BoatUS Consumer Protection Bureau maintains the only nationwide database of consumer complaints and safety information reported by boat owners, the U.S. Coast Guard, manufacturers, marine surveyors and marine technicians. As of 2005, it is accessible online, exclusively for BoatUS members–the place to go for the information you need to make an informed decision about your boating purchases.

Complaints and products are neither rated nor evaluated. Rather, the database serves as a place in which information on a wide variety of boat-related items is documented and shared, everything from marine products and service providers to new and used boats, outboard engines, marine electronics and accessories, dealers, boatyards, manufactures, marinas and the like. Also listed in the database is how well a company has responded to a complaint, manufacturer's defect recall notices, Coast Guard-published safety alerts and the service bulletins of various boat builders.

For increased accuracy, BoatUS attempts to verify boat make and model information as well as hull and engine identification number because problems are often confined to specific models or a series of hull numbers.

One caution when searching the database is that larger companies will, by virtue of their size and broad customer base, likely appear in a greater number of reports than smaller companies. Thus, you cannot interpret the presence or absence of complaints/reports as a company rating.

Check out the BoatUS Consumer Protection Database, a members-only database, on the BoatUS website. If you are not a BoatUS member, sign up for the special online rate of $19.00.

-Linda Hoff