The key features of the report include the news that Europeans own 6,000,000 boats and 32m European residents go boating.

The total retail spend on the sector last year was ?13billion and over 130,000 boats were manufactured in the 30 European countries in 2003.

The report also confirms figures gathered by the International Council of Marine Industry Associations (ICOMIA) that boat ownership per head in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway is almost 10 times that in the other countries.

Overall, says the report, Germany, France, Italy and the UK account for 2/3rds of retail spending and 63% of industry revenues. It also confirms the claim of the Italian marine industry association, UCINA, that Italy's leisure marine industry is the largest in value terms within Europe, and includes the largest boatbuilding sector (again, in value terms), being heavily influenced by the superyacht sector and luxury yachts.

Tales from offshore sailors dodging the tide along the Cherbourg shore from CH1 - reporting scores of small boats with mother knitting in the stern while father fishes from the bow - are also confirmed with France credited with producing the greatest number of boats, accounting for 38% of the total volume or 49,900 units.

The UK gets a mention for being the largest European producer of inboard/sterndrive motor boats over 12m, while a stark warning of lower production costs elsewhere comes with the news that Poland is increasingly becoming a major player in the industry, particularly in the production of outboard powered craft.

"These findings illustrate the importance of the leisure marine sector to the European economy, " said Howard Pridding, executive director of the BMF. "The research also illustrates the competition that the UK market faces from European neighbours."

We are confident that the UK market will continue to grow and prosper due to its excellent standards and innovative approach and the BMF must do all it can to support the growth and development of the industry and to protect it from increased regulation from within the UK and in Europe, he added.