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John Q. Boater
Over the last two years, the National Marine Manufacturers Association
(NMMA) set out to define exactly what makes boaters tick. The organization
hired Mediamark Research to conduct personality tests on hundreds of boat
owners and nonowners and looked for trends contrasting the groups.
“We wanted to discover
the basic health and lifestyle differences between boaters and nonboaters,”
says Daniel Green, assistant director of communications for the NMMA.
“This study finally quantifies what sets boaters apart.”
The organization also
tapped national health data from Impulse Research to compare the overall
well being of people who spend time on the water versus those who don’t.
You might agree with
the study’s overall conclusions—that the four most commonly
cited benefits of boating are building relationships, going fishing, reducing
stress, and simply enjoying the outdoors—but do you fit the rest
of the profile of the average U.S. boater?
• 76 percent of
boat owners like new challenges
• 62 percent believe fun is the whole point of life
• 54 percent crave excitement
• About two-thirds of boat owners said owning a boat had brought
their family closer together
• About half of all boat owners began boating with friends or a friend’s
family
• Boaters get about seven and half hours per week of active recreation;
nonboaters get less than five and a half hours
• Nonboaters have been hospitalized more than boat owners (14 percent
to 11 percent) and tend to be more overweight
• When asked about the overall quality of their lives, boat owners
rated it about five percent better than nonowners
• Boat owners expressed greater satisfaction with their accomplishments,
family relations, and their ability to enjoy life
• Nonowners are more prone to feel useless, lonely, unhappy, or excessively
fatigued
• More boat owners said their health is excellent or good compared
to nonowners (83 percent to 77 percent)
• Boat owners tend to have greater self-esteem and the ability to
enjoy life more than nonowners
• The benefits of owning a boat include being able to unwind
• Most said boating helps them leave pressures behind (79 percent),
find tranquility (71 percent), and feel a sense of freedom (53 percent)
31,000
Minimum number of “seamounts”—underwater mountains
that rise above 3,500 feet from the sea floor—in the Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans, according to the International Council for the Exploration
of the Sea.
Things We Like
Group managing editor Eileen Mansfield Murphy found this clever door
design in the master stateroom head on one of Jefferson Yachts’ newest
boats. Instead of pulling or sliding the doors open, you push
them forward to reveal the sink and mirror. Once inside you can pull the
left door back to its original position, and gain access to the shower.
Pull the right one back, and you open the head. Pull both back, and you
have total privacy in all three areas. You get not only an elegant set
of doors, but also an ingenious space-saving layout.
April Calendar
1-4. The In-Water Boat Show in Charleston, South Carolina. (843)
579-0065. www.scmarine.org.
7-10. The Orange County Boat Show in Anaheim, California. (714)
633-7581. www.scma.com.
15-17. The 9th-Annual International Boat Show in Jacksonville,
Florida. (904) 759-2758. www.jaxboatshow.com.
21-24. The Suncoast Boat Show in Sarasota, Florida. (800) 940-7642.
www.showmanagement.com.
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