's leading advocate for recreational boaters providing its
595,000 members with a wide array of consumer services.