Forest River Marine launches 3D boat builder for its pontoon brands

Forest River Marine has launched a new interactive 3D Boat Builder, a digital design platform now available across its pontoon brands: Berkshire, Dockside, South Bay and Trifecta. The Indiana-based manufacturer says the tool lets customers design and customise a pontoon boat online, viewing layouts, colours, furniture packages, engines and premium features in interactive 3D before ever visiting a dealership.

Augmented reality (AR) functionality extends the experience further, letting customers step inside their finished design and explore it virtually. According to Forest River Marine, the launch marks a step in its digital customer-experience strategy, replacing brochures, colour swatches and static images with a tool that lets buyers see their choices come together before visiting a dealership. The company says this helps buyers narrow down their preferences, better understand the options available and arrive at a dealership with a clearer idea of what they want.

Using the platform, customers can:

• Design a pontoon boat in fully interactive 3D, with every selection updating instantly
• Customise layouts, furniture, colours, flooring, engines and premium options
• View MSRP pricing throughout the configuration process
• Save a personalised build to revisit later or share with a participating dealer
• Use augmented reality on a mobile device to place their configured boat in a driveway, garage, dock or other real-world setting

Once a customer finishes a build, a detailed summary of the design is saved and emailed to both the customer and their nearest dealer. This is intended to give dealers insight into a customer’s selections before the conversation begins, creating what the company describes as a more collaborative, transparent and efficient buying experience from initial concept to final delivery.

The interactive 3D Boat Builder is now available across all Forest River Marine pontoon brands. Customers can visit the Berkshire, Dockside, South Bay or Trifecta websites to begin designing a pontoon boat.