3 online resources prospective boat buyers should bookmark

As someone who works in the boating industry, you probably do everything you can to have a bright and inviting showroom with plenty of beautiful boats on display, as well as a dedicated team of salespeople who can help your customers into the watercraft of their dreams. While you definitely do a great job enticing your customers and getting them excited about buying and owning their own boat, it is also a good idea to supply them with online resources that they can use to help educate themselves and learn more about their new hobby.

The following three websites are all fantastic tools for prospective boat owners:

Take Me Fishing

As you know quite well, owning a boat is about much more than storing it at a local marina—it’s about getting out on the open water and doing the activities you enjoy. With this in mind, if your customers mention how much they enjoy fly or fresh water fishing, refer them to the takemefishing.org. In addition to featuring a handy search engine that allows visitors to the site to see a comprehensive list of places to fish in their own state, Take Me Fishing also has a helpful list of the Top 100 places to boat and fish in the country. This way, if your customers are new to the entire boating experience, they can use the list to narrow down their search of where they should go.

Also, if they are taking their new boat out of state, they can also refer to the list and try out some new locations.

Boating License

As part of the sales process, you probably already remind your customers that they will need to get a boating license in order to legally operate their new watercraft. This might elicit groans and eye rolls, as your customers envision long lines at the local Fish and Game Department—much like they have experienced when registering a car at the DMV.

Assure your potential boat purchasers that they can skip the time consuming process of getting their license in person by visiting boatinglicense.com. The website allows people to take a boater safety course, all from the comfort of home. The online course goes over many of the basics like navigation rules, the importance of wearing a life jacket and the dangers of boating while intoxicated.

At the end of each of the online chapters, visitors to the website will take a 10 question quiz. If they pass it with a score of 80 percent or higher, they can move onto the next chapter. Once they successfully pass the course, people can print out a temporary boater education card, a permanent card will be snail mailed to them as well.

Boating Magazine

For customers who are interested in purchasing a power boat, boatingmag.com is a terrific online resource. In addition to a helpful section about boating safety that allows people to test their knowledge about what to do in a variety of situations, the website also features a blog with interesting articles all related to boating. And for customers who seem like they are a bit boat gadget happy, the site’s Boating Lab section offers answers and information about all sorts of equipment and accessories.