LEADERS OF THE INDUSTRY
Innovators improving the boating experience
PMY: How have your customer demands shifted in recent years?
KEN CLINTON: The shift we have seen has been in regards to the demand of the size of our vessels. As outboard technology continues to advance, it has made our customers more and more confident running larger boats. I remember 32 years ago building a 30, a 26, and a 23. Those were our models. Now we build from 30’ to our present flagship the 51 Panacea and we are now finishing up designs on our largest boat to date the 64 Evolution that we will be building in our new Yacht Division facility in Swansboro North Carolina. Everything from joystick controls to better and easier-to-use navigational equipment has allowed boaters to have so much more confidence than before, which, in turn allowing them to go bigger. Even our entry level boaters are all coming into the market with bigger vessels than before. Then add the next level of this type of innovation, which is total autonomous boating using AI technology! And… this is a reality, and it is already here. I have worked closely with companies like Avikus, and I have personally been out on their test platform, which was truly amazing. Tesla has nothing on what Avikus is doing for the marine industry, and this next level of technology will bring even more people into boating. And boating is how we all feed our families!
PMY: Where do you look for design and business inspiration?
KEN CLINTON: This one is easy. The Intrepid Nation! Our customers are our best designers. They have shaped Intrepid since its inception. Just look at the firsts that Intrepid has brought to this industry by listening to our customers. We were the first to do the dive door because Hillsborough County Sheriff’s department needed a rescue door, to paint outboard engines to match the boat because our boats were tenders, and the outboards were the ugliest part of the tender and they wanted everything to match the superyacht. Customers demanded larger boats, and, did not have the product support needed to do that so one of the ways we met that was by creating our own 35” lower units for these larger boats. We couldn’t get the outboard companies to see the value or belief there was enough of a market for it until now. We were the first to put head compartments inside the center console because guys said that their wives would not let them buy a fishing boat because there was no bathroom but they did not want to buy a cabin cruiser because it was not a user friendly for them to fish. We were the first to install a bow thruster on an outboard boat when we had a customer tell us that he had extremely bad wind and current behind his house, and he often boated alone and wanted to have more confidence to do so. The Intrepid Nation continued to demand even bigger outboard boats from us, so we went to outboard manufacturers and told them we needed larger outboards for the larger boats we were building. They told us there was no market for larger outboards so we teamed up with the Davis family to collaborate and debut Seven Marine outboard engines at 557 HP in 2011 as the largest outboards in the world. Once the big outboard companies saw how many boats we were then building with these large outboards, they then realized that there was a market and that customers would pay a premium for them, they stepped up, and we now have outboard engines as large as 600HP. We had a customer that had a wife that used to get seasick and asked if we could put a gyro in an outboard boat, and the smallest one Seakeeper had at the time was a SK9, and we figured out a way to make that huge gyro work in a 39-foot boat!! Our latest first is the high/low actuating helm sole. We have had some customers that are somewhat vertically challenged that in years past, they would ask for us to build a removable step box for better visibility, and we wanted to “next level” that idea, so now we have the section of the sole at the helm area that raises up 4” at the touch of a button, giving people of shorter stature, the comfort and confidence to run their Intrepid. All of these innovations that we have brought to this industry started with a customer who had a need. A request to make the boat better and we listened. And because we did, our entire industry has benefited from those innovations.
PMY: What do you hope yours and your company’s legacy will be?
KEN CLINTON: I want Intrepid to always be known as the company that leads in quality, customer service, design, and innovation. A company that always kept their egos in their back pocket and listened to their customers. A company that took chances and did not worry about what everyone else was doing and instead lead the way. As far as my legacy is concerned, I am just a boat builder who had opportunities to grow and I was able to capitalize on those opportunities because of the support of the amazing people around me, which consisted of fellow coworkers and the Intrepid Nation that believed in me and my team. Being known as a bad ass boat builder is enough for me. And if you are impressed with what you’ve seen so far….. we’re just getting started. You haven’t seen anything yet!