Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/326874
July 2014 | Boating Industry | 35 www.BoatingIndustry.com /// Market Trends /// try to broaden the base of who's boating and to make boating easier," Goldsmith said. "As we move forward the idea is to broaden the demo- graphic to broaden the appeal to a larger group of people. We're going to make this as easy, simple and safe as possible, and I think as you see the innovations that come down the pike that all of them are going to move in this direction." Volvo Penta sees a similar priority in reduc- ing barriers to boat operation and ownership, a major theme in all products it has introduced since joystick control back in 2005. "Boats that used to require a captain or a cap- tain's license or, if nothing else a lot of anxiety on the part of the operator, can now be used very intuitively by a weekend operator," Kull said. During a recent round of product and con- sumer research, Navico undertook an ambitious study that outlined 64 different types of boaters. After zeroing in on what a day in the life would be like for each, the company narrowed the list down to 12 diverse boaters. This allowed the company to address what each boater needs to know, which needs are currently being met, which are currently under-served and what he or she will remember after the trip — good or bad. "We've come up with 12 areas where we be- lieve we can add significant value to the boater's day by using pieces that we either have already available or will have available shortly," Chemi said. Better cartography was one such need iden- tified by the research, and Navico's Insight Genesis product is one result of its approach. Insight Genesis allows boaters to flip a switch on the display that records the current depth and other information that is uploaded to the company, processed, and then returned to pro- vide better, higher resolution charts for areas that were previously off the map. "We all love boating, we just don't do it enough," he said. "If we want to have more peo- ple in boating and we want to help people have a good time, then what we have to do as electron- ics guys is use our technology to make it easier for the guy to go boating. There are a number of areas we're working on to help make it simpler for him to go out and do his boating, and a lot of that is based on the exchange of data or the analysis of data, and when I say exchange, it's re- ally private but it's basically his equipment telling him, 'Hey, I recognize something different here.'" Mastervolt, a global firm in the marine, auto and energy industries, has 30 engineers around the world developing boating innovations. The company is preparing to launch around the IBEX show in the fall. Its current and future products have focused on removing buttons and toggles that can be daunting to beginners. "This theme of streamlining the dash, sim- plifying that cockpit area, making it more user friendly where you don't have to figure out what to turn on, what to turn off, and what time to Co-developed with Garmin, Volvo Penta's Glass Cockpit presents a clean interface that eliminates the need for most buttons and switches. It has won several awards, including an NMMA Innovation Award at the Miami International Boat Show. P32x36-BI14JUL-MarketTrends.indd 35 5/28/14 12:07 PM