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World of Watersports - Shop - Towable Tubes Big Bubba HI-VIS 2P

By: Wowwatersports.com

The Bubba couch style towables are some of the most popular tubes on the market.  They make for a perfect starter tube for the family just getting into towables but also they are a tube that just about anybody can have fun on.  The Bubbas come with a flat base for a smooth ride over the water and minimal drag on the boat.  The SECURE DECK SEATING on the Bubbas come with a super high backrest with sidewalls which is great for keeping young kids safe and for giving them a secure feeling if they are just getting started on towables.  But don’t get us wrong, these aren’t just for little kids.  The high backrest just means it’s more difficult to fly off on the more wild rides.  The smooth, flat base will get this baby going fast on the water if that’s what you’re in to.  The Bubbas also come with front and back tow points so you can ride sitting, laying down, or kneeling chariot style.  And after your ride is over the Bubbas make a perfect floating couch on the water.  Great for relaxing with your friends at your favorite body of water.

•  1-2 Rider Towable 340lbs or 154kg maximum capacity
• SECURE DECK SEATING comes with extra high backrest and sidewalls. Great for helping young kids feel secure on the water
• The extra high backrest keeps the ride going on the extra fast and bouncy rides
• Reinforced front and back tow points with 1 EZ tow connector on front tow point for fast connection
• Ride sitting, laying down, or kneeling chariot style
• EVA foam seat and knee pads
• 8 double webbing foam handles & 4 flat handles
• Great floating couch for relaxing after your ride
• Heavy-duty PVC bladder and nylon cover
• Speed valve for fast inflation and deflation
• Zippered valve cover
• Backed by 1 year warranty
• Deflated dimensions: 66 in x 60 in x 42 in

See What’s New In The Harbor - KSK Marine | 2019 MISTY TOUR

There is nothing better than an epic road trip, and we are starting the ULTIMATE trek this year across the USA! We’ll be checking out local waters and seeing what our Misty’s can do! Join our host Mekayla Eppers (Mrs. America, 2018) as she shows what it means to truly live the #MistyLife!

Our second stop on the Misty Tour is to Clearwater, Florida to our dealer KSK Marine. We’ll be doing some SCUBA diving off a Misty along with some fishing!.

#MistyTour #ClearwaterFlorida @MrsAmerica18 @KSKMarina #RoadTrip #PontoonBoat #Pontoons #MistyLife #MistyMOVEMENT

Find your closest Misty Dealer today to build YOUR dream boat! #CountOnMisty

BUILD YOURS

Polaris Industries Looks to Make a Splash in Pontoon Boats

By: Motley Fool

The powersports vehicle maker looks to reenter the water market after leaving over a decade ago.

After a 14-year hiatus, Polaris Industries (NYSE:PII) is taking the plunge into watersports again by acquiring pontoon boat maker Boat Holdings for $805 million cash.

The powersports vehicle manufacturer exited the industry in 2004, selling both its personal watercraft (PWC) vehicles and powerboats because of changing industry dynamics. Rising costs and a lack of "commonality" with its existing powersports business led to the exit.

The market has apparently shifted once more as Polaris now says its customer base has a lot in common with boating -- 30% of them also own a boat. Buying Boat Holdings immediately catapults Polaris to the top of the pontoon market because it commands 26% of the industry.

Making waves

The boat market has been soaring. The U.S. powerboat market is an $8 billion opportunity, with pontoons one of the largest and fastest-growing segments. Polaris points out that pontoon sales have grown at an 11% compounded annual rate since 2010, though it may be starting to slow.

According to Statistical Surveys says the pontoon market grew 7.2% last year, but notes that some markets like Houston were devastated by Hurricane Harvey and finished down for the year. Prior to the storm, however, sales had been positive and many large markets still enjoyed double-digit growth. Fort Wayne, Indiana, for example surged over 22% for the year.

Pontoon boats are a versatile vessel as they can be used for fishing, sports, cruising, and day trips. That latter part is key because rival boatmaker Brunswick (NYSE:BC) -- which Polaris used to have a business relationship with when it was in the marine market -- says that overnight trips with boats are fading. Industry site Boat Industry quotes Brunswick's freshwater boat group President Jeff Kinsey as saying, "There's been a clear shift toward day boating, and that speaks directly to the pontoon with its seating capacity, its open space, its amenities and its comfort."

National Marine Manufacturer's Association data that shows where pontoon boat market share has remained steady at around 20% of the market for the past five years, cruisers with overnight facilities have just a 3.2% of the market.

Riding the rising tide

Boat Holdings generated $560 million in revenue last year with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of $75 million. Polaris says that if you take into account the net present value of the tax benefits from the deal of $100 million, the purchase price represents a multiple of approximately 9.5 times Boat Holdings' EBITDA. The deal is expected to add $0.10 per share to Polaris' earnings depending on how sales do over the next few months.

Polaris has been eyeing a return to the marine market for four or five years, but couldn't find the right spot to jump in. That changed with Boat Holdings, which was originally explored last year, though Polaris CEO Scott Wine said the opportunity wasn't right then.

Boat Holdings brings with it four brands: its top-selling Bennington, which generates 70% of the company's sales; Godfrey, the third best-selling pontoon brand; Hurricane, the leading deck boat brand; and Rinker, manufacturer of sterndrive and outboard powered runabouts and cruisers.

The latter will put Polaris in competition with leading powerboat manufacturer Malibu Boats(NASDAQ:MBUU), which last year bought Cobalt Boats, the top maker of 24- to 29-foot sterndrive boats.

While the acquisition brings Polaris Industries back into the marine market, it really is a different one than it left a decade and a half ago. It's a different demographic that buys pontoons compared to those buying personal watercraft vehicles like Kawasaki's JetSki or Bombardier's Sea-Doo. 

Millennials are targeted by PWC dealers, but boat registration tracking firm Info-Link Technologies says younger families are buying pontoons and baby boomers are selling their PWCs.

Yet with the biggest manufacturer in the fastest-growing boating segment, Polaris should be able to make a big splash once again. 

For all your accessories and/or vinyl flooring visit Pontoon Depot's shop site. 

Using Drones for Marine Photography Finding The Place for...

By: Boating Magazine

Pic By: Seahex Drones

...drones in shooting boats for photos and videos.

We’re boasting two innovations in presenting this month’s content to you, both centered on our cover.

We normally photograph cover boats from a helicopter, but the Malibu M235 gracing this issue’s cover was shot utilizing a drone. These days, using a drone for photography might appear to be a no-brainer, but the fact is the situation needs to be just right for a drone to make sense. The boat needs to be going slow enough so the drone can match speed with the boat so a blur-free still image can be shot. Still images are much more demanding in this regard than video.

Moreover, most new boats don’t look right until they are up and running at 30 or more miles per hour. Such speed delivers a bow-up attitude, ensures the stern isn’t dragging, and shows some of the boat’s bottom. It also adds energy and excitement to the image that one can feel, especially if the viewer is a boater to begin with. But higher speeds can outrun many drones and, at the least, cut down on the amount of time they can remain airborne.

Then there’s the drone pilot. How do we get the shot without including the pilot in the shot? Answer: We need another boat to chase the cover boat, which is not that big of a deal — the expense is similar to that of hiring a helicopter. But we often shoot on the ocean, and even on a calm day, the motion at the speed required makes it difficult to control the drone with precision. If any group can understand the challenge of manipulating a mini-joystick while watching a cellphone screen at planing speed in ocean swells, it’s you, Boating readers.

But for this issue we bring you the stunning Malibu M235. A watersports boat, it shows best doing what it was designed to do: make great wakes and waves for its crew to ride. Wakesurfing happens at a very drone-friendly 11-or-so mph. The photo shoot took place on a lake, the boat’s natural element. And because of the specifics of wakesurfing, we were able to incorporate innovation number two on this cover: showing watersports in action. Unlike tubing, water skiing or wakeboarding, wakesurfing occurs close to the boat’s transom. That allowed us to frame a shot to include both boat and rider at a size where the boat can still be seen in some detail (that’s why we use aerial photography for you in the first place).

I’d like to thank Garrett Cortese for spearheading this exciting cover as well as other content in this Watersports Issue. Though Cortese is the editorial director of our parent company’s Watersports Group, he is also now a newly minted member of Boating’s editorial team. He joins Pete McDonald, Jim Hendricks, Randy Vance and a host of other experienced professionals who are privileged to bring you the best boating content on the planet.

Takeaway: Drones are known as UAV:Unmanned Aerial Vehicle and require a license to fly for commercial purposes, such as a BOATING cover shoot. We wonder when boat drones will come on the scene? Will we call them UMV (Unmanned Marine Vehicle)?

For all your accessories and/or vinyl flooring visit Pontoon Depot's shop site.