ABYC and USCG Launch Successful Online Risk Mitigation Series
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) and American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) successfully launched a new series of one-day events dedicated to mitigating the risk in designing and building recreational boats. Over 400 participants registered for USCG Risk Mitigation Series 1: Regulations and Electrification, held virtually Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021. Series 2 is scheduled for May 2022, with a topic to be determined.
“Because this was a virtual event, we were able to bring in panelists from around the world and around the industry,” said John Adey, president of ABYC. “All of these experts volunteered their time and the event was free, thanks to the Coast Guard’s nonprofit grant program. This is intended to be a series, and we look forward to covering a new topic later this spring.”
This first conference focused on the transition to electric systems in recreational boats, including propulsion and battery power bank alternatives to generators. Panelists gathered online to discuss safety concerns and potential regulations, service training, refit trends and expectations for the future. Participating service professionals, manufacturers, marina operat ors, installers, and ABYC technicians utilized the chat function to interact amongst themselves and the day concluded with an active Q&A session.
At the event, one participant stated the content was “all important for successful integration by our customers.” Post-event feedback included such comments as “great group of speakers, well organized, good topics to learn more about and enjoyed the interactive questioning.” One commenter wrote, “I took a lot away when it comes to batteries, and had a hell of a crash course into the LIPO type battery installations.”
The USCG Risk Mitigation Series is designed to be a regular event with interactive and in-depth discussions related to one general topic on a reoccurring basis. The USCG and ABYC are collaborating with industry leaders to pull together the topic for Series 2, scheduled for May 2022. A survey is available to provide feedback on potential topics of the next event.
The free recording for Risk Mitigation Series 1: Regulations and Electrification is available at www.abycinc.org/riskmitigation