American Boat & Yacht Council, Inc.

American Boat & Yacht Council, Inc., doing business as ABYC, is a tax-exempt nonprofit organization based in Annapolis, Maryland, that has been registered in SAM.gov since January 1998. ABYC specializes in providing training, certification, and technical resources for the recreational boating industry, with a particular focus on safety standards development and workforce training. The organization serves as a key partner to federal agencies in advancing boating safety through both voluntary standards development and specialized training programs for government personnel and industry professionals.

ABYC's federal contract work has been exclusively delivered through purchase orders awarded by the U.S. Coast Guard and the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), with no set-aside designations applied to any of these awards. The organization has consistently provided ABYC certification training services to the Coast Guard, delivering courses for marine inspectors and student groups spanning from 2021 through 2025, with individual contract values ranging from $3,580 to $68,000. Most recently, in May 2025, ABYC received a $37,790 purchase order for ABYC Certification Training with a completion date of June 30, 2025, while a previous contract in July 2024 was valued at $37,790 for ABYC course provision. Additionally, ABYC secured a $41,750 purchase order from NAVSEA in March 2025 for a one-base year and four one-year option years of Diamond Level membership, extending through March 31, 2029. Specialized training contracts included interactive online corrosion certification and targeted training for USCG Marine Inspectors, demonstrating ABYC's ability to deliver both traditional and digital training solutions to support federal maritime safety initiatives.

ABYC's federal grant portfolio reflects a robust partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard under both the Boating Safety Financial Assistance program (CFDA 97.012) and the National Nonprofit Organization Recreational Boating Safety Grant Program (CFDA 97.135). The organization has received multiple cooperative agreements and project grants totaling substantial funding commitments, including two recently awarded cooperative agreements in October 2025: a $215,000 award to evaluate flotation regulations and standards for boats under 26 feet in partnership with Industrial Economics, Inc., and a $425,000 award to enhance voluntary standards development processes addressing emerging technologies such as electric propulsion and alternative fuels. ABYC's grant work has historically focused on voluntary standards development, with a $341,000 project grant awarded in 2021 and additional FY 2022 standards development funding extending through 2025. The organization has also conducted specialized research initiatives, including a $106,168 investigation into electric propulsion from 2022 to 2023, a $125,000 Center of Gravity Analysis conducted from 2021 to 2022, and a project grant from 2023 to 2024 focused on developing training for Coast Guard-contracted factory visit inspectors. These grant awards demonstrate ABYC's critical role in advancing boating safety through research, standards development, and the creation of training materials that influence manufacturers and compliance professionals across the recreational boating sector.