Ad Boat: Three decades of messages from the sea

Through traditional and nontraditional forms of advertising, Cape Region businesses are always looking for ways to get their message across.

For more than three decades, one of those nontraditional methods is the Dewey-based business Ad Boat. “People are always staring at us as the boat goes back and forth,” said Ad Boat owner Ed Martin during a recent interview.

“They look out to the ocean and we’re the only thing they see,” he said matter-of-factly.

Operated by a number of different owners since 1981, Martin bought into the Ad Boat business as a partnership with a couple of friends in 2001. A handful of years later, Martin acquired the business outright.

“It’s definitely a labor of love,” he said.

The Ad Boat is a 25-foot work boa with a 225-hp, 2-stroke Mercury engine, said Martin. Pier Point Marina in Dewey Beach is where it docks at the end of each day, which begins about 9 a.m. and ends around 6 p.m. It can be seen in the ocean waters from Bethany Beach to Cape Henlopen State Park.

The day of the interview, employees Chris DePrince and Jeb Monigle, both 19, of Lewes, were manning the boat. This is DePrince’s third summer. Monigle had been on the boat for two days.

“It’s going great,” said Monigle with a big smile.

Unlike their landlubbing, sign-changing brethren, it takes a certain level of dexterity to change the messages that appear on the boat’s sign. A person has to be agile enough to move back and forth to change the ad, while at the same time be sturdy enough to handle rolling waves, which can get the best of any sign-changing veteran.

“Chris fell in the other day,” said Monigle, laughing.

“It wasn’t my proudest moment,” answered DePrince. “At least it was nice and refreshing.”

Unlike roadside sign boards, the Ad Boat’s messages aren’t set in the morning and left for the rest of the day. Each morning, the crew gets a list of ads and how many passes in front of the beachgoers it’s supposed to get. The Dewey-to-Rehoboth trip runs from the north end of Indian Beach to the north end of the Rehoboth Boardwalk. It takes about 20 minutes to go one way. Customers can set a summer-long schedule, but last-minute additions can be added with a quick phone call or email.

“People will be on the beach and call in a birthday, anniversary or a will-you-marry-me sign,” said DePrince, showing an itinerary with 21 ads for the day. “There’s a constant flow.”

Some messages will be shown more than once, but a lot of the time, while the port-side message is being read by beachgoers from Dewey to Rehoboth, the starboard-side sign is being changed without anyone seeing. The messages are usually straightforward and to the point. There’s a location, a special sale or event, and a time. The letters are big and easy to read.

DePrince estimates there’s close to 350 letters, numbers and special symbols on board at any given time. There’s a custom-made holder that sits underneath the sign, and the letters are always put back in place because it makes creating the next message easier.

Martin also owns a sign shop in Lewes, so he and his crew can make replacement letters when needed.

Monigle’s Ad Boat experience is limited, but this isn’t his first time on a boat, and general boating knowledge is more well-rounded.

“The sign kind of acts like a sail, which means it can do its own thing,” said Monigle.

Unlike a sail, the sign can’t be furled tight in high winds, and because of this, it’s anchored to the boat at nearly a dozen points. The bottom of the sign is attached at the bow and two T-shaped, boat-wide crossbeams that are bolted to side decks and floorboards. The top of the sign is held in place with six steel cables, three on each side, that are bolted to the crossbeams and bow. The middle of each side of the sign is bolted in place.

In the best of conditions, the boat is in the water three solid months a year, but, Martin said, the rest of the year is spent making repairs for the following season, soliciting advertisers and doing the rest of what it takes to run a small business. The boat’s motor needs to be replaced every other year and the sign always needs to be fixed, he said.

Martin said he doesn’t get on the boat nearly as often as he’d like. If he’s on the boat, he said, he can’t answer phone calls at the office.

It may be a labor of love, but Martin admits there are some benefits. He quickly lists off being out on the water all day, seeing the marine animals and simply being outside.

“People pay good money to be out on a boat all day,” he said. “It’s a great summer job.”

For more information on the Ad Boat call 302-542-6151, email ed@ad-boat.com or go to the website www.ad-boat.com.