Today we’d like to introduce you to Trisha Rancour.
Hi Trisha, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I never grew up being out on the lake or spending time on boats. I’m actually not even a strong swimmer, so when Brett (boyfriend/boat manager) told me about growing up in Maine and St. Thomas, I knew it was going to be a part of my life.
Nauti ATX was formed in 2018 with only our Centurion Enzo. Customers were able to tube, surf and of course go to Devil’s Cove and make “Nauti” decisions.
Our dad’s dad loved hearing about the business so much that they both decided to purchase a Pontoon boat the following year. We also ended up purchasing two more boats that year.
Last year, we had a total of 4 Pontoons, 2 Surf Boats and a Yacht in our fleet. With things opening up, we started to get our Bachelor and Bachelorette groups again as well as locals. We get quite a few repeat customers and fortunately, they tell their friends who then reach out to book with us.
This year, we will start the season with 3 Pontoons and 2 Surf Boats. What we are really excited about though is we are starting to build our own Pontoon boats to run in our fleet and then eventually start selling them.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Our first year in business, our Centurion blew an engine shortly after getting it. We had already started the season a little late and now the boat we just purchased wasn’t working. Once we got our boat back, we were able to finish the year strong.
Typically March is when boat charters start to get busy again because it starts to warm up. Well, if you remember March 2020 was when Covid started to be more talked about and many businesses had to be at a standstill. We had to refund a lot of our charters at the start of our season. Yep, that hurt. With a lot of people not traveling, we ended up getting a lot of locals wanting to get out on the lake. We are very fortunate and thankful for our Austin community.
We’ve been impressed with Nauti ATX, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Whether you want to tube, surf or hang out on Devil’s Cove we got you covered. Our captains all have years of experience on being out on the water. We have an ex-pro wakeboarder. We have Captains that have captained boats in lakes and oceans. We have a great a crew! We get a lot of repeat customers and now with it being our 4th season, we are getting a lot of referrals from our customers. Some of our charter guests even request for specific Captains because they enjoyed their time with them so much.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Our life is like the ocean and is full of the ebbs and flows. There are days where the lake is like glass. The water and air temperature is perfect, nobody is out on the lake and you can surf down the middle of the lake. Then, you have days when you have to cancel charters due to weather or a Pandemic comes out of nowhere. You have to learn to enjoy the great days because there are so many great days. Nothing is better than being in the middle of the lake and watching the sunset. Texas truly has some of the best sunsets.
Pricing:
- Centurion (Surf Boat) Starting from $150/HR
- ATX Type S (Surf Boat) Starting from $200/HR
- Pontoons (Party Barge) Starting from $125/HR
Contact Info:
- Email: Trisha@nautiatx.com
- Website: https://nautiatxcharters.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nautiatxcharters/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NautiATXcharters
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/nauti-atx-charters-austin
- Other: https://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid=ChIJO2Aiji0tW4YRvf_OoJWygQw&source=g.page.m.id._
