At the organization's initial meeting of incorporators and members – held April 30, 1954, at New York's Hotel Lexington – 43 people from all facets of the boating industry were on hand to get the fledgling Council properly launched. Phelps Ingersoll of the Wilcox-Crittenden Corporation was named the first president and ABYC became a working entity. The group's goal was to develop safety standards for the design, construction, repair and maintenance of recreational boats. The mission of ABYC is to improve boating safety and reduce the number of injuries and fatalities that occur as a result of improper design or maintenance.

Over the next 50 years ABYC has grown in various ways — all of them good. Our office moved from Amityville, NY to Edgewater, MD to our present headquarters building in Annapolis, MD which was purchased by the ABYC Foundation in 2006.

The first set of standards, "Life Saving Equipment" (H-9) and "Battery Chargers" (E-6) were introduced in 1956. The first edition of "Safety Standards and Recommended Practices" was published in 1965 and consisted on 9 standards. Today, "Standards and Technical Information Reports for Small Craft" (previously known as "Standards and Recommended Practices for Small Craft") contains over 65 standards and is growing.

In addition to writing standards, ABYC designed a comprehensive education program beginning in 1989. The education programs include seminars, workshops, Marine Technician Certification program, and standards accreditation.

ABYC's approximately 4,000 members include boat builders, boat yards, yacht brokers, marinas, service technicians, surveyors, retail marine stores, marine insurance companies, equipment manufacturers and boat owners. Both nationally and internationally, ABYC is the acknowledged authority that provides uniform standards to enhance marine manufacturing, maintenance, service and safety. In addition to writing uniform technical standards for the entire marine industry, ABYC has become a leader in education for marine industry professionals, technicians and boat owners by offering seminars, workshops, webinars, marine technician certification training and standards accreditation as well as numerous educational publications.

In order to mitigate boating accidents and increase the value of recreational boating, it is hoped that more marine professionals and boat owners will become committed to ABYC's mission to protect the public from unsafe boating through the research, development and education of marine industry standards. By requesting that ABYC Standards be adhered to by all who own, operate, build or repair boats, the quality of the boating experience will be enhanced and costly and dangerous mistakes will be substantially reduced.

ABYC will continue to research, develop, review and publish manufacturing and service standards for the boating industry. It is our aim to make recreational boating a safer sport in the 21st century!