Features

Now in its eighth year, the Boating Industry Top Products program brings you 50 of the marine industry’s newest and most innovative products and services to recently hit the market, ranging from boat models to building components and everything in between. In order to be eligible for consideration, products or services had to have been introduced or significantly updated since ...

By Sarah DevlinContent Director, American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC) The 2021 Boating Industry annual dealer survey indicates one of the top challenges for dealers is finding qualified marine technicians. For this three-part series, the American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC) team is reaching out to key players in the industry to address why this is a concern, what programs ...

By David Gee Wells Fargo Distribution Finance, part of Wells Fargo & Company, recently announced the retirement of marine industry leader Bruce Van Wagoner after 45 years in the industry and 33 years with Distribution Finance (DF). Chad Lyon has been selected to lead DF’s Marine group, and we had the chance to chat over Zoom just before this magazine ...

By Wanda Kenton Smith From her earliest years playing on boats at Wayzata Marine in Wayzata, Minn., to dusting, stocking shelves and handling administrative duties as a teen, to moving into key roles managing inventory and selling parts and accessories, Natalie Briggs Carlson was always immersed in her family’s boating business. After marriage, she relocated with her husband to Austin, ...

By David Gee The NMMA recently reported that retail unit sales of new powerboats in February 2021 were up 34% compared to the same time period last year. Segment leaders included wakesport boats, one of many categories seeing double-digit increases YOY. These latest sales figures for the towboat segment follow a strong 2020, with NMMA reporting unit sales around the ...

Now in its fifth year, Boating Industry’s annual recognition program of strong young leaders in the marine industry shines a spotlight on a unique group of individuals leading the pack. Selected from around 200 nominations from across the industry, this year’s group features prominent young professionals form all segments of the marine industry from boat dealers to manufacturers and everything ...

By Adam Quandt Boating Industry was recently invited down to Mercury Marine’s famous Lake X, for an exclusive look at Mercury’s new 600hp V12 Verado outboard. Between test runs of the new engine on various boats, Boating Industry had the chance to catch up with Mercury Marine president Chris Drees. BI: You’re two years in at the helm at Mercury ...

By Wanda Kenton Smith Marine marketer Victor Gonzalez is heavily involved in the web development scene and teaches programming, design and web development online to anyone looking to enhance their skills.  He’s pretty good at his day job too. The director of marketing for Sportsman Boats recently helped his company earn the coveted “King Neptune” Best-in-Competition Award from Marine Marketers ...

By David Gee In this ongoing series about smart boats, we are going to explore the smart boat space in general, and also interview the entrepreneurs and executives who are trying to make your boat smarter and boat ownership easier. This is a Q&A with David Villegas, co-founder and business development director of Boatrax, a Florida-based telematics service provider. BI: ...

By Adam Quandt For the last four years, BRP’s Sea-Doo has taken training dealers in its largest market — Florida — to a whole new level. “Florida is one of the biggest marine and personal watercraft markets in the world and there are over 1,500 people moving to Florida every day, with most of the movers seeking sunshine and fun ...