How Brunswick’s Tech Is Making Waves in the Marine Industry

Brunswick Corporation, the global leader in marine recreation, made a splash recently at Brooklyn Bridge Marina in New York City—in the best possible way. At the company’s recent showcase for the media and other attendees (including an NAM representative), Brunswick Chairman and CEO David Foulkes and company leaders showed off many high-tech boats.

The boats: On display were some of the company’s most popular and advanced models, including “Boston Whaler and Sea Ray models fitted with its latest technology [including Wisconsin-built Mercury Marine engines], the Navan adventure-expedition boat … a classic Boston Whaler Outrage saltwater fishing boat and two [government] products, a Guardian law-enforcement boat and … an autonomous military craft” (Yahoo Finance).

The technology: The event also included demonstrations of Brunswick’s auto-docking system, Simrad AutoCaptain, which allows the boat to dock itself with the “press of a button.”

• Foulkes touted the AutoCaptain in interviews with reporters, saying that it has helped increase sales. The feature has proved so popular that “if you don’t have it, it might be tough to resell the boat,” he added.
• “What we’re trying to do here is not just introduce technology for technology’s sake, but introduce technology that really helps the boater, particularly in some stressful situations,” Foulkes told CNBC’s Contessa Brewer aboard one of the boats (CNBC).

The AI angle: AutoCaptain draws on AI for “computer vision and machine learning,” using a neural net. Meanwhile, in other AI advances, Brunswick’s customer apps feature an AI agent that can answer direct questions, equipped with the full range of Brunswick’s system manuals.

Defense: The company has also begun supplying boats to the Navy in partnership with Textron, Foulkes told reporters.

• These unmanned surface vessels use Brunswick’s Mercury engines, Boston Whaler hulls and Simrad radar and control systems, while Textron supplies the communication and autonomy systems.
• “Brunswick is now going further, developing a full USV with its own tech stack, top to bottom, by extending AutoCaptain’s autonomy into open-water navigation, with plans to show it by year-end,” according to Yahoo Finance.

Show business: Emmy-winning actor Matthew Rhys, star of “The Americans” and “Widow’s Bay,” discussed his partnership with Brunswick at the event (aboard a NAVAN C30).

• Along with several partners, Rhys “took over” the Brooklyn Bridge Marina two years ago and has worked with Brunswick to offer programs for young people (E Online).
• These include a sailing club and Brooklyn Boat Works, in which “a boat kit [is sent] to the school, and the kids take a year to build the boat, and then they come down to the marina and they launch it and learn how to sail,” the actor said.

The subscription model: Though Rhys owns his own boat, he joked that his old wooden fishing boat was “ridiculous,” saying, “What you need are friends with boats.”

• “What we try and offer here with Brunswick is an accessibility to the water without necessarily boat ownership, which is far more reasonable,” he added, referring to the company’s subscription service, Freedom Boat Club (Us Magazine).

The big picture: Foulkes pointed out that tariffs are hurting Brunswick, which is the only big domestic manufacturer in the sector, he said. “All of our competition is foreign—all Japanese, European,” he told Brewer. “We’re advocating constantly to try and make sure that we are treated fairly.”

• “We make about 70–75% of our product in the U.S. We’re an American company,” he emphasized.

Looking ahead: The future is bright, Foulkes told reporters, thanks to sales of parts and accessories, as well as the Freedom Boat Club.

• “Independent of the market, we have tremendous growth opportunities,” he said.