NMMA President Thom Dammrich, left, presents Phil Cappel with the Charles Chapman Award during the Miami International Boat Show Feb. 16, 2018. Photo by Verne Gifford.
Editor’s note: Information in this post originally appeared in an announcement published on the National Marine Manufacturers Association’s website.
The National Marine Manufacturers Association presented its Charles Chapman Award to Mr. Phil Cappel of the Coast Guard’s Office of Auxiliary and Boating Safety in a ceremony Feb. 16, 2018 at the Miami International Boat Show.
The Charles Chapman Award honors individuals or groups within the marine industry who have made outstanding contributions to the sport of boating for the benefit of the recreational boating industry and boating public.
Cappel is chief of the Recreational Boating Product Assurance Branch at Coast Guard Headquarters and has spent the last 22 years serving the marine and recreational boating industries. NMMA honored Cappel for his work helping marine manufacturers understand and comply with regulations, and establishing standards for the marine industry to ensure the quality and safety of recreational boats.
Some of Cappel’s contributions to the industry include over 20 years of service on both the American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC) Technical Board and the SAE Marine Technical Steering Committee. He has worked with the NMMA on numerous issues such as EPA requirements for installing catalytic converters on inboard engines, reduction of vapor emissions from fuel vent systems, and the use of ethanol in marine fuel. Cappel established agreements that led to studies by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health on ways to reduce or eliminate carbon monoxide hazards on recreational boats. He presented technical seminars at Boatbuilding and IBEX conferences, and conducted semi-annual updates at IBEX and the Miami International Boat Show to keep the industry updated on Coast Guard actions. Finally, Cappel launched a factory inspection program to assist recreational boat manufacturers comply with federal safety regulations.
The award is named for Charles Fredric Chapman who is best known for authoring “Piloting, Seamanship, and Small Boat Handling,” a standard reference for boaters since 1922. Chapman was an outspoken advocate for boating safety and navigation during his 56-year long career. He died in 1976 at the age of 95. For more information about the award and its previous recipients, visit NMMA’s website.
This blog is not a replacement or substitute for the formal posting of regulations and updates or existing processes for receiving formal feedback of the same. Links provided on this blog will direct the reader to official source documents, such as the Federal Register, Homeport and the Code of Federal Regulations. These documents remain the official source for regulatory information published by the Coast Guard.