Boat Survey - Mail

BOAT SURVEY
COVER LETTER
Date 
Registered Boat Owner 
Street 
City, state Zip 

Dear Registered Boat Owner, 
The United states Coast Guard needs your help. I am writing on their behalf to ask you to complete a 
survey that will help us understand boating activities and safety in the United states.  
The purpose of this survey is to count the boats owned by people like you and to understand how they 
are used . It is important for us to obtain responses no matter how frequently people use their boats or 
how much money they spend while boating.   
Your address was randomly selected from a list of all registered boaters in your state.  Your household 
represents thousands of other households like yours.  Only with your response can we accurately 
represent everyone in your state.  
Your answers are completely confidential and will be used for statistical purposes only in accordance 
with the Privacy Act of 1974. You are not required to answer any question that you feel is an intrusion of 
your privacy.  
If you have any questions or comments about this study, we would be happy to talk with you. Please 
contact [SOME ONE] by phone at ###‐###‐#### or you can write to us at the address at the bottom of 
this letter. 
Thank you very much for your help with this important study. Please return your completed 
questionnaire in the postage paid envelope provided.  
Sincerely,  

OMB NO. 1625-0089
EXPIRES: MM/DD/YYYY

MAIL SURVEY—2011 ADMINISTERED Q4 2010
ABOUT ALL YOUR BOATS

1. Please describe the five longest boats you own in the following table. Please use the boat types listed
below to describe the boats in the Type column.
Registration 
Have you 
used the 
boat in the 
last year 
for making 
Boat 
money? 
1  Y / N 

Attributes 

Is the boat 
registered? 
Y / N 

Is the boat 
documented with 
the US Coast 
Guard?** 

state of 
registration 

Length 

Type* 

2  Y / N 

Y / N 

3  Y / N 

Y / N 

4  Y / N 

Y / N 

5  Y / N 

Y / N 

*Types of Boats:
Sailboats

Powerboats
CM

CABIN MOTORBOAT

AS

AUXILIARY MOTOR SAIL

JB

JET BOAT

SO

SAIL ONLY

OM

OPEN MOTORBOAT

PB

PONTOON BOAT

HB

HOUSEBOAT

AB

AIRBOAT

Personal Watercraft
JS

JETSKI

Other Boats
CN

CANOE

KY

KAYAK

RB

ROWBOAT

IF

INFLATABLE

** ‘Documented’ means that the boat is recorded by the United States Coast Guard. Only some very large boats
are documented with the Coast Guard.

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of 
information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The Coast Guard estimates that the average 
burden for this report is 12.6 minutes. You may submit any comments concerning the accuracy of this 
burden estimate or any suggestions for reducing the burden to: Commandant (CG‐5422), U.S. Coast 
Guard, Washington, DC 20593‐ 0001. 

OMB NO. 1625-0089
EXPIRES: MM/DD/YYYY

2.Please tell us how the same boats were used in 2010 

On an average day 
the boat was used 
During 2010, how  in 2010, how many 
many days has  the  hours did you go 
(that is, during 2010)?
boat been used?
out on the boat?
N  /  Y
______ days
______ hours
N  /  Y
______ days
______ hours
N  /  Y
______ days
______ hours
N  /  Y
______ days
______ hours
N  /  Y
______ days
______ hours
Has the boat been 
used this year?

Boat
1
2
3
4
5

On an average day 
the boat was used 
in 2010, how many 
people were 
aboard the boat?
______ people
______ people
______ people
______ people
______ people

3. Please tell us how those boats in September, 2010? 

Boat
1
2
3
4
5

On an average day  On an average day 
Did you use this boat 
the boat was used  the boat was used 
during September  During September,  in September, how  in September, how 
(that is, during 
how many days  many hours did you  many people were 
September 2010)? was the boat used? go out on the boat? aboard the boat?
N  /  Y
______ days
______ hours
______ people
N  /  Y
______ days
______ hours
______ people
N  /  Y
______ days
______ hours
______ people
N  /  Y
______ days
______ hours
______ people
N  /  Y
______ days
______ hours
______ people  

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of 
information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The Coast Guard estimates that the average 
burden for this report is XX‐XX minutes. You may submit any comments concerning the accuracy of this 
burden estimate or any suggestions for reducing the burden to: Commandant (CG‐XXXX), U.S. Coast 
Guard, Washington, DC 20593‐ 0001. 

OMB NO. 1625-0089
EXPIRES: MM/DD/YYYY

One of your household’s boats was identified in the cover letter. The
rest of the survey concerns the identified boat only.
4. Do you still own this boat?
O YES ÆGO TO QUESTION 6
O NO

5. If you no longer own this boat, what happened to it?
O I NEVER OWNED THAT BOAT
O I SOLD OR GAVE AWAY THE BOAT
O OTHER:

The next questions are about this boat, if you do not own it, you have completed the survey and should
send it back in the envelope provided. Thanks for your response!
BOAT DETAILS

6. What is the model year of this boat? ________

O SAIL
O WATER JET

7. When this boat was purchased, was it new or
used?
O NEW
O USED

8. Of what material is the hull of this boat
constructed?
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O

ALUMINUM
STEEL
CARBON FIBER
FIBERGLASS
RIGID HULL INFLATABLE
RUBBER
VINYL
CANVAS
WOOD
OTHER MATERIAL:

9. What is the primary means of propulsion of this
boat? Is it…
O HUMAN POWERED (OARS, PADDLES,
PEDALS)
O AIR THRUST
O PROPELLER

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of 
information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The Coast Guard estimates that the average 
burden for this report is XX‐XX minutes. You may submit any comments concerning the accuracy of this 
burden estimate or any suggestions for reducing the burden to: Commandant (CG‐XXXX), U.S. Coast 
Guard, Washington, DC 20593‐ 0001. 

OMB NO. 1625-0089
EXPIRES: MM/DD/YYYY

10. Does this boat have a motor?
O YES
O NO

ÆCONTINUE TO QUESTION 11
ÆGO TO QUESTION 15

If the boat has a motor:
11. Which type of motor or engine powers the
boat?
Select all that apply. Do not include trolling motors.
O INBOARD ENGINE
O OUTBOARD MOTOR
O INBOARD-OUTBOARD ENGINE
(STERNDRIVE)

12. How many engines or motors power this
boat? ________
13. What is the total horsepower of the engines
or motors that power this boat? For example: If
that boat has twin 25 horsepower engines, its
total horsepower is 50. ________
14. Which type(s) of fuel is/are used in this
boat’s primary engine?
Select all that apply.
O DIESEL
O ELECTRIC
O GASOLINE
O OTHER __________________

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of 
information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The Coast Guard estimates that the average 
burden for this report is XX‐XX minutes. You may submit any comments concerning the accuracy of this 
burden estimate or any suggestions for reducing the burden to: Commandant (CG‐XXXX), U.S. Coast 
Guard, Washington, DC 20593‐ 0001. 

OMB NO. 1625-0089
EXPIRES: MM/DD/YYYY

BOAT OPERATION

15. Are you the primary operator of this boat?
O YES
O NO

16. Have you ever taken a boat safety course?
O YES
O NO

17. How experienced in the operation of this boat
are you?
O
O
O
O

VERY EXPERIENCED
SOMEWHAT EXPERIENCED
SOMEWHAT INEXPERIENCED
VERY INEXPERIENCED

BOAT EXPENDITURES

The next questions are about money you spent on
this boat in 2010.
22. Did you buy this boat new in 2010?
O YES ÆGO TO QUESTION 22A
O NO

22a. How much did you spend? ____________
23. Do you have a monthly loan payment for this
boat?
O YES ÆGO TO QUESTION 23A
O NO

23a. How much do you pay monthly for the boat
including principal and interest? ____________

BOAT STORAGE

24. In 2010, how much did you spend on:

18. Where is this boat kept during the primary
boating season?

Storage

O ON THE WATER
O ON LAND

19. Do you intend to take the boat out on the water
in 2010?
O YES
O NO

20. Was the boat transported or trailered for the
purpose of putting it in the water in 2010?
O YES
O NO

21. Was this boat used outside the state of where the
boat is kept in 2010?
O YES
O NO

(slip rental fees, dry stack, winter storage, and
self storage rental)

$

Insurance for liability, theft, fire

$

Taxes on the boat

$

New motors and trailers

$

Pre-Owned and Rented motors and
trailers

$

Services performed by others like boat
maintenance, repairs, or installation of
new products
(upgrades performed by others including labor
and parts)

$

Products, parts, supplies, and
accessories that you purchased directly
(to be installed or used on the boat or the
trailer including electronics and navigation,
parts, docking and anchors, paint and
maintenance supplies, hardware, sail supplies,
trailer parts, etc.)

$

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of 
information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The Coast Guard estimates that the average 
burden for this report is XX‐XX minutes. You may submit any comments concerning the accuracy of this 
burden estimate or any suggestions for reducing the burden to: Commandant (CG‐XXXX), U.S. Coast 
Guard, Washington, DC 20593‐ 0001. 

OMB NO. 1625-0089
EXPIRES: MM/DD/YYYY

Other things including boating-related
clothing, fishing equipment for this
boat, navigation charts, safety-related
equipment, and water sports equipment

$

25. The US Coast Guard is interested in learning about how boats are used so that it can
understand how safe boating is. Your personal experiences on this boat can help. Can we contact
you this year to conduct very short surveys about this boat?
O YESÆGO TO QUESTION 26

26. We will contact you 2 to 4 times in the coming year to ask you a few questions about
this boat. The surveys will take about 10 minutes, and because we value your time, you
will be compensated with $5 for each completed survey. Participation is completely
voluntary, and your responses are completely confidential.
Please provide your contact information below to participate.
Mailing address:
Address: ________________
________________
City

________________

State

________________

Zip

________________

Phone ________________
Email ________________
27. Would you prefer to complete the surveys by internet or telephone?
O INTERNET
O TELEPHONE

O NO

Thank you! You have completed the survey. Please put it in the 
postage paid envelope provided and return it. 

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of 
information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The Coast Guard estimates that the average 
burden for this report is XX‐XX minutes. You may submit any comments concerning the accuracy of this 
burden estimate or any suggestions for reducing the burden to: Commandant (CG‐XXXX), U.S. Coast 
Guard, Washington, DC 20593‐ 0001. 

OMB NO. 1625-0089
EXPIRES: MM/DD/YYYY

MAIL SURVEY—2013 ADMINISTERED Q4 2012
NOTE: FOR MANY OF THE QUESTIONS IN THIS SURVEY, WE HAVE LISTED VARIABLE NAMES
RATHER THAN QUESTION NUMBERS. THIS PROMOTES QUALITY DURING THE DEVELOPMENT
PROCESS. AFTER OMB APPROVAL, QUESTION NAMES WILL BE CHANGED TO SEQUENTIAL
NUMBERS AND SKIP PATTERNS WILL BE CHANGED TO CORRESPOND. WE WILL ALSO
CHANGE THE RESPONSE NUMBERS TO CHECK BOXES.

ABOUT ALL YOUR BOATS

1. Please describe the five longest boats you own in the following table. Please use the boat types listed
below to describe the boats in the Type column.
Registration 
Have 
you 
used 
the 
boat in 
the last 
year for 
making  Is the boat 
Boat  money?  registered? 
1  Y / N 
Y / N 

Attributes 

Did 
you 
Is the boat 
use 
documented 
the 
with the US 
boat 
Coast 
state of 
in 
Guard?** 
registration Length Type* 2010? 

Y / N 

2  Y / N 

Y / N 

Y / N 

3  Y / N 

Y / N 

Y / N 

4  Y / N 

Y / N 

Y / N 

5  Y / N 

Y / N 

Y / N 

*Types of Boats:
Powerboats

Sailboats

CM

CABIN MOTORBOAT

AS

AUXILIARY MOTOR SAIL

JB

JET BOAT

SO

SAIL ONLY

OM

OPEN MOTORBOAT

PB

PONTOON BOAT

HB

HOUSEBOAT

AB

AIRBOAT

Personal Watercraft
JS

JETSKI

Other Boats
CN

CANOE

KY

KAYAK

RB

ROWBOAT

IF

INFLATABLE

** ‘Documented’ means that the boat is recorded by the United States Coast Guard. Only some very large boats
are documented with the Coast Guard.

8 

OMB NO. 1625-0089
EXPIRES: MM/DD/YYYY

One of your household’s boats was identified in the cover letter. The
rest of the survey concerns the identified boat only.
2. Do you still own this boat?
O YES ÆGO TO QUESTION 4
O NO

3. If you no longer own this boat, what happened to it?
O I NEVER OWNED THAT BOAT
O I SOLD OR GAVE AWAY THE BOAT
O OTHER:

The next questions are about this boat, if you do not own it, you have completed the survey and should
send it back in the envelope provided. Thanks for your response!
BOAT DETAILS

4. What is the model year of this boat? ________

8. Does this boat have a motor?
O YES
O NO

5. When this boat was purchased, was it new or
used?

If the boat has a motor:

O NEW
O USED

9. Which type of motor or engine powers the
boat?

6. Of what material is the hull of this boat
constructed?
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O

Select all that apply. Do not include trolling motors.
O INBOARD ENGINE
O OUTBOARD MOTOR
O INBOARD-OUTBOARD ENGINE
(STERNDRIVE)

ALUMINUM
STEEL
CARBON FIBER
FIBERGLASS
RIGID HULL INFLATABLE
RUBBER
VINYL
CANVAS
WOOD
OTHER MATERIAL:

10. How many engines or motors power this
boat? ________
11. What is the total horsepower of the engines
or motors that power this boat? For example: If
that boat has twin 25 horsepower engines, its
total horsepower is 50. ________
12. Which type(s) of fuel is/are used in this
boat’s primary engine?

7. What is the primary means of propulsion of this
boat? Is it…

Select all that apply.
O DIESEL
O ELECTRIC
O GASOLINE
O OTHER __________________

O HUMAN POWERED (OARS, PADDLES,
PEDALS)
O AIR THRUST
O PROPELLER
O SAIL
O WATER JET

9 

ÆCONTINUE TO QUESTION 9
ÆGO TO QUESTION 13

OMB NO. 1625-0089
EXPIRES: MM/DD/YYYY

10 

OMB NO. 1625-0089
EXPIRES: MM/DD/YYYY

BOAT OPERATION

BOAT EXPENDITURES

13. Are you the primary operator of this boat?

The next questions are about money you spent on
this boat in 2010.

O YES
O NO

20. Did you buy this boat new in 2010?
O YES ÆGO TO QUESTION 20A
O NO

14. Have you ever taken a boat safety course?
O YES
O NO

20a. How much did you spend? ____________

15. How experienced in the operation of this boat
are you?
O
O
O
O

21. Do you have a monthly loan payment for this
boat?
O YES ÆGO TO QUESTION 21A
O NO

VERY EXPERIENCED
SOMEWHAT EXPERIENCED
SOMEWHAT INEXPERIENCED
VERY INEXPERIENCED

21a. How much do you pay monthly for the boat
including principal and interest? ____________

BOAT STORAGE

22. In 2010, how much did you spend on:

16. Where is this boat kept during the primary
boating season?

Storage

O ON THE WATER
O ON LAND

17. Do you intend to take the boat out on the water
in 2010?
O YES
O NO

18. Was the boat transported or trailered for the
purpose of putting it in the water in 2010?
O YES
O NO

(slip rental fees, dry stack, winter storage, and
self storage rental)

$

Insurance for liability, theft, fire

$

Taxes on the boat

$

New motors and trailers

$

Pre-Owned and Rented motors and
trailers

$

Services performed by others like boat
maintenance, repairs, or installation of
new products

19. Was this boat used outside the state of where the
boat is kept in 2010?

(upgrades performed by others including labor
and parts)

O YES
O NO

Products, parts, supplies, and
accessories that you purchased directly
(to be installed or used on the boat or the
trailer including electronics and navigation,
parts, docking and anchors, paint and
maintenance supplies, hardware, sail supplies,
trailer parts, etc.)

Other things including boating-related
clothing, fishing equipment for this
boat, navigation charts, safety-related
11 

$

$

$

OMB NO. 1625-0089
EXPIRES: MM/DD/YYYY

equipment, and water sports equipment

12 

OMB NO. 1625-0089
EXPIRES: MM/DD/YYYY

23. The US Coast Guard is interested in learning about how boats are used so that it can
understand how safe boating is. Your personal experiences on this boat can help. Can we
contact you this year to conduct very short surveys about this boat?
O YESÆGO TO QUESTION 24

24. We will contact you 2 to 4 times in the coming year to ask you a few
questions about this boat. The surveys will take about 10 minutes, and because
we value your time, you will be compensated with $5 for each completed survey.
Participation is completely voluntary, and your responses are completely
confidential.
Please provide your contact information below to participate.
Mailing address:
Address: ________________
________________
City

________________

State

________________

Zip

________________

Phone ________________
Email ________________
23. Would you prefer to complete the surveys by internet or telephone?
O INTERNET
O TELEPHONE

O NO

Thank you! You have completed the survey. Please put it in the 
postage paid envelope provided and return it. 

13 

OMB NO. 1625-0089
EXPIRES: MM/DD/YYYY

REMINDER POSTCARD

Date
Last week a questionnaire was sent to
you on behalf of the United states Coast
Guard. Your household was randomly
selected from a list of all registered
boats in your state.
If you have already completed and
returned the questionnaire to us, thank
you! If you have not, please do so
today. Information collected in this study
will be used to learn more boats and
boat safety in the US.

SELECTED RESPONDENT
#### Street  
Town, City, ##### 

If you did not receive a questionnaire, or
if it was misplaced, please call us at
XXX-XXX-XXXX
Thank you.

14