Skier’s Choice, manufacturer of the premium Supra brand, is one of the largest and most prominent builders of inboard boats used for water skiing and wakeboarding. The company, based in Maryville, TN, has been a leader in the inboard industry since 1980. Skier’s Choice is focused on providing superior performance, innovative design, and reliable daily operation.
TECHNOLOGICAL OPPORTUNITIES
- Skier’s Choice wanted a display that could be customized for their Supra brand boats, including custom display screens and bezel options.
- Skier’s Choice wanted to provide greater integration capabilities by having the ability to control other options with the display, such as cruise control and stereo.
- Skier’s Choice wanted to simplify the boat controls, making the boat easier and more fun to drive.
“At Skier’s Choice our goal is to provide the most ‘rider friendly’ experience possible for our customers. In order to do that, we needed a display that integrated multiple aspects of the boat into one easy to use interface.”
“We researched many different displays, but we were really impressed by the level of customization Murphy was able to provide. While most companies were providing a generic display solution, Murphy was open to working with us to get all the features we wanted integrated into a custom display that reflected the quality and style of our Supra brand boats.”
IMPLEMENTATION
- Murphy developed the HelmView HV1000i, a modular version of its original full-featured engine monitor and display for the marine market, the HelmView HV1000.
- Since the HV1000i was developed as a modular product, Murphy was able to provide Skier’s Choice with custom screens, custom backlight and a customized chrome bezel to seamlessly integrate the display into their Supra boats.
- Murphy worked closely with multiple vendors to integrate special options for Skier’s Choice, such as integrated ballast, stereo, cruise control and wake plate.
“Murphy was extremely helpful during the whole process. We had several customization requests during the initial development stages, and they were able to satisfy our requests every time. They not only supplied the product, but were open to doing new things and working with us to create a customized product that customers would be excited to use.”
“We spent three years testing and developing the display to ensure it provided the most rider-friendly experience for our customers. Murphy was with us every step of the way. They installed two test boats and spent countless hours at our facility to make sure the interface worked exactly as planned.”
“We worked hard to make sure we were providing our customers with a top-of-the-line display system, and Murphy delivered the product and support to make it possible. We couldn’t be happier with the support we received from Murphy.”
RESULTS
- The display, branded as Supra VISION, comes standard on 2010 model Supra boats.
- With the VISION system, users can create custom profiles that automatically adjust ballast levels, wake plate settings and cruise speeds for each individual.
- The VISION system features integrated engine information as well as cruise control, GPS mapping, video playback as well as integrated stereo control.
“By working closely with Murphy, we were able to mold the display to our exact specifications. We created custom equipment screens and bezel options to integrate seamlessly into our Supra boats. We also integrated additional features, such as a dedicated multimedia page, GPS chart plotting, speed-based stereo volume control and video playback. The new streamlined dash provides customers a fun and easy driving experience.”
“The new display has taken ‘rider friendly’ to a whole other level – features like video playback, integrated stereo control and custom user profiles give the Supra boats the ‘wow’ factor that our customers are looking for. Now we have a display that is stylish, reliable and innovative – just like our boats.”
