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• Boatbuilding Methods & Materials:
  Winner:  CEproof Group, ICOMIA Technical File Generator
• Deck Equipment & Hardware: 
  Winner: Aluna Systems, Light Pole
  Honorable Mention: SUREFAS B.V., CAF-COMPO screw-stud
• Mechanical Systems: 
  Winner: Seakeeper, Seakeeper 3
• Electrical Systems:  
  Winner: JL Marine Systems, Power-Pole CHARGE
• Outboard Engines: 
  Dual Winners: Suzuki Motor of America Inc., DF350A and Yamaha Motor Corporation, F25C
• Boatyard and Dealer Hardware and Software:
  Winner:Gemeco Marine Accessories, TDT1000 Transducer Diagnostic Tester
• Propulsion Parts, Propellers: 
  Winner: BRP US Inc., Evinrude iDock
  Honorable Mention: PowerTech! Propellers, CushionLok2
• OEM Electronics: 
  Dual Winners: JL Marine Systems, Power-Pole VISION and Lumitec, Power Line Instruction Technology
• Trailers, Parts and Trailer Accessories:
  Winner:  Gatorbak LLC, Premium Clear Bunk Covers
• Safety Equipment:
  Winner:  Vesper Marine, deckWatch App

• Alan Wendt (Chair): Past President of Boating Writers International and contributing writer for Lakeland Boating & Southern Boating, Yacht Rendezvous Event Planner for Manufacturer based customer cruises.
• Zuzana Prochaska (Co-Chair): Writer and photographer who freelances for over a dozen boating and travel magazines. A USCG 100 Ton Master, Prochaska is the founder of Zescapes.com, a charter and flotilla organizer. She has served on the board of Boating Writers International for the past 12 years and heads up judging panels evaluating new boats and gear in the U.S. and abroad.
• Charlie Levine: Editor and publisher of FishTrack.com and Buoyweather.com, which provides weather, fishing charts and a database of articles for offshore anglers and mariners. Levine has worked as a journalist in the recreational marine industry for 18 years and is Second Vice President of Boating Writers International.
• Brady Kay: Executive editor of Pontoon & Deck Boat, Houseboat and Great Lakes Boating magazines and has served as an Innovation Award Judge on a couple of occasions. Kay recently earned a 2017 Grand Award from Apex Awards and has been a member of Boating Writers International for nearly 20 years.
• Craig Ritchie: Ritchie began his career writing consumer boat tests and industry trade content in the late 1980s as the assistant editor at Boat Guide and Boating Business magazines, which serve the Canadian market. Almost three decades later, Ritchie still contributes to both of them – along with trade titles like Boating Industry, Boating Industry Canada, Marine Business (Australia) and International Boat Industry (worldwide).
• Nigel Calder: Author of the ‘Boatowner’s Mechanical and Electrical Manual’, ‘Marine Diesel Engines’, ‘Cuba: A Cruising Guide’, and several other titles. Calder is a technical contributor and editor for various boating magazines; a member of the ABYC’s ‘Electrical PTC’; and a researcher into high efficiency energy systems for boats.
• Ben Ellison: Editor of Panbo, The Marine Electronics Hub – Ellison has been a sailor, power boater, do-it-yourselfer and apparently incurable boat nut since the early 70's. This fall, he will again cruise and test his way south from Maine aboard an elaborately equipped Duffy 37 named Gizmo. 
• Melissa Wood: Former associate editor for Professional BoatBuilder magazine and an editor for national trade magazines covering commercial fishing and seafood. Based in Portland, Maine, Wood is also a freelance writer primarily focused on issues affecting coastal communities. 

To read the full press release click HERE.