Irwin Jacobs is jumping in feet first with a boat rental program that he
says could transform the boating industry, something akin to Avis or Hertz,
but on the water.
Jacobs, as CEO of Minneapolis-based Genmar Holdings Inc., will launch
Triumph Boat Rentals in September at the company's annual dealer meeting in
Las Vegas. It could prove to be the saving grace for a line of heavy-duty
boats Genmar spent millions to develop but have been slow to catch on.

In the first year, Genmar is planning to lease about 4,000 boats to its
dealers and other boat rental operators, both with and without marinas. The
plan allows for daily and weekly rentals. The vessels, which include
fishing, skiing and pontoon boats, will range from 12 to 25 feet and are
made out of Genmar's proprietary Roplene technology.

Dealers will pay a flat annual lease per boat to Genmar and be able to set
rental rates. Insurance for the rentals will be paid by Genmar as a part of
the leasing agreement.

About 400 Genmar dealers have already expressed interest in becoming rental
outlets, Jacobs said. "There's a tremendous market for renting boats that's
never been formally designed or put into a platform."

Full story at
http://www.bizjournals.com/twincitie...23/story2.html

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Let's hope this turns into a positive program. I wonder about the
qualifications and boater education of those renting or leasing boats. I
guess it could be no worse than entry level boaters purchasing boats with
little or no boater education.

Let's see how this program turns out.