Entitled US marine leisure - a guide for UK exporters , the report will be the culmination of an 18-month project that will provide the information UK companies need if they want to get into the US.

"If you've got a product, this document will tell you if it will fit in the US market, " said BMF director of export services, Toby Allies. And it will tell you how to get it there and what are the best routes to market for you, he added.

The research - 70% funded by the British Chamber of Commerce - was prompted by the BMF export committee, chaired by David Coleman of Barton Marine Equipment.

The justification for the project lies in the scarcity of reliable statistics for the North American market. That, plus the fact that the US is already a major market for UK products - accounting for 34% of our recreational marine exports - and the US market is likely to double over the next 10 years.

According to Allies, the North American market had - until now - remained unresearched. When called on for statistics, the BMF relied heavily on foreign trade associations and existing reports in magazines.

The first step The first stop for marine market statistics is usually the country's marine industry association (MIA). "The US aftermarket accessories spend is enormous, " said Allies, "but the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) acknowledges it doesn't know a great deal about the market."

"So we set out to find out a lot more about the US market than the NMMA, " said BMF researcher, Clive Hogan, adding the emphasis of the project is on all-original and authentic research.

The end result is a document tailored specifically to the UK market, said Allies.

"It's not just the US market, it's about how UK products will fit - or might not fit - into that market."

And the research shows there is huge potential for UK recreational marine products.

"The US imports US$2bn and the UK had 14% of that in 2000, " said Hogan. "I'm saying over the next 10 years we could hope to raise that to 24% of an expanding market."

Opportunities in the US are expected to increase, said Hogan. The historical trend is for the American production base to decrease, while the trend for world trade is to increase.

This is backed up by a recent comment from the NMMA's director of industry and international programmes, Arlene Sloan Baxter, who confessed the US recreational marine industry's positive trade balance of US$474 million in the early 1990s, has turned into a negative trade balance of US$988 million today.

"There's more wealth in the world and boating has to be on the shopping list for these people, " insists Hogan.

Steel trade dispute But with a nod to the current steel trade dispute, Hogan qualified his remarks by adding:

"Assuming trade relations with the US remain stable, the long term outlook is good and US imports could easily double to US$4bn by 2010."

When asked if the September 11 terrorist attacks would influence these figures and the US market, Hogan was decisive.

"We had just put our figures together when the September 11 disaster struck, " he said. "I called the US a day or two later and asked if we should put the project on hold."

No way, came the answer.

Hogan's US contact predicted there would be a resurgence in trade because the nation would use the event to rally round.

"I think his judgement has proved to be pretty much spot on, " said Hogan.

Hogan started work on the project in December 2000.

From his initial specifications, the tender documents were prepared. "All our research goes to tender, " said Allies, "and we had seven firms pitching for this project."

The seven firms were interviewed in May and June by the industry's Export Committee.

At the end of the interview sessions, six companies were thanked for their interest.

"The final pitch involved a UK and US company working in partnership, with representatives from the UK industry helping out as consultants, " said Allies.

Project leader The project leader is UK firm, Inteleca, based in Richmond, Surrey. Inteleca's US partner is Southwick Associates, based in Florida, and the UK consultants are Barrow International and David Lewin.

The go-ahead was finally given in September last year, with Hogan the point man for the BMF, liaising with Inteleca.

The real action began at the Windsor Trade Show, where Inteleca - working with David Barrow - interviewed large numbers of British firms for their views and experiences in exporting. A similar programme was mounted at METS.

"They had a lot of getting to know the industry, " said Hogan.

Southwood Associates carried out similar interviews in the US at Miami and IBEX, producing reports outlining the approach to US companies.

"With the North American market, it's the psychology, " said Hogan. "If you haven't travelled in the US, you are tempted to regard it as a single entity, but you cannot do that."

We visited a lot of places and were able to cross out some areas and highlight other areas we think British companies might like to consider, he said.

Rather than see companies having problems and spending a lot of time learning about it the hard way, we are trying to share some of that hard won experience.

The end result has impressed David Coleman and Raymarine's Stuart Thompson, also an export committee member.

Coleman says the research will be of most benefit to new exporters to the US market, but added that the US had changed so much over the past 10 years that current exporters will also find much to help them in its pages.

"It's going to be an important document, " said Coleman. "It will benefit equipment manufacturers and suppliers, there's a whole section for boatbuilders - it's pretty well across the board."

The final document will be launched in the next few months, said Coleman. "We 've all been very impressed with what we've got."

Thompson, too, had nothing but good to say: "Whether it will make a difference in terms of the number of exports going from the UK to the US market, I'm not sure. But I think as a piece of work it's a piece of quality."

Allies said once the final document is ready, BMF regions will be the first to see it in a series of roadshow presentations, with a public launch later in the summer.