Six Marinas Join Florida Boat Village

Six marinas have joined The Boat Village establishment in Florida, aimed to promote online service coordination and simplify boat ownership.

The latest marina’s to join the collaborative are: Old Port Cove Marina and New Port Cove Marina, the Palm Bay Club Marina, and three marinas from the Aquamarina portfolio located in Southeast Florida.

These companies will offer The Boat Village, a maritime online service coordination tool, to slip holders, providing them with the very latest technology for boat management and online service coordination. In addition, My-Villages will provide marketing and outreach services to spread the word, resulting in a regional collaborative working to engage online while increasing communal customer loyalty.

“We are a forward-thinking and technology-friendly company. We are always looking for ways to enhance boaters’ experiences and provide value to slip holders,” said Steven Kinderman, COO at Aqua Marine Partners.

“The Boat Village Premium service provides tools that help boating customers connect with service technicians and other marine professionals in a simple and efficient way. By offering The Boat Village, we are seeking to improve maintenance and keep boaters boating, which is good for everyone—especially the boater. Additionally, the marketing support that comes with the strategic alliance is quite valuable.”

The Florida collaborative, launched earlier this spring, has already attracted substantial companies, including Hinckley Yacht Services and Whiticar Boat Works of Stuart, Boat Yard Services in West Palm Beach, Bradford Marine and Marine Professionals Incorporated (MPI), and Galati Yacht Sales.

“Customers transact online with banks, pharmacies and retail stores—it’s routine,” said Kevin Hutchinson, founder and CEO of My-Villages.

“Our mission is to move the marine industry in that direction, too. Transacting business with customers online is the norm these days, and it is great to see so many innovative marine industry companies move forward to do business with customers online.”

The Boat Village is an online service coordination and boat management tool that gives marinas, service yards, dealers and brokerages the ability to track each customer’s vessel, receive automatic reminders when service is due and notify customers-as just one app.

Service professionals can create a boat profile for each customer, giving them instant access to relevant information about onboard equipment and supplying automatic reminders when service is due. The Boat Village also appends equipment manuals and creates a custom maintenance plan, based on manufacturer recommendations.

“The Boat Village is a great tool on its own,” said Sue Morgan, marketing director at Old Port Cove, which has used DockMaster for years. “We are really eager to see what it can do when it is integrated into DockMaster. The two tools combined will be a powerful way to increase efficiency and expand customer engagement.”

Later this year, The Boat Village will be integrated into the DockMaster suite of marine business software, enhancing the utility for DockMaster users and supplying marinas more tools to care for slip holders.