About Us

The Clean Boating Foundation (CBF) is working towards cleaner waters in Washington state

Partnering with boaters, boatyards, environmental groups, the Washington state Department of Ecology and scientific experts, CBF is a market-driven effort to improve water quality in Puget Sound and the rest of our waters. We encourage boaters to choose environmentally-preferable products and practices and to use environmentally-responsible boatyards. We work with Washington boatyards to go above and beyond their legal requirements.

Washington state sees almost 300,000 recreational boats on its waters each year, providing $4 billion in overall revenue and 28,000 marine-related jobs. The recreational marine industry is thus incredibly important to Washington’s economy. Increasing our industry’s environmental standards beyond what is required will further add to the allure of recreational boating in this environmentally-conscious region.

The CBF is working towards cleaner Washington waters with a two-pronged approach. First, we encourage the widespread use of clean and green products and practices. We realize that boating carries inherent environmental risks, but we also recognize that boaters have a vested interest in sustaining healthy, blue waters in which to cruise. There are simple, effective choices that can be made when outfitting your boat that don’t compromise its performance.

The second approach is to work with boatyards to achieve Clean or Leadership Clean status. We have developed our certification checklist to help boatyards achieve full legal compliance and to encourage an extra commitment to the marine environment. We hope that boaters will look for the CBF Seal of Approval when choosing which yard to go to when it comes time for boat repairs and maintenance.