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BlackTip Jetsports gets Elite with new lineup

Growing seat, traction mat company catering to high-end consumers

BlackTip Jetsports has seen the future of PWC, and it includes consumers who are willing to spend a premium amount for premium aftermarket products.

With the high-end consumer in mind, Clearwater, Fla.-based BlackTip Jetsports has launched its new Elite line of traction mats, seat covers and jet boat traction mats.

“There are hundreds of different color and design combinations to choose from,” said John Salvatore, GM of Watercraft Superstore, the manufacturer of BlackTip Jetsports products. “With all these choices, every customer can truly make their ski unique. With the new Elite seat covers, customers will be able to choose from over 30 colors and textures of vinyl, as well as their choice of stitching color. The Elite seat covers will have an additional layer of padding and custom accent stitching to highlight the design. We are also happy to have SBT as an exclusive distributor of our new Elite series. We are excited to see how creative our customers and SBT’s dealers get with the vast variety of colors and textures.”

The new BlackTip Jetsports Elite lineup of seats allows consumers to choose from more than 30 colors and textures of vinyl, as well as their choice of stitching color.
The new BlackTip Jetsports Elite lineup of seats allows consumers to choose from more than 30 colors and textures of vinyl, as well as their choice of stitching color.

“We are looking forward to providing our dealers with another high quality selection of BlackTip Jetsports products,” said Cj Lammers, president of SBT, Inc. “This Elite extension of traction mats, seat covers and handlebar covers will help our dealers meet the high-end needs of their customers.”
The new Elite line of products was created with today’s more discerning consumers in mind, Salvatore said.

“We determined that with all of the new watercraft and jet boats being produced, people are becoming used to a little more luxury and style,” Salvatore said. “The days of solid color seats on skis and one-piece vinyl wrapped around are kind of gone, even on the OE side. The seats are much nicer now, driven from the aftermarket quite honestly, with ourselves and Hydro-Turf.”

With some PWC seeing their retail price elevated to the $15,000 range, Salvatore figured the time is right to suit those consumers in the aftermarket.

Stitching color options can add to the customization of a BlackTip Jetsports Elite seat cover.
Stitching color options can add to the customization of a BlackTip Jetsports Elite seat cover.

“We thought we needed to have a more luxurious line of our products,” he said. “The Elite line of seat covers really resembles higher-end automotive leather interior. We’re double top sewing the seams so that they have nice stitch lines and we’re adding additional padding under the foam for that old-school hot rod tuck and roll look to it.”

Customers have their choice of thread colors, providing even more customization options. A synthetic suede option in the Elite seat cover lineup also has been added.

“That’s the level of luxury we’re looking at with these products,” Salvatore said. “They’re gorgeous, really, really cool. We want to stay with the subtleness but with high class. We’re staying away from the skulls and flames and catering to the high-end elite line. We’re going for the BMW or Audi look.”

With the PWC traction mats, the Elite line offers a different look as well.

Easy installation is just one of the attractions of BlackTip Jetsports Elite traction mat products.
Easy installation is just one of the attractions of BlackTip Jetsports Elite traction mat products.

“The cut groove and diamond-looking traction mats have been around 20 years, so we think it’s time for a new look,” Salvatore said. “So we’ve gone to this two-tone look in the Elite series. You can pick a color for the top and a color for the bottom of the mat. There are six different patterns and styles to use, and we customize that pattern to fit their particular ski or jet boat so that it enhances the look. As it’s installed, the lines carry from one piece to another to provide a seamless look.”

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BlackTip Jetsports will continue to carry its extensive lineup of seat covers for every make and model of PWC, with same-day shipping, allowing customers three options at three levels for seat covers and multiple levels for traction mats.

“There’s over 500 possibilities with the Elite traction mats, but as things go along we’ll probably see about 30 common themes,” Salvatore said. “We really think the jet boat market is going to be huge for these. The traction mats can replace the snap-in carpeting that gets moldy and dirty, not to mention the feeling you get when you step on a snap. The traction mats cover up those snaps holes, too, so that no fiberglass is accessible.”

And even though the Elite line will offer highly customizable products, the company will continue to ship product within 72 hours.

 

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