Women’s Boating Survey Sheds Light On Boating
Skills, Education
January 10, 2007
A recent online survey of over 400 women by BoatU.S. shows that parents play an important role in teaching
their daughters recreational boating skills. But when girls grow up, many
women believe there aren’t enough boating educational opportunities, especially
those that are tailored for women.
The newly released results of the BoatUS “Boating
Learning and Education Survey for Women” showed that nearly half of
all women respondents (47%) said it was a parent who they first remember
teaching them boating skills, and 47% also said they had first gone boating
before age 10.
“What the survey essentially tells us is that families play
an important part in introducing boating to young girls, but as
adults they want to learn more in relaxed settings, perhaps away from a
well-meaning spouse,” said Elaine Dickinson, Executive Editor of DIY Boat
Owner magazine ( a BoatU.S. publication for
do-it-yourself boaters ) and the leader of the BoatUS
Women in Boating initiative.
Over two-thirds (67%) of women said they had taken some type of formal
classroom boating training and 73% had some hands-on instruction, but
there was clear support for more all-women courses (59%). Forty-two percent said that there aren’t enough opportunities
for girls and women to learn how to operate a boat, and when asked what
kind of learning opportunities are needed, 80% said more hands-on
events for women.
Also of interest was that three times as many women found a women-only course, seminar or training “effective” as those who
didn’t (33% to 11% respectively). “While there is much debate on whether women-only instruction is better, there is no doubt
that women boaters prefer to learn in an environment that doesn’t have
the pressure associated with co-ed instruction,” said
The topics that female respondents said they want instruction in include boat systems such as engines or electrical
(71%); navigation (62%) and upgrading boat-handling skills (52%).
The respondents to the survey were not just first mates. Over three-quarters (78%) currently own either a powerboat (55%) or
sailboat (53%). To see full survey results, go
to BoatUS.com/women.
BoatUS – Boat Owners Association of The United States
sponsors two annual women’s sailing conventions
that teach a variety of boating skills in women-only settings. For
information on the next one, the 18 th Annual
Women’s Sailing Convention presented by the Southern California Yachting
Association (SCYA) on Saturday, Feb. 3 at the Bahia
Corinthian Yacht Club in Corona del Mar, CA, go to go to http://www.BoatUS.com/women. The other
event is held annually in early June at the Corinthian Yacht Club in
NEWS From BoatUS
Boat Owners Association of The United States
880 S. Pickett St., Alexandria, VA 22304
BoatUS News Room at www.BoatUS.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contacts: Scott Croft, 703-461-2864, SCroft@BoatUS.com
Reprinted with permission of BoatUS