Hello NOWS community,

We hope you are all well, keeping healthy, and have been able to enjoy time on the water this summer.

As you may recall, the last time we reached out to you was to let you know the American National Standard for on-water instruction in entry-level powerboat operation had been reviewed and updated. This required standards maintenance process was led by ABYC (The American Boat & Yacht Council) and takes place every five years to ensure standards remain current and relevant. 

We are delighted to inform you that ABYC has completed the process on the three remaining American National Standards and they are available for your use. Two of the updated standards identify the entry-level skills for operating Human-propelled boats and sailboats. The third identifies the core characteristics of effective on-water instruction aimed at developing entry-level skills in Power, Sail, and Human-propelled recreational boat operation.

Most of the changes clarify the language used to define and describe the skills, as well as to improve the standard’s formatting and ease of use. For example, duplication has been removed, and some skills reorganized into different operation groups. In a few cases, skills were added, removed, or consolidated. You will also notice changes made to their overall structure to make them more complete and consistent with ABYC’s many other national standards. 

The revised standards were officially published on variety of dates in July 2022. ABYC recommends course compliance with the revised standards no later than one year from their publication date. Click here to download the standards from the NOWS website. 

Finally, we are continuing the process of updating all the support materials. These resources will be available to help you update courses to ensure they comply with the revised standards. We will keep you informed when they become available.

That is it for now. Thank you everyone. Stay safe. Stay healthy. Enjoy being on the water.

Best regards,

Brian