Grand opening soon for Current Watersports

With a soft opening in early October for award-winning Current Watersports, co-owners Bill Hardy and Jason Haines are gearing up for the business’ grand opening in February or March at its new location, 11221 Outlet Drive in Farragut.

“There’s still some stuff in the showroom we’re trying to polish,” Haines said. “For us to do service and try to take care of people down on the water, we needed a home base, get that open and rolling.

“I’m happy it’s open,” he added. “It was a little bit of a long process to get everything down there and squared away and going, but we’re excited to be down and support the watersports community.”

Current Watersports is the local dealer for Mastercraft (ski/wakeboard) boats, as well as Crest pontoon boats and Cobalt bowrider and outboard boats.

Current Watersports also carries a lot of accessories and supplies to keep a boat clean and running, as well as accessories to have fun, such as inner tubes, ropes and other needs “when you’re out on the water,” Haines said.

Whether someone wants a slow coast in a pontoon boat or a more active and sports-oriented boat for skiing, wakeboarding or surfing, “we’ve got you covered,” he added.

“And of course we do service, especially when you break down or hit something in the water, we’ll get you going all summer,” Haines said.

Haines and Hardy started their business in 2008 in Kentucky, with a location in northern Kentucky and then in Louisville in 2012.

“We’ve been doing this for 15 years,” Haines said. “We’re just two lake guys … we kind of grew up and raised our kids on the water.

“We love being on the water and spending time with family, and that’s what those (Mastercraft) boats are all about,” he added.

With a choice of working in a corporate cubicle or interacting with people who are buying boats, “I think the second (option) is a lot more fun,” Haines said.

He has lived in Knoxville, right out of school, for a few years.

“There’s lakes everywhere, and then the outdoors — boating is hard to beat — there’s the mountains and the lakes,” Haines said. “So, we knew when we had the opportunity to open up a location (in Knox County), we’d jump on it.”

They chose to be Mastercraft dealers because Mastercraft boats are made close by in Vonore. “I actually got a job for them right out of school,” Haines said. “Mastercraft are sold all over the world. There are maybe 180 dealerships worldwide.

“Having an opportunity to open a store where the factory is at your back door, we just thought was a great opportunity to take advantage of,” he said about Farragut being a central location and therefore the right fit.

Current Watersports is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. However, in the late spring and summer season, it is also open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. It is closed Sundays unless making an appointment.

For more information, call 865-940-9253 or visit online at www.currentws.com