Hopefully all of you have been able to be out on your boat at some point this summer.

You will notice quite a few new things amongst the pages.
We have a new column that will include information that you will find useful. We are working together with the US Coast Guard to bring you information you should know before you hit the water.
From Federal and State boating regulations, equipment required on board, navigational rules and everything in between.

The Master Market Guide is going through a revamping of sorts. We realized that having a continuous tally of every inflatable on the market is great, but has limited use. So we figured that instead we would create a database of all the service and repair centers throughout the country. This means that regardless of were you are boating, if you need to get something done, all you need is the latest issue of Inflatable Boats Magazine and you will be able to find a service facility for your inflatable. We are working on collecting that information right now. However we have had limited response, I guess some stores are so busy they don’t have 3 min. to fill out a survey. If you know of a repair facility in your area, let us know and we will contact them and add them to our list. The goal is also to include service centers in major inflatable markets abroad. So that your vacation won't be ruined because you moored and didn't notice that big rusty nail sticking out of the pilings.
We will still include a profile of each company that sells inflatables in the North American market. Hopefully you will see this in the next issue, after that, once a year, when the new model year starts, we will bring back the comprehensive full model list for every manufacturer.

We are quickly approaching our One Year Anniversary mark. We are incredibly proud, honored and excited. I can promise you the best is yet to come. We have lots of great things planned for the coming year.

On another note, some of you have written us asking why we don’t cover more companies in our sea trials. Well, we have tried. There are many large companies such asAvon, Caribe,AB,Novurania Zodiac, Apex and Achilles whom we have been contacting relentlessly since before the first issue even came out. I guess we aren’t a big enough blip on their radar screen, because we have yet to hear from them. That leaves us with the only option of buying the boat ourselves, and well, our pockets aren’t deep enough to do that just yet. So, we rely on companies that lend us boats and equipment, to do our tests. Maybe if enough people tell them that they want to see those products on our pages, they might decide to return our calls.

Regardless, there are lots of great things in this issue.
Something you might find interesting is the article discussing the things you should look for when shopping around for a used inflatable boat. It starts on pg 16. On page 6 you will find detailed descriptions of the different types of PFDs available on the market.

With boat show season knocking on the door, I hope to see some of you there. At Fort Lauderdale International we will be at booth 1082 at the Bahia Mar site, and at Atlantic City at boothLB5. I personally will be visiting lots of different shows throughout the country. If you see me walking around, stop me and say ‘Hi’, I’d love to meet you. Check the website for the latest updates of where we will be. See you there.
Erika