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2025 BoatUS Photo Contest

Enter your best boating shots for a chance to win great prizes!

A glowing pontoon boat at sunset with Mount Diablo in the background.

Floridian Bill Klipp made the most of his time exploring Discovery Bay in Northern California. This image shows a glowing pontoon boat at sunset with Mount Diablo in the background.

With more than 700,000 members, BoatU.S. Magazine has the greatest group of contributing photographers in the business. It’s time to get those smartphones charged up and digital camera lenses wiped clean, and get ready to capture moments from your 2024 boating season!

You don’t have to be a professional photographer to participate. We’re looking for real boaters in their natural element – and there’s no one better qualified for the job than YOU.

So send us your best boating shots – weather, fishing, family, local color, closeups of boating gear, glorious seascapes, boat chores, seasonal fun, and more! Each photo must contain a boat or be set on a boat.

The 2025 BoatUS Photo Contest entry period runs from 12 a.m. ET, June 1. 2024, to 11:59 p.m. ET, November 1, 2024.

Entries will be judged on originality, technical excellence, composition, overall impact, artistic merit, and subject matter relevance.

ACR ResQLink 400 Base PLB Safety Kit

One winner in each of the five categories will receive:

Elderly man with a white beard and tan hat navigating a small vessel on open waters where large clouds reflect off the water.

On a routine dinghy trip taking their dog to shore, Shelley Christy of Washington took this photo of her fiancé, Mark, with their Nauticat44, High Hopes, in the background. “How stunning the photo turned out when I took it without the filter!”

A large sailboat out on the water during sunset as waves crash upon rocks on the shore.

Floridian Bill Klipp made the most of his time exploringDiscovery Bay in Northern California. This image shows a glowing pontoon boatat sunset with Mount Diablo in the background.

Judging Categories

1. Set the Scene: Boats as part of a dramatic landscape/seascape or a landscape/seascape taken from a boat.

2. Living the Boating Life: Capture people fully in the moment aboard (e.g., lifestyle, boatwork, joys, challenges, tranquility).

3. Part of the Action: Portray the excitement and drama that happens aboard or around boats (e.g., active fishing, watersports, racing).

4. Artistic Photography: Get creative and show boating from your unique perspective, such as incorporating unusual angles or creative photography or Photoshop techniques. Images may be digitally manipulated.

5. Cover Image: Submit vertical images that get attention, connect to the hearts of boaters, and have space at the top for our logo. Images may be digitally manipulated.

Photo entries in all categories EXCEPT Cover Photo must be a minimum of 5x7 inches at 300 dpi (print resolution). Cover Photo entries must be photographed or cropped in vertical orientation and be a minimum of 9x12 inches at 300 dpi. Images created in whole or in part using artificial intelligence (AI) are not accepted in any category.

Entries are limited to two (2) photos per photographer in each judging category, up to a maximum of ten (10) photos total. Photos may not be entered in more than one category, with the exception of Cover Photo, provided it meets the criteria above. Each photo must be submitted separately.

See full contest rules here.

Winners will be notified on or before January 6, 2025. The winning photos as well as those of finalists will appear in the February/March issue of BoatUS Magazine. NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THIS CONTEST.

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BoatUS Editors

Contributor, BoatUS Magazine

Award-winning BoatUS Magazine is the official publication of Boat Owners Association of The United States. The magazine provides boating skills, DIY maintenance, safety, news and more from top experts.