More of this Feature • Part 1: Sea-Feud Special, and more • Part 2: United We Stand Guard, Name Dropping, and more
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United We Stand Guard
Though the nation's new Homeland Security Office is still being tweaked by endless visions and revisions, the enormous multiagency department has already launched a new security initiative in Florida that relies heavily on recreational boaters.

According to the Coast Guard, Operation On Guard taps the eyes and ears of South Florida's first and best line of defense: the state's boaters, who know every inch of coastline and can recognize suspicious activities at their local marinas and waterways.

Operation On Guard combines the forces of the U.S. Coast Guard, Customs Service, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Department of Environmental Protection, as well as boaters and other waterfront users, to detect and deter terrorist activities in the ports and waterways.

Boaters in South Florida and across the state are encouraged to call a new hotline, (877) 24-WATCH, to report any potential terrorist activities. The list of criteria to be on the lookout for includes suspicious people who photograph or make sketches of unusual places, probe waterways with rented watercraft, sell or deliver illegal merchandise, or ask unusually detailed questions about specific areas.

If you suspect any terrorist activity or have questions regarding Operation On Guard, call your local Coast Guard station or the new hotline.

Image-Building Boatbuilders
President Bush may have broken the record for highest approval ratings of any Commander-in-Chief--90 percent--last year in a Gallup Poll, but even the President of the United States can't satisfy Americans as well as boatbuilders and engine manufacturers are now satisfying boaters, according to a different poll.

J.D. Power Marine Survey provides a general picture of customer satisfaction and does not publicly delineate the ratings of specific manufacturers. In it, boat manufacturers scored a whopping 92.1 percent customer-satisfaction rating, while engine manufacturers chalked up a 91.9 percent rating, according to the latest Marine Industry CSI Quarterly Report, which is produced by the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA). The results, which stem from consumer polls on 48 boat models and 13 engine manufacturers, mark a continuing upward trend in customer satisfaction across the boating industry.

The NMMA mailed out more than 77,000 surveys to customers of the boat and engine builders who volunteered for the program. With a response rate of about 21 percent, or 16,000 customers, the organization was able to create its most accurate picture to date of boater satisfaction.

Name Dropping
Would a Detroit Diesel by any other name smell as sweet? Daimler Chrysler apparently thinks so. The automobile and engine manufacturing giant, which owns both MTU and Detroit Diesel, recently announced that it will eliminate the Detroit Diesel brand from its marine engine lines early next year, leaving only the MTU brand. The massive marketing move is part of the company's "World Engine" initiative, which not only seeks to assimilate all products under one name, but also to build every part to the same standards. Though the MTU logo will adorn all marine engines, Detroit Diesel service centers, many of which are independently owned, will retain the Detroit Diesel name.

"We took a look at name recognition on our marine products and services around the world, and we found MTU was a stronger product brand and Detroit Diesel was a stronger service brand," said Tom Freiwald, Detroit Diesel's senior vice president of marketing. "Put simply, we tapped the strengths of both brands."

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