MINNEAPOLIS, — The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas (MRAA) announces the addition of Stabicraft USA to its growing list of MRAA Partner Members.
Marine manufacturers, suppliers and service providers, through Partner Membership, commit to aligning their brands with the programs and opportunities that MRAA offers in its efforts to fuel the success of the marine industry. Support from Partners allows the Association to expand its offerings and create a positive, long-term impact in MRAA members’ business.
Stabicraft USA, Port Angeles, Wash., manufactures aluminum chambered boats that focus on both form and function – they commit to their mission of supporting the marine industry by partnering with MRAA. Learn more about Stabicraft USA.
“Adding another boat manufacturer as a supporting Partner Member gives our dealer members more opportunities to expand their marine ensemble and provide variety for their customers,” said Allison Gruhn, MRAA Vice President of Business Development. “MRAA is better equipped to fulfill our mission of serving the entire marine industry with Stabicraft USA’s support.”
MRAA encourages its dealer members to explore the entire list of companies that actively support the MRAA across four partnership levels. View the full list.
About the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas
At the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, we believe that for the marine industry to thrive, the retail organizations that interact with the boaters in their community must thrive. With that in mind, MRAA works to create a strong and healthy boating industry by uniting those retailers, providing them with opportunities for improvement and growth, and representing them with a powerful voice. For more information, visit MRAA.com or contact us at 763-315-8043.
MINNEAPOLIS, March 6, 2023 – The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas (MRAA) has released eight, special-edition The Boat Biz podcasts.
Recorded at MRAA’s Dealer Week Conference and Expo in Austin, Texas, the special-edition podcasts feature eight distinct guests — two MRAA Strategic Partners (Boats Group and Lightspeed) and six MRAA Education Champions (Boatline, Elite Recreational Finance, Global Marine Insurance, National Marine Distributors, Northpoint Commercial, Vantage Resource Group) — offering expert viewpoints about the business of boating.
Matt Gruhn, MRAA President
“The Dealer Week environment provides a great platform for the marine industry to capture reflections on the current year and a look forward to the year ahead of us,” says Matt Gruhn, MRAA President. “We wanted to capture that insight through the minds of some of our most significant industry partners – MRAA Strategic Partners and Education Champions — because they have the leadership, knowledge and industry awareness to help dealers find greater success in 2023 and beyond.”
For these Dealer Week-edition podcasts, MRAA enlisted professional podcaster JB Hager, host of the Get Ship Done podcast and co-host of both THE MOVE, and Austin Found podcasts (and a producer of the Garagecast podcast, which is hosted by Sam Dantzler and Tony Gonzalez of Garage Composites).
The Boat Biz Podcasts — Dealer Week Special-Edition Episodes
John Souch, Boats Group Sales Director, shares insights into what the recent model year listing activity and the overall healthy consumer activity mean for 2023.
Russell Baqir, Northpoint Commercial Finance, talks key elements dealers should be thinking about in 2023, adding RV industry perspectives that may translate into the marine market.
Jimmy Delegro, founder of Elite Recreational Finance, shares how he built the company from the ground up, how he’s carved out a niche as an industry leader and forming relationships.
The world of marine insurance has undergone some significant changes over the last few years. Global Marine Insurance’s Troy Buttleman discusses the changing state of insurance and how Global delivers for today’s dealers.
Ross Solwold of Vantage Resource Group shares his insights into how dealers can strengthen their alternative profit centers through Vantage’s unique products.
Drawing from her experience, Nancy Cueroni, National Marine Distributors Association President, explains the distributor side of the COVID-related supply chain issues.
Brad Lloyd, Lightspeed Dealer Management Systems, says automating processes help dealers become more effective in their customer communications and overall dealership systems.
Boatline’s Lori Stacy and Nicole Schantz share great insights about digital marketing and digital retail and how dealers can tap into the wealth of data and information from Statistical Surveys.
“We have built a solid foundation with The Boat Biz podcast, which was one of our essential goals derived from the 2023-2025 MRAA Strategic Roadmap planning meeting last year,” adds Gruhn. “These new episodes double our current output, giving us 16 compelling episodes. Each one provides a unique story and supplies the industry with beneficial market breakdowns, actionable content and highlight many different business aspects within our industry.”
About the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas At the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, we believe that for the marine industry to thrive, the retail organizations that interact with the boaters in their community must thrive. With that in mind, MRAA works to create a strong and healthy boating industry by uniting those retailers, providing them with opportunities for improvement and growth, and representing them with a powerful voice. For more information, visit MRAA.com or contact us at 763-315-8043.
Because you’re involved in a dealership service department, you know what’s coming. It’s the chaos of spring launch season.
And while pulling it off is a heavy lift for even the best-of-the-best service departments, it’s a huge opportunity for your team as well. An opportunity to kick off your customers’ boating season on the right foot … or not. To increase their boat usage … or not. To build long-term customer loyalty (read: repeat business) … or not. And to add general referral business … or not.
Liz Walz
That’s why we picked this February Spotlight topic – Ease the Service Stress of Spring Deliveries– and it’s why we are partnering with MRAA Strategic Partner Lightspeed to share meaningful Repair Event Cycle Time (RECT) insights with you. We know your customers’ experience (CX) with your service department is critical to the quality and longevity of their relationship with your dealership – and RECT is a big part of that. Spring launch is a fresh chance at getting the season started in the correct way.
Here are a few RECT insights to get things rolling:
If you’re not tracking your dealership’s RECT, now is the time to start. Some Dealer Management Systems (DMS) make it easy for you to track. But any dealer can measure the time between opening a repair order and closing it. Learn more about measuring and improving RECT from MRAA’s Spotlight on the topic last February.
Different DMS companies and different dealerships track it in different ways. What matters most is that you’re tracking it … and you’re actively working to reduce your RECT numbers so your customers have a better service experience and enjoy more time using their boat on the water.
MRAA and VRZ Consulting worked together to identify proven tactics leading dealers use to overcome common challenges during each step of the service process that can lead to longer time in the shop and disappointed customers.You can find these solutions related to detailing and delivering– the final step of the service process – as part of this month’s Spotlight.
As the marine industry gains more experience tracking RECT as an important customer experience metric and service department key performance indicator, our understanding of the numbers improves. For example, when Lightspeed first started tracking RECT, they only included repair orders in which marine dealers had recorded parts and labor in their DMS, which was a small subsegment of the total repair orders submitted. Today, they include repair orders with no parts or labor entered, which allows for a much larger pool of total repair orders. In addition, they’ve removed statistical outliers created by circumstances like storage. As a result, they are reporting a lower average RECT: about 24 days. Dealers report this is more representative of what’s happening in their shops than earlier methods, according to Lightspeed. Read more about MRAA and Lightspeed RECT changes.
While our understanding of the numbers continues to change and improve, our commitment to helping you improve RECT through the sharing of best practices, education and resources remains steadfast.
Not only will Lightspeed and MRAA be regularly sharing metrics related to the factors that influence RECT, but our team will soon be releasing dealer case studies from Lightspeed’s RECT award winners, sharing strategies these businesses have applied to achieve industry-leading customer experience.
If you have ideas for RECT education and resources that would benefit you and your team, we’d love to hear them. You are always welcome to email me at liz@mraa.com.
“Our ‘See You Out Here’ campaign has helped maintain industry momentum and welcome a diverse audience of newcomers to recreational boating,” says Matt Gruhn, MRAA president. “This recognition and award reinforce the importance for Discover Boating to continue creating and distributing strong marketing efforts that engage future boaters and promote the benefits of boating.”
The entries spanned 22 different categories and were judged by a committee of creative professionals. The judges’ comments about Discover Boating’s See You Out Here Campaign included:
This campaign truly epitomizes what an integrated marketing campaign should be and propels the marine industry forward.
Very well designed, executed and reported. Well documented with ambitious goals, well-addressed and results documented.
Discover Boating, powered by NMMA and MRAA, received a Neptune Award for the 2022 “See You Out Here” marketing campaign.
“We are honored to receive a Neptune Award for Discover Boating’s 2022 ‘See You Out Here’ campaign,” said Kevin Williams, NMMA’s Vice President of Marketing. “It’s a testament to the effort that went into our marketing approach and the progress we are making in attracting the next generation while connecting with existing boaters since the campaign launch.”
For images and the full list of Neptune Awards winners, click here.
Beginning on January 1, 2023, Boat Rental Operators, or Liveries, in Florida have been required to obtain annual permits as well as have valid insurance for both the business operations and for their customer, the renter. This new requirement was included in the Florida Boating Safety Act of 2022, Sponsored by Senator Ileana Garcia (Miami) and Representative Adam Botana (Bonita Springs), and passed during the Florida Legislature’s previous session in 2022. Although the bill mandates that the new regulations go into effect on January 1, 2023, the changes are not being enforced by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission for six months, or until June 1, 2023.
Besides creating the requirement for the no-cost permit, the legislation also makes changes to boater education requirements and insurance requirements for liveries, as well. The insurance aspect stands to be the most contested requirement because, during the final few days of session, additional language was added to the legislation, causing a “glitch” to be created, and requiring insurance for the renter as well as the operation.
Background:
This new legislation was put in place partially to stop illegal rental operations that are commonplace throughout Florida. These illegal rental operations put all boaters on the water at risk and this legislation was meant to create a safer overall boating environment by making changes to Temporary Certificates and by requiring the rental operations to be permitted.
The new regulations now explicitly state that the rental operator, or their employee, must also have a boating safety license and also outline what must be covered with renters during the pre-rental and pre-ride check list. These new pre-rental and pre-ride instructions are designed to minimize the number of on-water accidents. The no-cost permits for livery operators are also designed to increase safety and ensure proper business practices. In order to receive a permit, the applicant must list all of the vessels available for rent, proof of insurance, local business license and tax receipts, and more.
While the aforementioned changes will ultimately create a safer and more enjoyable boating experience for rental operators and boat owners alike in Florida, three words make the proposed legislation untenable for rental operators. In the final days of the 2022 Legislative Session, the words “…and the renter” were added to the legislation – ultimately requiring that the livery offer insurance for the renter, up to $500,000 per individual and $1,000,000 per incident. Currently, this creates an impediment for livery operators as there are limited providers of such insurance and that currently makes it too expensive for rental operators.
The addition of “and the renter” is considered by many as a “glitch,” as it was only added in the last few days of session and fundamentally changed the nature of the new regulation, changing it from something liveries were happy to implement immediately to a formidable challenge that may risk the health of their business.
Moving Ahead
Currently, Senator Garcia and Representative Botana are working on a fix and have pre-filed HB 261 which attempts to remove the “glitch” language. We are now waiting for Florida’s legislative session to begin and provide input and support for this bill as it makes it through the legislative process. If you would like to learn how to support our efforts to pass HB 261, reach out to Chad Tokowicz, MRAA’s Government Relations Manager here.
Additional Resources
If you would like to learn more about the Florida Boating Safety Act, please see the below pages.
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SPRINGFIELD, Va., Feb. 22, 2023 – Boating Writers International, the professional association for writers, editors, publishers, bloggers, photographers and videographers in the recreational boating and fishing industries, bestowed five awards on BoatUS Magazine staff and contributors during a presentation recently held at the group’s annual meeting at the 2023 Discover Boating Miami International Boat Show.
The awards, which attracted 267 entries, recognized the best marine writing and content to winners across 15 categories. Recipients were awarded a plaque noting their “excellence in creating compelling stories about boating through entertaining, educational and inspiring journalism” as well as cash prizes.
BoatUS Magazine articles earned a first-, two second-, and two third-place awards across three categories.
BoatUS Magazine contributing editor Frank Lanier earned a first-place prize in the 2022 BWI Awards for his feature, “7 Ways to Murder Your Diesel.”
Category: Seamanship, Rescue & Safety (sponsored by Sea Tow Services International)
First place: “7 Ways to Murder Your Diesel” by BoatUS Magazine contributing editor Frank Lanier (April/May 2022 issue). BWI Judge Jim Rhodes said, “This subject could have been just another boring technical piece on diesel maintenance, but the author cleverly introduces famous fictional detectives to pose the question: Who killed this diesel, and how did the murderer do it?”
Second place: “When the Tail Wags the Dog” by BoatUS Magazine contributing editor Dan Armitage (April/May 2022 issue). A scary firsthand experience creates the perfect entry to explain how to reduce the chances of fishtailing or jackknifing while trailering a boat.
Category: Boating Issues, News and Analysis (sponsored by Mercury Marine)
Second place: “How Often are Your Electronic Charts Updated?” by BoatUS Magazine contributing editor Tim Murphy (November/December 2022 issue). Electronic navigation charts aren’t updated as often as boaters think they are. Tim gets to the bottom of the issue and offers a few workarounds for when having the latest info is critical.
Third place: “From Barges to Pleasure Boats” by BoatUS Magazine senior editor Rich Armstrong (February/March 2022 issue). BoatUS is helping to shape the future of recreational boating on New York’s historic Erie Canal.
Category: Environmental Awareness & Education (sponsored by Torqeedo)
Third place: “Can we Rise with the Tide?” by BoatUS Magazine contributing editor Fiona McGlynn (September/October 2022 issue). Sea levels have been creeping up for decades, and the speed is accelerating. Recreational boaters need to be proactive.
U.S. Representative Jake Auchincloss (D-MA-04) visited the New England Boat Show Thursday, Feb. 16, touring the show with NMMA Vice President of Northeast Boat Shows Jon Pritko and MMTA Executive Director Randall Lyons.
(From left) NMMA Vice President of Northeast Boat Shows Jon Pritko, U.S. Representative Jake Auchincloss (D-MA-04) and MMTA Executive Director Randall Lyons at the 2023 Discover Boating New England Boat Show.
During the visit the importance the recreational boating industry plays in New England was discussed. The economic impact in New England is over $15 Billion dollars with close to 80,000 jobs within the industry and over 3,000 businesses represented (See infographic below right). Additional topics discussed, included the NOAA proposed speed restrictions effecting the industry, the blue economy and workforce challenges. There are several new and existing training programs in New England focused on training the future leaders within our industry.
Representative Auchincloss noted: “Marine science & tech is the most important growth edge for southeastern Massachusetts. I’m committed to promoting jobs and businesses in this sector.”
Business visits with elected officials are critically important opportunities for highlighting the recreational boating industry and both NMMA and MMTA encourage their members to work with both state and national elected officials on scheduling business visits. Representative Auchincloss recently became the newest member of the Congressional Boating Caucus joining close to 100 other national Senators and Representatives.
“Representative Auchincloss has been a strong advocate on behalf of the recreational boating and fishing industry in Massachusetts and has long supported industry efforts on Capitol Hill and beyond,” said Frank Hugelmeyer, CEO and President of the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA). “As a boating champion and valued member of the Congressional Boating Caucus, the NMMA and MMTA teams valued the congressman’s visit and look forward to working with Representative Auchincloss’ office to advance and protect the $170 billion recreational boating and fishing industry.” (See infographic, right)
700Credit is pleased to announce an integration alliance with IDS, a complete DMS and CRM for RV, Marine & Trailer dealerships. Our partnership with IDS aligns nicely with our growth in these markets.
Sample Vendor Spotlight
Through this new integration, dealers will be able to pull credit reports, manage compliance efforts and run prescreens directly from the IDS platform, simplifying dealer workflow and giving dealers access to a consumer’s credit score earlier in the sales process so they can close more deals, faster. In particular, the integration of the 700Credit prescreen platform (Quickscreen) in the CRM provides insight at the top of the sales funnel enabling the dealer to provide accurate payment quotes earlier in the process.
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• Latest drop-in fuel technology minimizes CO2 emissions, maintains boats’ range and performance
The advancement, innovation, and availability of sustainable marine fuels was the focus of an industry event during the Discover Boating® Miami International Boat Show®. Sustainable marine fuels minimize CO2 emissions from recreational boating while maintaining boats’ range and performance. They are compatible with existing recreational boats, requiring no changes to fuel systems or engines.
An event to highlight the latest drop-in fuel technologies that minimize CO2 emissions, maintains boats’ range and performance was held at the 2023 Discover Miami International Boat Show in front of members of the media that included the Miami Herald, Trade Only Today and IBI News.
The recreational boating industry has taken significant strides to reduce CO2 emissions and continues to pursue innovative solutions, including supporting research and introduction of sustainable marine fuels into the marketplace. Since 2000, emissions from marine engines have decreased more than 90% and fuel efficiency has increased more than 40%. Recreational boating emissions account for just 0.7% of U.S. transportation greenhouse gas emissions, compared to cars (58%), commercial trucks and buses (25%) and air (10%).
“With a focus on sustainability, marine fuel advancements in reducing emissions are one of several ways the marine industry is working to lower CO2 emissions,” said Jeff Wasil, Director of Environment, Health & Safety Compliance at the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA). “There is no one-size-fits-all approach, so we are focused on providing boaters with access to a variety of technologies and products that make it easy and affordable for them to do their part to minimize CO2 emissions, including fueling your boat with sustainable marine fuel.”
The three drop-in fuels demonstrated during the Miami event were:
• PurFuels® Ethanol-Free Reformulated Gasoline using Isobutanol (GEVO) and TXCeed corrosion inhibitor: A gasoline/isobutanol blend that reduces CO2 emissions by up to 30% relative to conventional fossil-based gasoline.
• Neste MY Renewable Diesel™: Reduces CO2 emissions by up to 75% relative to conventional fossil-based diesel fuel.
All are expected to remain compatible with existing recreational boats equipped with internal combustion engines. They do not require any changes to the boat fuel system or engine, potentially making widespread consumer adoption possible. Renewable diesel, such as Neste MY Renewable Diesel™, is available on the West Coast of the U.S., meeting requirements of the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard. Purfuels® gasoline is available in Texas and will soon also be available for bulk purchase in Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin and the East Coast from Maryland to Maine. EcoGen™ fuel will have limited availability in Texas beginning this summer, with expanded availability from Texas to Florida in 2024. “VP Racing is excited to showcase our new EcoGen™ fuel, which is a drop-in fuel for gasoline-powered boats,” said Mark Walls, Director of R&D, Fuel Technology & Quality at VP Racing. “EcoGen delivers the same performance and range as current fuels but adds 10% renewable content to reduce the carbon footprint of the recreational marine Industry.” “This sustainable fuel is now available to the petroleum industry and can be available to consumers at a local gas station,” said Jess Hewitt, President of HYPERFUELS. “We can show any petroleum distributor, with access to gasoline blendstocks or E0, how to create an ethanol-free gasoline and at the same time improve octane. Our program allows any dealer to start selling premium ethanol-free gasoline.” “We are excited by the continued adoption of renewable fuels in the performance and recreation markets,” said Tim Cesarek, Chief Commercial Officer at Gevo. Partnership with suppliers like Hyperfuels allow us to advance the adoption of this technology into the market at a faster pace, and we are appreciative that the NMMA is making great strides to introduce these sustainable fuels to the marine industry.” Added Wasil, “Further reductions in carbon emissions through use of sustainable marine fuels and e-fuels have the potential for the recreational boating industry to reach carbon neutrality. Support of the fuels demonstrated today will help facilitate further emissions reduction in the future.” Event coverage included the Miami Herald,Soundings Trade Only Today and IBI News.
• Indmar contributes back-to-back wins to the fact that they personally train and certify each of their authorized service centers and applauds their network of dealers and OEMs
MILLINGTON, Tenn., Feb.16, 2023 – Indmar Marine Engines’ hard-earned reputation for delivering world-class quality and reliability across its highly acclaimed Raptor Series and EcoBoost platforms was reinforced again today during the Industry Breakfast held at the Miami International Boat Show when the company was awarded its 21st consecutive Marine Industry CSI Award for excellence in customer satisfaction.
Indmar Marine Engines earned its twenty-first customer satisfaction award based on a comprehensive survey completed by its customers who purchased a new boat with an Indmar Marine Engine during the period of January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022. “Our customers are our greatest ambassadors and to receive this award every year since the inception of the program, based on our customer’s experience with our products is one of the greatest honors we could ever receive and a testament to our network of finely tuned dealers and OEM’s,” explained Tim Maher, Chief Operating Officer of Indmar Marine Engines.
Maher further explained, “At Indmar, our customer service department extends all the way to our network of over 1,600 dealer showrooms and service centers across the country. We personally train and certify each of our authorized service centers and it’s because of their dedication that Indmar can provide a first-class ownership experience from the quality and performance of the engine to the buying and ownership experience.”
The Marine Industry Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) study, now in its twenty-first year. The program honors manufacturers that actively measure customer satisfaction and pursue continuous improvement to better serve the customer. Award recipients achieved and maintained an independently measured standard of excellence of 90 percent or higher in customer satisfaction based on information provided by customers who purchase a new boat or engine.
About Indmar Marine Engines Indmar has a pedigree going back 51 years in the inboard marine industry and a proud tradition of pointing the way forward. Indmar was the first inboard manufacturer to deliver fuel injection, and custom calibrated engines and the first to produce an inboard engine with a catalyzed exhaust, which is now the industry standard. Today, this legendary brand delivers an inimitable mix of unrivaled performance, meticulous craftsmanship, and ground-breaking innovation. Indmar operates advanced manufacturing facilities in the U.S. with distribution centers in Millington, TN, Merced, CA and Clarkston, WA. Indmar is operated by Correct Craft subsidiary Liberty Technologies which also manages PCM Engines, Crusader Engines, Levitator Engines, and Velvet Drive Transmissions. For more information, please visit www.indmar.com.
About Correct Craft Celebrating 98 years of excellence in the marine industry, Correct Craft is a Florida-based company with global operations. Focused on “Making Life Better,” the Correct Craft family includes Nautique, Centurion, Supreme, Bass Cat, Yar-Craft, SeaArk, Parker, and Ingenity boat companies, Pleasurecraft Engine Group, Indmar Marine Engines, Velvet Drive Transmissions, Mach Connections, Merritt Precision, Osmosis, Watershed Innovation, and Aktion Parks. For more information, please visit www.correctcraft.com.
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