January 2002 NC Marine TradeWinds Newsletter
Visit Us – Help Us – Help Your Business @ the Miami Boat Show – Booth 4178
Boat Builders Division of NC Manufacturers Association Meets
Visit
Us – Help Us – Help Your Business @ the Miami Boat Show – Booth 4178
NC marine businesses and North Carolina as a boating friendly state will be the focus of our promotional booth at the Miami Boat Show February 14-19. We will be taking photos and promoting exhibiting NC businesses through our www.NCwaterways.com website. We need help manning our booth during the show. If you or your staff can give us an hour or two of your time, call our Beaufort office at (252) 728-2144, or email or Mbradley@SBTDC.org. Or come and visit us at the show – and stay a while. Our booth is #4178 in at the main Convention Center in the tented area near the bus departure area.
According to Soundings Trade
Only magazine last month (December 2001), marinas will see big jumps in
their insurance rates. Depending on marina location and size, a minimum hike of
25% is expected, and a 100% increase is likely for some. Property insurance that
covers docks, piers and buildings will see the largest increase, with workers’
comp insurance close behind. The smaller businesses will be hardest hit since
the smaller the marina, the fewer boaters to help spread the cost.
Why? …the rising cost of reinsurance, poor stock market returns, previous under-pricing of products, and finally the September 11 terrorist attacks – all combined to force an increase. Insurance claim estimates for September 11 alone are between $75 and $100 billion. The previous record for amount claimed for one tragedy was hurricane Andrew, which cost the insurance industry $19 billion. Factoring this alone, it looks like the rates will not fall any time soon.
Americans With Disabilities Act Soon a Factor For Marinas
The final version of the accessibility guidelines for recreation facilities is in the hands of the federal Access Board. The marine industry has reviewed and advised on the marina access portion and is overall satisfied with the results. New and expanding marinas will need to have 3 percent or at least one slip accessible with a 60 X 60 inch clearance to accommodate transfer to a boat. Paths, sidewalks, ramps, and gangways will have to be accessible, with the crucial issue sited as gangways. While not finalized, the length and slope of gangways preferred by the industry is length up to 80 feet and a slope of 1 foot vertical for every 12 feet horizontal (1:12).
Rules will also cover both customers and employees. Print size in contracts, hiring and firing practices, and set up of work areas are all addressed. There will be some exceptions for smaller facilities. While all of these changes can increase costs to marina owners, there is a silver lining. The marine industry, in accommodating those with disabilities, is opening up a whole new market of prospective customers.
Will
Boaters Visit Your Facility?
We are currently putting together a Clean Boating Brochure at the request of NC Department of Natural Resources. The brochure highlights what boaters can do to ease pollution of our waterways. One listed suggestion is that boaters patronize marinas that have been designated Clean Marinas. Boaters nationwide are becoming familiar with state clean marina programs and they are beginning to look for marinas that participate. Don’t be left out of this marketing bonus for your facility. Sign up for the Clean Marina program today. Visit www.NCMTA.com or call Wendy Larimer (910-962-3351).
If
you employ 10 or more people, new OSHA record keeping rules for tracking
workplace injuries and illnesses are in place. New record keeping forms,
training materials, a listing of record keeping coordinators, local OSHA
offices, fact sheets and frequently asked questions are all available through
our www.NCwaterways.com
web site – note the side-by-side option. As businesses switch from the old
system to the new one, they will need to post their 2001 summary of injuries and
illnesses during the month of February.
Boat
Builders Division of NC Manufacturers Association Meets
On
January 9, 2002, twenty-four representatives of NC boat building companies
attended a meeting of the newly created Boat Builders Division of the NC
Manufacturers Association. Bill Naumann, President of Hatteras Yachts was
appointed Chairman of the division. Regular membership in the Division is open
to all boat builders and Associate membership in the Division is open to all who
provide goods and services or are otherwise allied with the boat building
industry.
Among topics covered at the meeting, was the growing need for boat builders to have an effective lobbying voice and presence in Raleigh. In 2001, 2,587 bills and resolutions were considered with many directly affecting boat building. Some of these included workers compensation, workplace safety, unemployment insurance taxes, corporate taxes and credits, mandated health insurance coverage, environmental regulation, employment discrimination, utility charges. Further information regarding membership in the Boat Builders Division can be obtained by contacting NCMA at 919/782-8416, FAX 919/782-8488, NCMA1@aol.com, PO Box 31448, Raleigh, NC 27622-1448.
Sales Training (MIC Certified) Slated for February 25-26
The North Carolina Marine Trade Association, in conjunction with Stellar Sales Training, Inc, is again sponsoring the nationally known “Natural Selling Concepts” program. This Marine Industry Certified (MIC) 16-hour program will be conducted in New Bern on February 25-26, 2002 and offers guaranteed results. Unlike other nationally offered sales training programs, the “Natural Selling Concepts” program is conducted personally by the authors, and is based on real-world selling experience. MIC credits are given to those who complete the program. The fee is $249 for NCMTA members and discounts apply for additional members from the same company. This same program was well received by several NC companies including boat builders and boat dealers. Go to our NCMTA website for testimonials and additional information: http://www.ncmta.com/Training/sales training.htm You MUST register soon by calling (800) 480-5482.
Businesses and boaters that benefit from the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AIWW) will be surveyed in the coming months to determine how much the lack of depth on the AIWW is negatively affecting business through lost transient traffic, longer delivery times, or simply groundings. The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association (http://www.atlintracoastal.org) spearheaded this project, turning to Sea Grant and Boat/US for assistance. NCMTA is one of the primary NC contacts for this study, which will measure the economic impact of the AIWW.
Currently the Army Corps Of Engineers allocates dredging funds based on commercial use only. Not only is the recreational use ignored, the commercial use is severely under reported. Every year areas in need of dredging are not dredged, and every year more areas silt in. Unless more funding is secured, there is a danger that areas of the AIWW will become impassable within 10 years. Recreational boaters, businesses that service and supply boaters, and NC builders of deeper draft boats who depend on the ICW for delivery of their boat, will experience exceptional hardships. To follow this issue, keep an active eye on www.NCwaterways.com and report problems along the ICW to www.BoatUS.com/ICW.
Promote
Your Marine Businesses! Statewide and Nationally
One component of the $175,000 award
by the Golden LEAF Foundation is promotion of NC marine businesses. It utilizes
the www.NCwaterways.com website and
supports the ability of business owner to add and update their company’s data.
It is up to each business to update or add company information. Use the LOCATE
NC MARINE BUSINESSES tab from the home page. This project furthers the startup
funding by Progress Energy, ElectriCities, and the Electric Cooperatives (see
the website’s Sponsors page)
If you want help starting a business website or want help marketing your business, utilize the services of the SBTDC found through the BUSINESS ASSISTANCE tab.