Courtesy ABYCWhile the American Boat & Yacht Council and National Marine Electronics Association appear similar to the untrained eye, they are quite different. Yes, the ABYC and NMEA are member-based trade organizations. Yes, both have standards, provide training and host an annual conference. They certainly overlap with members, and they do work together to ensure safe boating, including sharing some training courses.
But one organization responds to electric systems, while the other responds to electronic systems. With that seemingly simple distinction, they each have fundamentally different missions and objectives.
The ABYC was founded as a standards organization, while the NMEA was formed to promote communication among marine electronics dealers, manufacturers and government entities. In short, the ABYC closes the gap between the Code of Federal Regulations and practical standards, while the NMEA opens communication among various electronics on the boat.
Communication between these two organizations is vital to both memberships. To that end, it’s fortunate that we — the two presidents — have known each other for decades. We frequently discuss updates within regulations and manufacturing, and how both associations can support new developments in the industry. We also understand that while some of what we do overlaps, we also must focus on what happens in our own lanes. In other words, we know where one association ends and the other begins.
Courtesy ABYCThe ABYC’s role is like wiring in a house, with a breaker panel, wires, outlets and wall boxes for lighting. The ABYC has the structure that’s behind the studs, while the NMEA has the stuff that makes the structure look cool and makes it usable. The ABYC has robust standards that ensure things work reliably and safely, while the NMEA and marine electronics installers use ABYC standards.
Sometimes, the ABYC and NMEA partner to host joint courses and seminars. For the most part, however, each organization offers courses specific to its missions. For instance, the ABYC focuses on keeping up with changes when they are published, while the NMEA is working on training engine mechanics, surveyors and boaters who want to know how to troubleshoot their electronics.
In many ways, the marine industry has seen more innovation in the past three years than in the previous 20, but the missions of the ABYC and the NMEA remain the same. Today, electric propulsion, generator replacement, 48-volt adoption and autonomous vessel control are all on the standards radar. None of this can happen without a mutual collaboration between the ABYC and NMEA.
As an example, take the rules for sizing wire. The ABYC and Title 33 of the Code of Federal Regulations provided a loose exception for 22 AWG use in the electronics world, but this has always caused some challenges with the NMEA backbone and its use of a 22-gauge power pair. Recently, the Coast Guard got approval on an equivalency, which means an accepted substitute that offers an equivalent level of safety provided by the regulation.
When that equivalency passed, we got on the phone to start implementing solutions. The ABYC and NMEA partnership is a great one, even if 95% of it happens behind the scenes. n
This article was originally published in the May 2024 issue.
