Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/776460
www.BoatingIndustry.com INDUSTRY NEWS 16 | Boating Industry | February 2017 OneWater Marine Holdings acquires Sunrise Marina of Florida and Alabama Atlanta-based OneWater Marine Holdings made its fourth acquisition of 2016 in De- cember, adding Sunrise Marine of Florida and Alabama. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. "With a growth rate in middle-class fami- lies that exceeds the national average, along with the Gulf's diverse fishing and boating activities that attract millions of additional visitors every year, expanding our presence on the Emerald Coast will allow us to help even more people enjoy the Salt Life," said Austin Singleton, CEO of OneWater Marine Holdings. "As we continue to rapidly expand, we're excited to add a high-volume dealer- ship like Sunrise Marine." "When exploring potential exit options, we wanted to make sure that our longstand- ing employees and customers were going to benefit from any transfer of ownership." said Philip Foss, former owner and general man- ager of Sunrise Marine. "Joining OneWater frees us up from the personal commitment and financial obligations of ownership while allowing us to offer better benefits and ser- vices to our loyal employees and customers; benefits and services we couldn't otherwise provide as an independent dealer." Sunrise Marine sells new Chaparral, Ro- balo, Contender, Carolina Skiff, Cape Horn, Worldcat, Bennington, Sweetwater, and Hur- ricane boats. Sunrise is also one of the largest used boat dealers on the Emerald Coast. The company will continue to operate its current locations on Highway 98 in Mary Esther, Fla., and Daphne, Ala., under the Sunrise Ma- rine name. All existing personnel will remain with the company. FLOE International acquires Gekko Boats FLOE International's FLOE CRAFT divi- sion has acquired Gekko Boats. FLOE has hired Mark Overbye, former CEO of Gekko, as president of the FLOE CRAFT division. Overbye has more than 30 years of expertise in the water sports industry and is a nationally ranked slalom competitor. He is the current vice president of the USA Water-ski Foundation, has a thorough understanding of the market and will be a great asset to the FLOE CRAFT team, the company said. The GEKKO acquisition continues FLOE CRAFT's expansion into growing market categories. In January, FLOE CRAFT began production in its newly expanded 120,000-square-foot facility. Wayne Floe, CEO of FLOE International, said "I'm extremely excited about the positive economic impact that this will have on our region and for our dealer network." Floe said he believes Overbye's addition to FLOE CRAFT will produce creative syn- ergy to develop products focused on a better user experience. BRP offers 10-year coverage on Evinrude E-Tec engines BRP has announced a new 10-year, factory- backed extended service coverage on all Evinrude E-TEC and Evinrude E-TEC G2 engines. The 10-year, factory-backed ex- tended service coverage offer runs through March 31. "Boaters deserve peace of mind when on the water," said Krista Sparkes, vice president of sales North America for BRP's Marine Propulsion Systems division. "In addition to our thrilling performance and intelligent design, Evinrude owners can now enjoy the security of a 10 -year factory-backed non- declining coverage." Consumers who purchase and take deliv- ery of eligible Evinrude E-TEC engines during the Boat Show Sales Event will qualify for a 10-year, non-declining, 100 percent factory- backed extended service coverage valued at up to $7,500. BRP says this offering will never be sold to third parties and will not change over the 10 years. In addition, the service coverage is transferrable to every future owner of the engine – which the company says will greatly increase the engine's residual value. Evinrude also offers five years of solid corrosion cover- age protection on E-TEC G2 outboards. National Park Service Centennial Act signed into law President Barack Obama signed the Na- tional Park Service Centennial Act into law Dec. 16. The legislation provides the agency with new resources that will help it engage the country's growing and diverse population with their public lands and waters, embrace new technologies and address a $12 billion maintenance backlog. "The American Recreation Coalition ap- plauds Congress's recognition of the natu- ral, cultural and historic importance of the National Park System to our nation," said Coalition President Derrick Crandall. "This law creates valuable new tools that will help the National Park Service provide excep- tional opportunities for healthy, active fun outdoors to diverse Americans for genera- tions to come." Key provisions of the legislation include: Creation of the National Park Centen- nial Challenge Fund to use federal funding and matching donations to support projects and programs furthering the National Park Service's mission and enhancing visitor experiences. Creation of a National Park Founda- tion-managed endowment to supplement Congressional appropriations for the Na- tional Park Service — much as endowments are used by universities. There is evidence that this endowment could be attractive to bequests and major contributors. Improvements in the National Park Service's capabilities to use youth conser- vation corps and volunteers to aid national park operations. An amendment to the 1998 Conces- sions Act to allow the Secretary of the In- terior to "amend the applicable terms of an existing concessions contract to provide new and additional services" to enhance public use and enjoyment of the units of the Na- tional Park System. A new Visitor Experience Improve- ments Authority, which could expand visitor services at units that are now under-visited.