I can’t believe another year is behind us. I remember one time when I was younger, and I had made the comment “I can’t believe how fast time flies!” and an older lady in her eighties looked over at me and said, “At my age, I have breakfast three times a day”. At the time I shrugged it off as just another old saying from another generation. I understand this saying now more and more. Not that I think I am old by any means but, as I enter my 28th year here at Intrepid, I really cannot believe how fast a year goes by. I remember being 15 and thinking “I can’t believe I have to wait an entire year before I get my driver’s license”. That seemed like an eternity. Now I blink, and a year goes by.

I really notice it when I talk to my coworkers here at Intrepid. We have done so many custom boats over the years that I often reach back to different aspects of individual builds to relate to a present-day custom build. I’ll be in a meeting with my team and I’ll say “We just did something similar like this just a few years ago. We used this mold and that mold, and we modified it this way, but we can even do it better by adding this now….”, etc. I’ll see several blank faces in the room and I’ll tell them the customer’s name that we did it on, so they can pull the file and an hour after the meeting ended, they will come back and tell me that they found it. But they usually end it with, “by the way…… it wasn’t a few years ago. You did it 15 years ago.” That happens a lot. It feels like it was just yesterday in most cases. I’m sure a lot of you know what I mean……..unfortunately…….lol.

With that being said, I feel we all have a lot to be grateful for. For me, my wonderful wife Krysti, my daughter Amanda, and son Kenneth. And I can’t forget my dogs Kane, Khloe, Maggie, and Samantha. This wonderful boat company that has been my entire life for all of these years and last but not least, all of my Intrepid family which consists of my 400 coworkers and the thousands of customers (YOU) that I have been so lucky to work with over all of these years. It is because of the loyalty of our customers that we continue to be able to employ all of these wonderful families here at Intrepid.

So, from all of us at Intrepid. THANK YOU for another amazing year! And thank you for your trust and loyalty over all these years. I hope to do this for another 20 years with all of your help!!

May you all enjoy this Holiday Season with your friends and family and hopefully get some time on your Intrepid!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND HAVE AN AWESOME NEW YEAR!!!

Now to gear up for Miami Show!!

From our entire staff at Intrepid Southeast, let me start by wishing you a wonderful Holiday Season.

As the bustle of the Holidays come upon us, it makes us pause to reflect on the past months of 2018. We were privileged to have another great year at Intrepid, and for three distinct reasons, 2019 looks even better.

#1 – 345 Nomad SE & FE

While the hulls and decks are the same, the consoles differentiate each model. The SE/Side Entry console is our latest console design, very much like the 407 & 475 Panacea, integrating hard top & legs, windshield, and large console head area into an all fiberglass structure. The FE/Forward Entry console is an Intrepid icon used in the popular 327 Center Console. You enter the head by pushing a button which slides the forward-facing seat of the console to one side. The 345 Nomad incorporates all the design and to-order features of an Intrepid and fills a sweet spot between the 327CC and the 375CC. So far, the response has been fantastic. Since its unveiling at our October Drive for Perfection Event, sales have soared and our backlog is growing. If the 345 Nomad is on your Holiday toy list, please let Santa know as soon possible.

#2 – 200 Flats

The return of an inshore Legend. The 200 Flats got a remake and now it’s even better. Besides its unique features such as the 8’6” wide beam, abundant storage, and ample casting deck, the new 200 Flats features an electric adjustable console that moves up and down, plus a push-button trolling motor option that stores and deploys electronically. The PVC foam core construction combined with a woven-hybrid Innegra infused hull and deck make this new 200 Flats an even better Holiday gift for the competitive anglers in the family.

#3 – Intrepid Owner’s Rendezvous

Besides the addition of new models to the Intrepid family, such as the 345 Nomad SE & FE and the 200 Flats, we are excited to be putting the finishing touches on the planning of our first annual Intrepid Owner’s Rendezvous at Hawks Cay Resort on Duck Key in the Florida Keys. The dates for the trip are July 12, 13 & 14, 2019. Complete Rendezvous information, including hotel and marina reservations, will be posted on our website in January. Space is limited, so make your plans soon. If you have any questions or would like to pre-reserve space, please contact Sharon D’Agostino or me at 954-922-7544. We are looking forward to seeing everyone at Hawks Cay in July!

Once again, may you have a wonderous and joyous Holiday Season and very prosperous New Year.

Stay well,

Peter O.

2018 has been a very busy year for us here at Intrepid. We started off by delivering two new law enforcement boats to a local sheriff’s department. These boats are notable because they are replacements for two 32’s that we built for this same team in the early 2000s. Our boats are tools of the trade for many of the agencies here in Florida, as well as in other parts of the country. The crews who run these boats can’t pick their weather and must be ready at a moment’s notice for anything that may confront them. They can pick a boat building company though, so we are proud to be their choice as a trusted builder of the vessels that protect our shores. We will finish our year with delivery of a trio of new boats to our friends in law enforcement in South Florida.

Our boat show roster has been a busy one this year. Our first show of the 2018 season featured two displays in Miami in February. Both displays were well attended so we were able to see lots of our friends and show them what we are doing. We then moved into the Palm Beach show with an expanded display in March. Palm Beach is a show that’s grown tremendously over the years and is becoming more and more popular with both customers and vendors who show their boats there. After that, I got to visit our friends in California when I went to the show in Newport Beach. It was a good opportunity to enhance our network of customers as well as the group of professionals who help us keep after our needs for service and repairs throughout the country. It was great to see how people use their boats on that side of the country as well.

Our sponsorships in some of the local fishing tournaments were interspersed with the ending of the Spring boat show season. The Angler Armory’s Wild West Tournament has always been a big local draw, it’s growing into something that has lots of promise for a bright future. I was happy to fish with Jim Kelly aboard his Intrepid and be part of the FLIR Fishing Team. We also sponsored an event that the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office hosted in Tampa. It was a community-minded affair that benefited people who can’t afford health care. We’re always happy to be part of events like this that get more people interested in boating and help to support good causes to those in need.

The start of summer signaled the beginning of the push to get ready for the Fort Lauderdale boat show. We introduced the new 345 Nomad there and it was a hit. It’s a wonderful new model that will be popular for many years to come. I was very happy to get to run the boat for its first sea trial and see how well she performs. The second 345 that we produced was equipped with the first set of Cox diesel outboards that arrived in this country from England. They offer a lot of promise to us in many applications. The re-introduction of our 20’ flats boat was the icing on the cake for us this year. It was well received at the shows in Fort Lauderdale, Naples, and St. Petersburg. All who saw it were very pleased to know that we put it back into production. 2019 has some surprises in store so we are excited about what we are doing now for next year, please stay tuned.

Thanks to all for your friendship and loyalty to our brand. We work hard at making the boats that we build very special. As always, I invite anyone who’s interested in what we do to come to see us in Largo so that we can show you how our boats get to be special. Best wishes to everyone for a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year. We look forward to serving you next year.

Happy Boating,

Joe