The long-time editor of BoatUS Magazine, Michael Sciulla, was recently named publisher of the nation’s largest circulation magazine for recreational boat owners by BoatUS Founder Richard Schwartz.

Begun in 1966 as a basic newsletter for the members of Boat Owners Association of The United States, Schwartz and Sciulla revamped the 500,000-circulation publication in 1996 turning it into a critically-acclaimed and advertising-supported magazine that now has more than 650,000 subscribers. The publication is ABC audited and its circulation is greater than the next five largest boating magazines combined.

Sciulla, who will continue in his role as editor of BoatUS Magazine, joined BoatU.S. in 1980 as editor of its newsletter, BoatUS Reports, which at the time had a circulation of 30,000. He was named editor and associate publisher of BoatUS Magazine in 1996.

“The most rewarding facet of producing this publication over the past 26 years is that our editorial team has built a lifestyle publication that has developed a genuine bond with its readers, 80% of whom read every issue and 96% of whom actually own a recreational boat” said Sciulla.

According to the magazine’s most recent Monroe-Mendelsohn reader survey, 99% agree with the statement that BoatUS Magazine is “credible,” 88% agree that BoatUS Magazine contains information they cannot find elsewhere, 73% say that BoatUS Magazine is the most important boating publication they receive in the mail and 67% say that BoatUS Magazine is their primary source of national news and information on recreational boating.

In addition to his BoatUS Magazine responsibilities, Sciulla is also publisher of DIY Boat Owner magazine, a quarterly publication acquired by BoatUS earlier this year that specializes in marine maintenance and repair. Sciulla is the immediate past president of Boating Writers International and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Society of National Association Publications.