Arkansas Marine

Arkansas Marine proudly says they ‘sell fun on the water,’ and Arkansans looking forward to summer and quality time with friends and family in the great outdoors are in luck—the Natural State has a plethora of water play available. 

With so many truly awesome lakes in the central Arkansas area, there is a lot of fun to be had in 2021. Lake Ouachita, Lake Hamilton, Greers Ferry Lake, Lake Catherine and Beaver Lake are some of the most well known in the state for water fun. Tubing, skiing, jetskiing, wakeboarding, cruising and swimming are just a few of the water activities that await.

Fishing in the Natural State is also another great way to have fun. Norfork Lake, the White River, Buffalo River, Bull Shoals Lake and the Arkansas River are known for their consistent beauty and fishing bounty. Popular game fish in Arkansas include largemouth and smallmouth bass, crappie, catfish, bluegill and trout. But anglers can enjoy the challenge of many often-overlooked species as well, such as the bowfin, gar, carp, paddlefish and pickerel.

If you are wondering where to look to get in on all the action, Arkansas Marine is your first stop. Ronnie and Michele Hudson have been residents of Bryant for 26 years and own Arkansas Marine on Interstate 30 in Bryant. The busy dealership has a staff of six, with the Hudsons’ adult children, Robert and Ashley working there as well as two mechanics. To say the dealership is thriving is an understatement. With their vast inventory and promise of outstanding customer service, Saline County shoppers do not need to look far for their next watercraft. 

Arkansas Marine offers all varieties of new and used boats—fishing boats, party barges, and wake boats—as well as small personal watercrafts like the Lift electric eFoil surf board and the Radinn electric jet-powered surfboard that are the latest craze to hit the United States. And the always-classic Paddleboards are also now available.

“One thing that sets us apart, at least according to our reviews, is our service after the sale. We are proud of how we take care of our customers. If you buy a new boat from us and need service, you get pushed to the front of the line. We make sure to take care of needs big and small,” said Michele. 

“We take care of financing here in-house, making it as seamless as possible for our customers to get the boat of their dreams,” said Michele. “We take care of our customers from start to finish.”

Michele has been in Arkansas for over 50 years and is a graduate of Mills High School; Ronnie was born in Little Rock and graduated from McClellan High School. “Ronnie started out doing boat propeller repair in North Little Rock, then later made the move to Saline County. From there we had a marina in Hot Springs on Lake Hamilton and added our previous store location off county line. In 2017 we moved to our current site in the heart of Bryant right off Interstate 30. It’s a lot of fun and we love what we do!” said Michele. 

When asked what they love about living and working in Saline County, Michele was quick to state, “We love our location, and our customers come from all over the state, and a lot are from central Arkansas. We love Arkansas—the people, the lakes; we are in a great location for all of it. The fact is, we have just about everything we need around us; the schools and so many great small businesses have started here in Saline County,” said Michele. 

“We also support two local non-profits here in Saline County. Women’s Own Worth is an organization focused on empowering women and victims of domestic violence, many of whom are survivors of violent crime. We also really appreciate the work that Harmony In Hooves in Benton does. They are an equine-therapy provider for adults and children with mobility issues.”  

It is going to be a great summer to shake off the coronavirus lockdown blues, and Arkansas Marine has a lot to share about what you’ll see on the water in 2021. The team at Arkansas Marine is always looking to find the latest and greatest innovations, which is how they learned about electric surfboards. “We have two electric-powered personal watercraft that are super-hot on the market right now,” said Robert Hudson. Made by Radinn and Lift E-Foil, these electric surfboards run off of batteries, not requiring gas and oil. 

“We are one of the only dealers of the Radinn brand in the United States. These personal watercraft were originally popular with yacht-owners in Europe, and we heard about it and wanted to try it out and offer it to our customers. We ship anywhere in the country. We have watched these take off in popularity in the last year. You can surf and don’t need a wave pushing you.” Robert said. “The great thing about the water is that if you have a pretty day, you will have fun.” At Arkansas Marine, there is no shortage of opportunities for fun in the sun!