Brunswick’s pre-owned boat business opens new centre in Florida to meet demand

Boateka, Brunswick Corporation’s certified pre-owned boat business, has opened a refurbishment and sales centre in Merritt Island, Florida. The company says the new 22,000-square-foot location is designed to enhance the boat-buying experience and provide continued collaborations between Freedom Boat Club, Brunswick Boat Group, Mercury Marine, and Brunswick’s global parts and accessories businesses.

Since its launch in 2021, Boateka has operated from the Brunswick Integrated Manufacturing Center in Central Florida, however it says continued demand from boat buyers necessitated a dedicated space.

The new Merritt Island location enables the company to complete every aspect of its business on-site, from fully reconditioning each boat to inviting customers to view and purchase the refurbished boats on a showroom floor. All boats undergo a 100-point inspection to become Boateka certified with all operations done in-house, including engine service and repair, electrical and components, fiberglass, upholstery, detailing, and trailer fit.

“This is an important milestone in the continued growth of Boateka,” says Brenna Preisser, Brunswick Corporation’s business acceleration president. “We are uniquely positioned to deliver a scaled and differentiated business model based on the fleet supply from our more than 360 Freedom Boat Club locations as well as our connection to Brunswick and its industry leading brands and financial service offerings.

“The need to expand into a fully integrated facility is a function of our early success and is an affirmation from new boat buyers and long-time boaters that Boateka delivers a better pre-owned boat buying experience. We see opportunity to scale Boateka as a stand-alone business and partner throughout the industry. We are only just getting started.”

“We have quickly become a trusted source for customers, including our Freedom Boat Club franchisees, who have been working directly with us as they update their fleet,” says Phil Greene, Boateka general manager. “Our goal is to expand industry participation by making the pre-owned boat buying experience frictionless and provide boat owners peace-of-mind when they buy from Boateka.”

In April, Brunswick introduced the next phase of its shared-access and pre-owned boat strategy, with multiple acquisitions across the Southeast. One of those acquisitions, Sinclair Marina, recently announced it has already begun to develop a partnership with Boateka.