The South West's leisure marine industry is now worth more than £700m to the region, new figures show.
According to the British Marine Federation, the industry grew by a healthy 11 per cent in 2007.
It is now worth a staggering £711m in revenues, up from nearly £640m a year earlier.
The figures revealed that around 9,000 people are employed full time in the sector in the region.
South West firms now account for nearly a quarter of the total UK leisure marine industry.
Adam Corney, executive director of Marine South West, said he was not surprised that the figures were so positive.
Rob Stevens, British Marine Federation: "Despite the challenging economic climate, I am confident the marine industry can continue to navigate a successful course."
He told the Western Morning News: "It's not really a surprise. It's above inflation but its part of a long trend of above inflation increases.
"Obviously we are very pleased at Marine South West. The industry has been showing good signs of growth over the last 12 months.
"We started the year somewhat pessimistic, I think, given that we didn't know what was going to happen with DML, and Princess Yachts International was somewhat uncertain about what it was going to do.
"But Princess seems to be growing strongly and they are investing heavily in premises, technology and staff, which is very positive. And Babcock International took over DML and that seems to have worked out reasonably well and they are investing in Plymouth."
The total turnover of the UK leisure marine industry jumped 6.5 per cent to around £3bn in 2007.
The figures also show that the sector now employs some 35,700 people across the UK.
Rob Stevens, chief executive of the British Marine Federation, said: "The release of our latest industry figures is a welcome boost for the industry, illustrating healthy overall growth in both turnover and the number of people employed.
"The leisure and small commercial marine sector is a diverse and growing part of the UK economy.
"Our boatbuilders and equipment manufacturers have a world-wide reputation for quality, good design and innovation.
"In the home market, boating tourism continues to play a key role, with good customer service experience supporting significant numbers of domestic and overseas visitors.
"Despite the challenging economic climate, I am confident the marine industry can continue to navigate a successful course."
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