News

Bombardier has introduced a new line of clean-burning, lightweight two-stroke engines the company says are going to change outboard boating forever. We took a spin on a boat equipped with one of Bombardier’s new E-TEC engines, and found it to be responsive, smoke- and odor-free and very quiet. The high-tech two-stroke motors reportedly require very little maintenance — with one ...

Bass Pro Shops Inc. founder and CEO John L. “Johnny” Morris became even more deeply involved in boat retailing when one of his affiliates gained control over financially struggling dealership chain Travis Boats & Motors Inc. Additionally, Bass Pro announced it will add five more Outdoor World store locations before the end of 2004. Morris gained control of Travis, a ...

Several new marine industry studies have been launched in recent months with the hope that more detailed industry data will help boating businesses compete with other forms of recreation. Among them is J.D. Power & Associates’ dealer attitude questionnaire, which will be used to survey boat and engine dealers about their relationships with the manufacturers they represent. As part of ...

Is it time for your marine business to organize all of its efforts with the help of computerization? That’s a question owners and managers of such operations have been asking (and some have been answering) for years. The marine-industry-dedicated software available today comes in all shapes and sizes. The top-end software can do everything but kill your food and cook ...

oat and engine manufacturer Brunswick Corp. has recently purchased two companies and formed a joint venture with a third in what may only be the first steps of the company’s attempts to get closer to its dealers. In September, Brunswick announced the acquisition of Integrated Dealer Systems (IDS), a developer of management systems for marine and recreational vehicle dealers. In ...

Citing a strong demand for its larger boats, Scout Boats has announced plans to expand at its South Carolina facility. Company founder and owner Steve Potts said the latest expansion is really phase four of a four-part plan developed when the company built its current facility in 1995. “It’s a 40,000 square foot expansion that was slated to start last ...

Genmar Holdings, Inc. has acquired the Fish Hawk fishing boat line from Bombardier Recreational Products for an undisclosed price, giving Genmar a total of 18 boat brands. Genmar said it will move production of the line to its Sarasota, Florida, facility, the current home of Wellcraft, Aquasport and Hydra-Sports. The move represents a departure from the outboard boat building business ...

Are boaters afraid of complete electronics when it comes to controlling the steering, speed and direction of their boat? The answer, apparently, depends on whether you’re talking about steering or other controls. For throttle control, electronics are becoming a bigger and bigger part of the game, replacing more mechanical linkages and hydraulic cylinders. For steering, however, component manufacturers are, at ...

A joint marketing agreement signed between two former rivals will results in an expansion of Shakespeare products into the V-Tronix lineup. Under an agreement announced at the Marine Industry Trade Show (METS) in November, U.S.-based Shakespeare C&E will begin manufacturing selected marine antenna products for England-based Communications Aerials V-Tronix. According to V-Tronix officials, the latest Communications Aerials catalog contains a ...

The U.S.-based SHURflo Pump Manufacturing Company has added a distributor for the Pacific Rim. Saying that the companies had “similar visions and are committed to continued growth,” SHURflo announced that the Camec group will begin distributing SHURflo marine products in Australia and New Zealand. Camec, founded in 1962, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Fleetwood Corporation in Australia. The distributor ...