Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/688632
22 | Boating Industry | July 2016 www.BoatingIndustry.com for, say, $12,000; you take one of our boats for $13,000, for $25,000 you've got yourself a state- of-the-art jet boat that serves both needs," said Gyurko. "There is no complete jet boat out there … in that price range, and they only serve a single purpose." The WaveBoat's compatibility rails can change as a customer trades up in PWC. Gyurko said the over 5 million PWC owners who do not own a boat can't afford to have both, but the WaveBoat allows them to easily enter into boating while staying in the "water toy" segment at the same time. "They would go to a boat later on in life if the kids are grown up, they just want to go boat- ing [and] hang out and party with friends. But when they go into something like the WaveBoat, it's something they can stay with. It's got both worlds," said Gyurko. The evolution of aesthetics Aesthetics have also become a more integral part of the boatbuilding process over the years in boat design, as the styling of a boat is not just about how nice the boat is on the eyes. "The choice of the materials that we use, whether that adds to the robustness of the product, is a big deal so that our boats – they're already known for high-quality – we can, in an authentic way, be able to show a dealer or cus- tomer how new materials we're using further en- hance that products quality [and] longevity that we expect of our boats," said Callan. The marine industry continues to take cues from the automotive industry, clothing industry, the outdoor industry and more. Rec Boat Hold- ings conducts trends studies every year to see how the company can incorporate ideas from other markets into its boats. Aesthetics have become more prominent for the pontoon segment over the years, which cer- tainly has not always been the case. Looking at the history of pontoon boat manufacturing, it's not hard to notice aesthetics playing a bigger role over time. "The change in the aesthetics and styling designs of the rails, furniture and the helms. Everything has gone through a revolution and advanced. If you go back and look through bro- chures," said Grovender, "industry-wide, par- ticularly in the pontoon boat segment, there has been a lot of advancement in just the little design cues. Everybody's trying to up everybody and take it to the next level." Premier is working on a new console for the 2017 model lineup, and the company put extra emphasis on aesthetics, styling and design for this product, possibly more so than the company has ever done on a helm, according to Grovender. The addition of fi berglass components or hulls to pontoons has become a huge trend in pontoon manufacturing over the past three years, which shows a particular emphasis toward Boats like the Marker One represent a shift to "crossover" vessels. WaveToys is selling boats individually direct from the factory, but will be looking to sign on dealers soon.