BoatUS Seaworthy Editor Bob Adriance Honored with ABYC Life Service Award

Bob Adriance, the recently retired editor of the Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) Marine Insurance Program damage avoidance publication Seaworthy, was honored with an American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC) Lifetime Achievement Award. ABYC, which develops safety standards for the design, construction and maintenance of boats, gave the award to Adriance for "His lifelong service to the marine industry and his profound contributions to boating safety, design and the advancement of recreational boating."

Over the course of his 35 years at BoatUS, Adriance built a unique publication for BoatUS members/policyholders and focused it on keeping families and boats safe on the water. Some of Adriance's accomplishments include becoming a leading expert on hurricane preparation and informing boaters of the proven steps they could take to minimize storm damage. He also developed the first national hurricane symposium for marina operators to share best practices and based on his research, the BoatUS Marine Insurance Program led the industry in "hurricane haul-out" coverage, or covering a portion of the cost of haulouts before a named storm to get boats out of harm's way.

By tapping into the statistics from the BoatUS insurance claims files, Adriance published groundbreaking studies on why boats sink - there are different causes related to the seasons - and why boats catch fire. He was among the first to publicize the negative effects of ethanol in gas on boats and he published his first story on electric shock drowning in 2009, which the public had been largely unaware of because the cause of death had been difficult to identify.

(L) ABYC Technical Board Chair David Marlow, (C) BoatUS' recently retired Seaworthy Editor Bob Adriance, and (R) ABYC President John Adey.

Adriance wrote extensively on the effect of alcohol on boating, and created dozens of brochures that have helped thousands of boaters purchase and maintain their boat, from sailboat rigging inspection to preparing marinas for hurricanes and trailering issues. But, for some boaters, his biggest accomplishment may have been identifying the single most important damage avoidance tool a boater can carry aboard - duct tape.

Said ABYC President John Adey, "Using a unique writing style that balanced wit, humor, and a straight forward tone, Bob always stressed the lessons learned to help his readers and BoatUS members avoid similar problems. Hundreds of thousands have benefitted from his insights, and thousands have written him over the years to thank him with stories of how his words prevented damage to their boats - and kept themselves and their loved ones safe."

Much of Adriance's information remains available for free online at BoatUS.com/Seaworthy

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