Maritime News

There have been several big stories in the Maritime News in 2023 but two have been most impactful:

• The increasing rate of lithium-ion battery fires in the automobile and shipping sectors. Boat Chat took a look at this issue in Boat Chat 5

• Fuel problems caused by modern biodiesel blended petrol and diesel which was covered in Boat Chat 10

Both of these stories will have a direct impact on the design and safety of new vessels and can have big implications for all boat owners.

Boat Chat will continue to scan the maritime airwaves in 2024 looking to find the stories that resonate most and offering analysis and advice for boat owners, brokers and marine surveyors.

Boat Chat 2023 Review

Boat Chat newsletter has been running for 5 months now and this is the 12th issue. Thank you to everyone who has subscribed – it really is good to have you on board.  I decided to start a newsletter to share my experiences and thoughts about owning boats written from a marine surveyor’s perspective.  The newsletter has been really well received judging by the positive comments from subscribers:

“Informative, educational and useful content; thanks for taking the time to write Boat Chat”.

“Great read David, the fire extinguisher upgrade is at the top of my list”.

Digging a little deeper, the performance metrics provided by my newsletter platform beehiiv also show that Boat Chat is doing well:

Open rate of 80% compared to an all industry average of 21.5% and an education sector average of 28.5%.

Click-through rate of 25% compared to an education sector average of 4.4%.

If you have enjoyed Boat Chat, please share it with your network to spread the word, they can find out more at https://boatchat.uk

Boat Chat’s Plans for 2024

Boat Chat got off to a really strong start in 2023 - subscriber numbers are increasing with every issue, the content is well received and the newsletter is outperforming all industry averages for similar newsletters.

A few of you have taken the time to complete the feedback polls in Boat Chat or have thrown us a line with your more detailed comments; Thank you. Some of the suggestions we will be following up on include:

• Stories about people and companies in the maritime sector

• Examples of defects found during boat surveys and what they mean for boat owners

• More practical advice on owning and maintaining a boat

• More product and book reviews

The day to day practicalities of owning a boat clearly resonates with my audience. I recently wrote a LinkedIn post about boat anodes which got an astounding 26,000 views, read it here.

If you have any great ideas and suggestions you’d like to share with Boat Chat, please do throw us a line at mailto:[email protected]

YouTube Videos

The White Hat Marine Surveying YouTube channel has plenty of videos all about boats and marine surveying which you might find informative and useful.

Kit Ideas For You

For great kit ideas for your boat, bookshelf or surveyor’s toolbox take a look at our page on Kit.Co for all manner of things to do with boating and surveying. All of the recommendations are based on personal experience and offer an unbiased review on their quality and utility.

How To Support Boat Chat

Boat Chat’s mission is to ‘Help People Understand Boats Better’ by looking at what is going on in the world of boating. Helping people make sense of current maritime events, offering suggestions on how to make the best / minimise the worst boating outcomes and reviewing books and products of interest to boaters.

The easiest way to support Boat Chat is by buying us a beer at:

BUYMEACOFFEE.COM

Cheers For The Beers

A big THANK YOU to all of our supporters who bought Boat Chat some beers in 2023. Your generosity helps keep Boat Chat’s running costs down.

Finally, let us close this issue of Boat Chat by wishing you all a very Happy New Year and hoping that 2024 will be kind to you and those you love.

N.B. Links to products in this newsletter are typically Amazon Affiliate Links which may earn Boat Chat a small commission should you buy them using the link (this does not affect the cost you pay).