Features & Expert Advice

Whatever Floats Your Boat

BoatU.S. Magazine editors are always on watch for smart and innovative nautical gear built to improve, enhance, or replace your pride and joy. From clever gadgets to cutting edge propulsion and electronics, we’ve rounded up something for every kind of boater.

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Current News & Articles

Adult fastening a properly fitted child life jacket on a young boater near a dock before heading out on the water

Zip, Clip, Go!

A real-life boating emergency on the Hudson River shows how properly fitted life jackets—and the BoatU.S. Foundation’s free loaner program—helped keep eight people safe and is expanding access nationwide.
Leopard 52 cruising catamaran under sail with hybrid electric drive, shown offshore with full mainsail and headsail, blue water, and a coastal city skyline in the background.

The Endless Dredge For Safe Passage

A notorious shoaling hotspot on South Carolina’s AIWW, Breach Inlet is seeing improved navigation thanks to recent dredging—good news for cruising snowbirds, anglers, and local boaters.
White cabin cruiser sits partially beached in shallow turquoise water along a brush‑covered shoreline.

Tracking Trouble

Abandoned and derelict vessels threaten waterways and marine life. Learn how the BoatU.S. Foundation’s national ADV database helps track hazards and drive solutions.

Explore Our Video Library

Is the wind or current pinning your boat against the dock? Or perhaps you have boats tied up in front and behind you at the fuel dock but you need to leave? Capt. Sarah Lawrence of Chesapeake Boating Academy shows you an easy trick for pivoting your boat out of a tight spot in its own length. By using a simple spring line, you can bowspring off the dock and on your way - and look like a pro while you're doing it!

How-To DIY

Under Foot

Keep your boat's ride-cushioning, sound-dampening foam decking looking great for years to come.

Planning A Marine Stereo System

If your boat didn’t come with a factory-installed stereo, don’t suffer in silence. Rock your boat by installing an awesome sound system.

How To Balance The Load In A Small Boat

The smaller the boat, the more important it is to know where you should put that weight.

From BoatUS Magazine, America's Most-Trusted Boating Magazine

BoatUS Magazine, official publication of the Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS), provides recreational boating skills, DIY maintenance, safety, news, lifestyle and personality profiles, and insight from top experts. The award-winning boating magazine publishes several issues a year and is an exclusive benefit of BoatUS Membership.

Our active and passionate readers enjoy powerboating, sailing, cruising, fishing, and water sports on boats both big and small. In addition to the print publication, BoatUS Magazine sends email newsletters with exclusive curated content specific to your boating interests.