hen thinking about an entire industry , “ tomorrow ” can be a nebulous concept . Yet , if said industry fails to anticipate what is to come , it will quickly find itself outstripped by competing markets . Consumers are constantly searching for the best , and the best is often said to be waiting in that nebulous tomorrow .
An occasional criticism leveled at the recreational boating industry is that it is slow to adopt
Aine Denari
Bill Yeargin new technologies and practices . “ Historically , boats might not have had quite as much technology as consumer electronics or automotive ,” says Aine Denari , President of Brunswick . “ But that is definitely changing .”
In fact , this new era of advancement proves such criticism no longer has any footing in the manufacturing sphere . Companies continue to progress and innovate , learning as they go and making headway into an ever-changing future . “ The boatbuilding world is changing fast , and the pace of change will only increase ,” says Bill Yeargin , CEO of Correct Craft .
Tomorrow , today
Tomorrow brings a wealth of new technology meant to elevate and enhance the recreational boating experience . “ Robotic , telematics , 3D printing , and artificial intelligence are all tools available today for boat builders ,” says Yeargin . “ Increasing computational power will only increase the power of these tools and others that will impact boat manufacturers .”
Of course , most people want to talk electrification when it comes to the technology of tomorrow . It ’ s certainly an evocative image : a whisper-quiet boat with a streamlined silhouette , pulling into a docking station to charge up before a day out on the water . However , electrification isn ’ t the only innovation that stands to push the industry forward . Brunswick takes a holistic approach to adopting new technologies . “ We ’ re focused heavily on integrating autonomy , connectivity and electrification into our portfolio ,” says Denari .
“ From a connectivity perspective , there ’ s now the ability to monitor and control both on and off the water and to have preventative maintenance activities ,” she explains . “ We have , for example , our CZone mobile applications where we have the hardware on the boat fully IOT enabled with cloud integration . And there are plenty of other things as well such as the Fathom E-power that allows you to more closely integrate the generator with all the components on the boat .”
“ The autonomy side is a big focus area for us moving forward too , starting with more assistance and then moving into more full autonomy ,” Denari continues . “ That ’ s enabled from a technology perspective by sensors such as cameras , radars and lidars , as well as all the systems and algorithms to be able to direct the boat , so a lot of technology is involved there .”
All of these innovations don ’ t develop in a vacuum , however . The end goal is always to make recreational boating a better and better experience for the end user . “ These technologies make boating an easier , more intuitive , more seamless experience ,” says Denari . “ Autonomy , for example , can make the process of docking a boat much easier – one of the use cases that boaters find the most difficult to do .”
“ The most obvious example [ of elevating the consumer experience ] for Correct Craft is the telematics programs offered by our connectivity
16 May 2023 www . boatingindustry . com