Courtesy Intrepid
When Terry McNew came out of retirement for the second time, it wasn’t for nostalgia.
McNew stepped in as president of Intrepid Powerboats in January 2025, bringing with him nearly four decades of experience in marine manufacturing. He began at Sea Ray in the late 1980s and rose through the ranks at the builder’s parent company Brunswick Corporation to oversee global engineering and production. Later, he led turnarounds at Correct Craft and MasterCraft Boat Holdings, where he helped guide the company to a successful public offering.
After MarineMax acquired Intrepid in late 2023, CEO Brett McGill reached out to McNew with an offer to join the team.
McNew didn’t hesitate. There are people in the marine industry who build boats, and others who build companies. McNew has made a career of the latter, though not without getting resin under his fingernails along the way.
From his office in Largo on Florida’s Gulf Coast, his tone is easy and unhurried. Beneath it, though, is the cadence of someone accustomed to diagnosing problems at scale, systems not symptoms.
“I love fixing things,” he says. “That’s what I do. This is the second time I’ve come out of retirement. It may take me three to figure it out.”
It’s a deceptively simple statement. Over nearly four decades, McNew has moved through the upper ranks of American boatbuilding, overseeing engineering and manufacturing across multiple brands then stepping into leadership roles where turnarounds became a recurring theme.
Intrepid is, by any measure, a legacy brand. Founded in 1981, it built its reputation on semi-custom powerboats that blurred categories—center consoles with cruising comforts, express-style boats with fishability. In South Florida, the brand carries significant weight. Nationally, its reach has been a bit more limited.
“About 96 percent of our sales were in South Florida,” McNew says. “Many people have heard of it, although some have not. When I look at what defines an iconic brand, this doesn’t match that definition. It’s more of a boutique builder.”
There’s no dismissiveness in the word. Boutique can mean distinctive, but it can also mean constrained, whether geographically, operationally or economically.
Before the acquisition, Intrepid operated as both manufacturer and retailer. One of MarineMax’s first moves was to separate those functions. “That was a smart thing to do,” McNew says. “They’re the largest dealer in the world. They understand distribution. My job is everything else.”
“Everything else,” as it turns out, is substantial.
In the marine marketplace, the attributes that sell a boat are visible: the sheerline, the accommodations, the performance. These are some of the attributes that determine whether a builder succeeds are not. At Intrepid, McNew says he identified the core issue almost immediately.
“The approach Intrepid had used for years was inadequate,” he says. “And I’m just being honest.” His critique centers on something most customers never see: dimensional accuracy. “I grew up making molds to zero tolerance,” he says. “Dimensional accuracy is critical. Without it, you introduce variation, and that variation shows up everywhere.”
At Intrepid, he says, variation had become systemic. Designs had grown complex. Customization—long a hallmark of the brand—had expanded beyond what the business could efficiently support. “There were a lot of special instructions,” he says. “The brand always welcomed them. But when you have that much customization, mathematically it becomes more difficult to make a profit,” he says.
It’s a blunt assessment in an industry often driven by optimism. Every turnaround has a moment of rupture—the point at which continuity gives way to reset. At Intrepid, that moment is now.
“All of our legacy models will be concluded by August of this year,” McNew says. “They were difficult to build,” he says. “The complexity of the design, combined with tooling inaccuracies, created constant rework.”
For longtime followers of the brand, the shift may feel abrupt. But what replaces the legacy lineup is not a single model; it is a system. “We’ve adopted a strategy of common platforms,” he explains.
The concept is familiar in the automotive world: multiple models built on shared architectures. Styling and layout may differ, but the underlying structure remains consistent. “If you look at Nissan and Acura, or Toyota and Lexus, a lot of what’s underneath is the same,” he says. “The customer doesn’t see that. They just want reliability.”
Boats—particularly at the high end—have historically resisted that approach. Customization has long been part of the appeal. But McNew sees platform standardization as essential. “We have common harnesses, common stringers and, in many cases, common hulls,” he says. “We’ve reduced the number of fiberglass parts from about 45 down to 15.”
The effects are cumulative, he says, as they produce lower tooling costs—down as much as 40 percent on some models—simplified supply chains, faster builds and more consistent quality.
This production approach also changes the dynamic on the factory floor. “It’s easier for employees to build,” he says. “You’re not relying on tape measures. It’s more plug-and-play.”
If the engineering philosophy has shifted, so has the product brief for Intrepid. “Fishing, believe it or not, is not the primary use for a boat,” McNew says. “It’s maybe 20 to 30 percent.” Many owners, he says, are focused on cruising, entertaining and day boating too.
The Intrepid lineup leans into that reality without abandoning its roots. “Our primary focus is cruising and entertainment,” he says. “But we maintain the ability to incorporate fishing features.”
Intrepid currently offers models, ranging in size from the 345 Nomad SE to the 51 Panacea, but as mentioned the old models are being phased out. New since McNew’s arrival are the 35 Panacea and the 35 Valor, boats that represent the shift in production process that the CEO is spearheading.
The 35 Valor is a walkaround design with a good-size cabin that’s well suited for families. Belowdecks, there are meaningful accommodations—sleeping space and a shower—features absent from the model it replaces. “There’s a split head,” McNew notes. “I’m not aware of another 35 with that feature.”
On deck, the Valor’s layout prioritizes comfort and flow. Performance reflects the same thinking. A double-stepped hull design reduces drag and extends range, improving both efficiency and usability. “It has superior range and better fuel economy,” he says. “And when we say it’s the Valor is a 35, it’s truly 35 feet—from bow to transom, not including the swim platform. Truth in advertising.”
The Panacea (also 35-feet long) is a center console for day boating, fishing and water sports. A new “derivative” of it is due out mid-summer. A 38-foot center console is also in development, and may be in production by the fourth quarter of 2026.
Some of the most significant changes to the Intrepid lineup are less visible. For decades, boat wiring has followed a largely analog approach—point-to-point connections and complex harnesses with numerous potential failure points. Intrepid is shifting to fully integrated digital switching. “It runs through every subsystem,” McNew says. “Lighting, helm controls, dash—everything.”
The benefits include fewer failure points, reduced weight, lower power demand and easier serviceability. “It also shortens build time,” McNew says. “And it makes it easier for dealers to diagnose and repair issues.”
As boats increasingly resemble networked systems, that simplification may prove as important as any hull design. Yet for all the focus on product, McNew ultimately returns to process.
“I’m developing what I call the Betty Crocker recipe,” he says. “Two cups of water, stir, and you get a consistent result.”
It’s a simple metaphor for a complex goal: a fully documented, repeatable system for design and production. “Don’t reinvent the wheel,” he tells his team. “Focus on evolution, not revolution.”
That philosophy extends beyond manufacturing. Intrepid is expanding its dealer network, an essential move for a brand long concentrated in a single region. “If you have one dealer, your sales cap at a certain level,” he says. “If you have 20, your growth potential increases.” It’s a model that aligns closely with the strengths of MarineMax.
At the same time, McNew has reshaped the organization—bringing in former colleagues, elevating internal talent, and making structural changes were needed. “We’ve reconstituted the engineering team,” he says. “We’ve trained the staff and streamlined the organization.” It’s not a quick fix though, and he acknowledges there’s plenty of work ahead.
McNew turns 65 this year. He speaks openly about retirement, but he won’t go there just yet. “My goal is to work until about 70,” he says. “Then I’ll retire for the last time.”
There’s a sense that this chapter is less about personal legacy and more about finishing a system—setting it in motion and stepping away. He’s followed this pattern before. At MasterCraft, the turnaround led to expansion and a public offering. At Correct Craft, it meant renewed stability and growth. At Intrepid, the outcome is still unfolding—but the direction is clear: Build better boats and a company that can sustain them. “I know how to fix things,” he says again.
In an industry that often celebrates the romance of the water, it’s a reminder that someone is focused on tolerances, wiring diagrams, and the quiet mathematics that make it all work. And sometimes, that’s where the real story lies.
This article was originally published in the June 2026 issue.
