A new wave of demand for boating rises in the pandemic’s wake, and the trusted experts at Rinkers Boat World at Lakeshore are meeting the industry-wide challenge!
The past year’s events and the situation as it currently stands have changed a lot about how we experience our day-to-day lives and the world as a whole.
One of the optimistic outcomes has been the re-strengthening of family units, who have been getting back to basics and reaching back to their roots for different ways to spend time together amongst limited options. With halted travel, canceled vacations and large gatherings understood to still be unsafe; families everywhere have been escaping to the water and rediscovering the thrill and conveniently socially distant activity of BOATING!
Boat owners everywhere were rigging their vessels and returning to the water for some water therapy. The boating industry found a surge of new customers who have been discovering the hobby for the first time; seeking a much-needed escape from the confining quarantine of their four walls to the liberty of the lakes. And with more flexible work and schooling-from-home arrangements and fewer distractions, families are finding it easier to head out to the water than ever before.
And this trend of ‘returning to boating’ experienced last year, is here to stay for many more to come. So maybe it is time for you, too, to take a break from zooming on your laptop and let Rinkers Boat World at Lakeshore help you get zooming on the water!
Rinkers— A Family’s Passion for Boating
The product of four generations of a passion for boating, Rinkers Boat World has been family-owned and operated by the Rinker family since 1978, with the original location in Houston and then in 2017 acquiring the highly regarded Lakeshore location on Lake Conroe.
For more than four decades, Rinkers has earned the prominence of being one of the most sought-out 5-star rated boat dealers in the greater Houston Metroplex, Lake Livingston, Lake Conroe, and Gulf Coast area due to the attention they provide their customers and their reputation for expertise in the boating industry. And the overwhelming number of glowingly positive online reviews speak for themselves. As one reviewer, Jason Heckt boasts:
“Rinkers Boat World has my highest recommendation for customer satisfaction. The people are fantastic from top to bottom and go beyond to ensure a great boating experience. We just purchased our second boat from them in the last 3 years and could not be happier. So excited for all the memories our family is making!”
Especially for first-time boat buyers, choosing the right dealership is the first step in choosing the right boat. No matter how much research you do before heading to a dealership, nothing is more essential than the knowledge and experience a reputable dealership can provide. The ins and outs, and the ups and downs of boat ownership might actually make a different boat than you were expecting better for your specific situation. And Rinkers Boat World at Lakeshore is just that kind of dealership.
Making Buying a Boat FUN!
For over 33 years, General Manager Melanie Clement and her team have been dedicated not to selling boats, but to pairing the right boats with the right families for their unique needs and lifestyle. While customers might feel pressure to purchase a boat at another dealership that focuses on selling, Rinker’s empowers their customers to choose the boat that’s right for them, with no pressure involved.
Melanie and her team are firm believers in their mission that buying a boat, especially for the first time, should not be intimidating, but one of the most exciting, fun, and easy processes and purchases you ever make! “Our job is to sell and deliver as many fantastic ownership experiences to the customer as possible and promote the boating lifestyle,” says Melanie.
Delivering Quality, Experience and Community
Delivering a fantastic ownership experience begins with offering fantastic products. Rinkers carries brands of boats that are some of the best in their class. They are one of only three dealerships in the entire State of Texas to sell Cobalt boats. But that’s not all. Rinkers Boat World at Lakeshore also sells leading brands like Supra, Sylvan Pontoons, Sea Hunt, and Moomba, both new and pre-owned (or pre-enjoyed, as they like to say) inventory.
The quality products, quality experience, and quality relationships they build with their customers make Rinkers the go-to dealership generations of families trust. Indeed, many customers are repeat customers. “The trust, relationship, and customer service are so strong that our customers do not look anywhere else. Some families are on their 5th boat from Rinkers Boat World. Some have been handed down through each generation, and they keep coming back for service, parts, and often just to visit,” says Melanie. As new generations come of age, more and more are finding that Rinkers is the most reliable boating dealership around.
Buying a boat from Rinkers is like becoming a part of an extended family. They understand that you are not just buying a boat, you are buying into an exciting new lifestyle and a very laid-back, welcoming, and fun community. And as established leaders in this community for decades, Rinkers is there not only to get you into the right boat for your family, but to educate you on operation and maintenance, and to be a resource to help you get involved as well!
Their website is a hub for boating community resources, with links to relevant and active local Facebook boating groups and a schedule of boating events going on in the area. Lake Conroe has a very strong presence in the boating community, working well together with local companies. Look for yearly events that Rinkers themselves hosts to promote boating lifestyle, safety, and brands.
Covid Complications
In over three decades in the business, Melanie and her team at Rinkers have never seen anything like the industry-wide supply-and-demand challenge facing the boating industry today.
The pandemic had quite the opposite effect than boat dealerships originally anticipated. After just a couple of months into the lockdowns, demand for boats began to surge, rather than decline! A recent article about the issue from CNBC states that sales across the board skyrocketed last year, with average sales of new boats up 40%, used boat sales up 45%, and rental boats up 65%. And the trend shows no signs of slowing in 2021. Since the surge is largely due to first-time buyers entering the market, that’s a sign that the industry growth experienced during this pandemic has staying power.
But the catch is that with such a sudden, unprecedented, and consistent skyrocket in the demand for boats, dealerships across the board are now struggling to maintain inventory, and manufacturers are having to expand production capacity. Add to all of that the devastating winter storms experienced across the USA causing a major supply chain shortage at such a critical time for demand, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for a once-in-a-lifetime boating industry inventory challenge!
And Rinkers Boat World at Lakeshore is committed to meeting this challenge. The best way to do this for their customers is simply educating and informing them of the situation as it is industry-wide and the way it affects the purchasing process in the current climate.
With the consistent increase in demand and the disruption to the supply chain, customers can expect to experience longer wait times for boat deliveries and a potential increase in prices in the near future. While a normal wait time for a boat was previously around four to six weeks, that average wait time has increased to 8 MONTHS! While Rinkers always does everything they can to ensure a fantastic customer experience, this is a factor out of their control that every dealership is experiencing, and just takes patience and understanding on the part of the customer.
Now is the Time!
With all things considered, the best advice Rinkers can give their customers is that if you have been considering becoming a boat owner, NOW IS THE TIME! The best thing you can do is get ahead of the game and avoid the most inconvenience by getting your boat as early as you can, so you can begin your exciting journey as a new boat owner and get in the water as soon as you can.
And you can trust the professionals at Rinkers, especially during a time like this, with their experience and commitment to their relationships with their customers, that you, your family, and your boat are in capable, honest hands.
Rinkers Boat World at Lakeshore is located right on Lake Conroe at 15225 Walden Rd, Montgomery, TX 77356. Business hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., closed on Sunday and Monday. You can contact them at (936) 448-2628 or on their website at www.RinkersLakeshore.com for more information. You also find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rinkersbw.
