Yamaha Launches Boat Club Platform

The Yamaha Marine Connected Boat Division recently announced an expanded business and product offering with Skipperi, a Yamaha-owned boat club platform designed to help dealers generate new streams of recurring revenue.  

Skipperi’s technology and reservation system handles key aspects for dealerships and marinas ready to launch this new business. Customers reserve boats through the Skipperi app, access the keys through a lockbox on the boat, enjoy their time on the water and return the boat. The Connected Boat technology then automatically bills fuel usage to the customer. Dealers monitor the reservations and manage the on-site handling of the boats while the Skipperi platform facilitates financial transactions between customers and dealers.  

The model helps simplify operations for dealerships with limited staffing while allowing them to serve customers outside the traditional boat owner demographic and create additional revenue opportunities. The Skipperi app manages bookings, payments, training and contracts and facilitates payments, helping simplify day-to-day fleet management. Customers can check availability, reserve boats, check in and out, complete training and onboarding and monitor fuel usage through the app.  

The platform allows one fleet manager to oversee up to 15 boats using prioritized task lists, helping dealers manage fleet operations without dedicating staff solely to reservations. Dealers can also create additional sales opportunities by selling used Skipperi boats to consumers as they cycle through the fleet.  

As the model grows globally, Skipperi will offer customers access to an expanding network of boats for a flat-rate monthly fee. The platform currently has operations across the United States, Portugal, Finland and Spain. In the United States, Skipperi’s pilot program began with The Boathouse Dealership/ Marina on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, which launched in May 2024.  

The Connected Boat technology used on Skipperi boats also allows dealers to implement geofencing across their fleets. The system reminds boaters about no-wake zones and limits travel distances. It also provides dealers with real-time data on fleet capacity, boating time, trip duration, fuel consumption and distance traveled.  

Yamaha U.S. Marine Business Unit, based in Kennesaw, Georgia, markets and sells marine outboard motors ranging from 2.5 to 450 horsepower. The division also engineers, manufactures and markets boat control systems, IoT control devices, fiberglass jet boats from 19 to 29 feet, and personal watercraft. Yamaha U.S. Marine Business Unit is a division of Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A.