At 18, your friends are signing up for four years of student debt and a degree they may never use. You can sign up for something different — a real business, a real trade, real income from day one. The Next Wave program puts you behind the wheel of a Full Throttle Marine franchise truck for less than the cost of one year of in-state tuition.
The crossroads
The skilled trades are short hundreds of thousands of workers and aging fast. The Florida boating industry alone holds 1.1 million registered boats and zero premium mobile-service franchises. Meanwhile, college costs keep going up and the degree's promise keeps going down. Here's how the two paths actually look — side by side, no spin.
1 Source: U.S. Federal Reserve, Survey of Consumer Finances. 2 Source: New York Federal Reserve, Labor Market for Recent College Graduates research series. Projected franchise economics on this page are modeled estimates and not a guarantee of results; see the financial performance representation in our Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) for the only authorized earnings information.
Two concepts
Every Full Throttle Marine franchisee runs one of two operating concepts. Pick the lane based on your territory, your starting capital, and your appetite. You can upgrade from Land Warrior to Full Throttle Operator later.
One branded service truck. You behind the wheel. You service customers anywhere road access reaches — private docks, marina slips, dry-stack rows, boat ramps. The lowest barrier to ownership in the system.
The dual concept. Branded truck on land, branded service vessel on the water. Reaches customers no other mobile tech can — mooring fields, anchored vessels, inner dry-stack rows, docks without road access. Premium positioning, premium ticket size.
The numbers
The modeled financial picture for a Next Wave franchisee who starts at 18, runs the Land Warrior concept, and works hard. By the age your friends are leaving college with debt, you are leaving Year 5 with a paid-off business, a known revenue stream, and meaningful net worth.
5-year cumulative
Modeled cumulative owner cash flow over the first five years — Land Warrior single concept, Next Wave entry. Dual concept (Full Throttle Operator) projects ~$792K cumulative over the same period.
Payback
At the Next Wave entry of roughly $27K cash, the modeled timeline returns your full investment inside the first 12 months of operation.
Equity built
By Year 5 you own a recurring-revenue business with a customer book, paid-off equipment, and a transferable franchise asset. That's net worth — not a degree.
All financial figures on this page are modeled projections based on the Tampa Bay operating market and the Next Wave program assumptions. Actual franchisee results will vary. The only authorized financial performance representation is contained in Item 19 of our Franchise Disclosure Document, which is delivered to qualified prospects after the initial discovery process and at least 14 calendar days before any agreement is signed.
How it works
Submit the application below. We screen for hunger, mechanical aptitude, and a real interest in boats — not perfect credit, not a degree. Background check plus a 30-minute discovery call with Jimmy or David.
~2 weeks
Two weeks at Tampa Bay HQ. Brand immersion, the 7-step Full Throttle Experience, all service procedures, customer interaction, parts, business fundamentals. ABYC and Yamaha/Mercury OEM training coordinated for you.
2 weeks · Tampa Bay
Truck wrapped. Tools loaded. Booking platform live. Marina partnerships introduced. Local SEO and Google Business profile configured. First customers booked within the first weeks. FTM HQ supports you on every call.
Month 1 of ownership
What's behind you
01 · Brand
The Full Throttle Marine name, mark, uniform standard, vehicle wrap design, and customer-facing brand customers already recognize from the Tampa Bay operating market.
02 · System
The 7-step service experience, flat-rate pricing menu, photo-report customer delivery — every step proven in the operating market before it lands in your truck.
03 · Tech
Centralized booking, route optimization, customer CRM, photo-report delivery, digital invoicing, Full Throttle Club auto-renewals.
04 · Training
Two weeks in-person at Tampa Bay HQ plus ongoing online certification. Yamaha & Mercury OEM training and ABYC standards coordinated for you.
05 · Supply
Approved-vendor network with negotiated volume pricing on Yamaha, Mercury, and OEM consumables.
06 · Marketing
Local SEO and Google Business profile built for your territory. Paid search managed centrally. Network-funded brand campaigns.
07 · Territory
Protected zip-cluster territory with 2,000+ registered powerboats minimum. Online leads route to you. Renewable 10-year term.
08 · Mentorship
Founders Jimmy Hurff and David Webb run the operating market and the franchisor side. Direct access during year one — not a 1-800 line.
For parents, mentors & financers
If you're the parent, guardian, mentor, or financer of a young person considering this opportunity — read this carefully. The Next Wave program is not a get-rich pitch. It is a structured pathway into business ownership in a proven trade, backed by a real franchisor system.
Compared to a four-year residential college program — which now averages well over $100,000 of total cost — a Next Wave entry of roughly $27,000–$37,500 delivers an asset that produces income, builds equity, and develops a marketable trade skill. It is not a substitute for college for everyone, but for the right young operator it can be a substantially better trajectory.
A working comparison
Honest qualification
Who's behind FTM
Start your application
Fill out the form. It comes directly to Jimmy and David. We respond inside two business days with the next step — either a discovery call or an honest "this isn't your fit." We won't waste your time.
Direct line
franchise@ftmarine.com
Tampa Bay HQ · 941-479-0589
St. Augustine · 904-417-8198
Common questions
Apply at 17 if you'll be 18 within six months. We can run the discovery process, line up training, and have you ready to launch on your 18th birthday. We will not sign a franchise agreement with a minor.
You need mechanical curiosity, not credentials. Yamaha and Mercury OEM training plus ABYC standards training are part of the onboarding program. We've seen great operators come from auto-shop, dirt bikes, lawn equipment, and from growing up around a family boat. We have not seen great operators come from people who don't like getting their hands dirty.
Next Wave entry: $26,500–$37,500 in cash at closing. That covers the reduced Next Wave franchise fee ($10–15K), tools and starter kit ($5–7K), vehicle wrap and branding ($2.5K), first-year insurance ($3–4K), Yamaha/Mercury and ABYC training ($2–2.5K), working capital reserve ($3–5K), and launch miscellaneous ($1–1.5K). The service truck is on a lease-to-own structure with no money down (~$850/month) and converts to ownership in Year 4. Standard franchisee entry runs $68K–$92K for a single concept, $90K–$120K for the dual concept.
The honest answer: most Next Wave franchisees fund this through a combination of family co-signature on equipment financing, a small personal loan, savings from a year of working, or a parent/mentor investing as a silent partner. Some have raised the entry through community connections (a marina owner, a boat club, a local angel investor). We're happy to talk this through during the discovery call. We do not currently offer direct franchisor financing.
Yes — several scenarios work. You can operate a franchise full-time and treat college as a deferred or part-time option. Or you can take a "gap year" path where you launch the franchise at 18, run it full-time, and revisit college later from a position of capital and clarity. We do not recommend trying to run a franchise as a side-hustle while enrolled full-time at a residential college. The business deserves your full attention, especially in Year 1.
You can. The dual concept needs more cash at closing (~$45K range for Next Wave) because you're adding the service vessel and incremental insurance. We typically recommend Land Warrior for operators with limited launch capital and a road-accessible territory, and Full Throttle Operator for operators with stronger funding or territories with high mooring-field density. We'll discuss which fits your market on the discovery call.
The franchise agreement names a managing operator (you, the on-the-ground franchisee) and can name an entity owner (an LLC where a parent or financer holds equity). This is a common structure. The discovery process and FDD will walk you through your options.
Live or accepting applications: Tampa Bay corridor (anchor market — currently founder-operated, accepting Next Wave under direct mentorship), St. Augustine / Jacksonville corridor (Q1 2026), Naples / Fort Myers (Q2 2026). Florida saturation continues through 2026–2027. National expansion into Georgia, Carolinas, Alabama, Texas, and Mid-Atlantic begins in 2027–2028. Tell us your target city on the application — we'll tell you the timing.
We respond within two business days. If there's a fit, you'll get a 30-minute discovery call with Jimmy or David. If there is mutual interest after that call, you receive our Franchise Information Report and an NDA. After NDA, the full Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) is delivered — federal law requires at least 14 days between FDD delivery and any agreement signing. Discovery Day at Tampa Bay HQ usually happens in that window.
This communication is not an offer to sell a franchise. An offer to sell a franchise is made only by a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) delivered in compliance with applicable federal and state law. In the United States, the sale of franchises is regulated by the Federal Trade Commission and by 14 state franchise authorities. Full Throttle Marine franchises are offered by Here2Fish, LLC. Financial figures appearing on this page are modeled projections from the Full Throttle Marine internal operating data and are not a guarantee of franchisee earnings; the only authorized financial performance representation is contained in Item 19 of the FDD. New York residents: this advertisement is not an offering. An offering can only be made by a prospectus filed first with the Department of Law of the State of New York. Such filing does not constitute approval by the Department of Law. © 2026 Here2Fish, LLC. All rights reserved.