Harris Boat Works has sold and serviced Mercury outboards since 1965. Three generations of the Harris family have rigged Mercurys, maintained them, and stood behind them. We are a Mercury Premier dealer, the current top tier in Mercury's dealer program, and our shop is built...
Quick answer: HBW has been on Rice Lake in the Kawarthas, Ontario since 1947 and a Mercury dealer since 1965. Three generations of the Harris family, a current Mercury Marine Premier Dealer, and authorized Mercury service directly on the lake. We publish current motor pricing online and quote the complete configuration in writing.
Harris Boat Works has sold and serviced Mercury outboards since 1965. Three generations of the Harris family have rigged Mercurys, maintained them, and stood behind them. We are a Mercury Premier dealer, the current top tier in Mercury's dealer program, and our shop is built entirely around one brand. We sell Mercury exclusively because the math works for our customers and our shop.
Quick recommendation
If you are buying a Mercury outboard in southern Ontario, HBW is worth considering. We are an exclusive Mercury Premier dealer directly on Rice Lake, with Mercury-specific tooling, training, and parts support.
We are biased. We sell only Mercury and we want your business. But the bias is downstream of the math. Our exclusive Mercury focus produces deeper expertise and faster service than multi-brand shops can typically deliver. That is why three generations of customers have repowered at HBW.
What sets HBW apart
1. Three generations of family ownership
The marina was founded in 1947. We became a Mercury dealer in 1965. Three generations of the Harris family have operated the business in Gores Landing on Rice Lake without interruption.
My grandfather George founded Harris Boat Works in 1947 and ran it until 1978. He added the Mercury dealership in 1965. My father Jim ran the business from 1978 until his passing in 2015. I took over in 2016 and run the shop now. That continuity means some of our long-term customers have done business with three generations of our family. The institutional knowledge transfers. The relationships outlast specific transactions.
That is not a sales line. It's just how it worked out.
2. Mercury Premier dealer status
Mercury rates dealers in tiers based on volume, service quality, customer satisfaction, and operational standards. Premier is the top tier, and it's not decorative.
What our Premier status and Mercury-only focus mean in practice:
- Mercury-trained technicians
- Mercury-specific diagnostic equipment and tooling
- Deep Mercury and MerCruiser parts inventory
- Access to Mercury technical resources for complex service issues
- Current product and service training
Premier status does not change a customer's factory warranty rights or guarantee faster claim approval. Mercury's warranty terms and authorization process apply across its authorized Canadian dealer network.
Our Mercury-only focus is part of why we maintain Premier status.
3. Exclusive Mercury focus
We sell Mercury exclusively. No Yamaha. No Honda. No Suzuki.
Other brands aren't bad motors. The depth-vs-breadth tradeoff just strongly favors depth for our customer base. Our customers are mostly Ontario freshwater boaters whose boats came Mercury-rigged from the factory. Building deep, single-brand expertise serves them better than splitting our attention.
The expertise compounds over time:
- Three generations of technicians have learned only Mercury
- Parts inventory and tooling are Mercury-specific; exact part availability is confirmed by serial number before a trip
- Training investments focus on Mercury
- Customer expectations are calibrated to Mercury
Because HBW provides Mercury sales, rigging, storage, water testing, and service directly on Rice Lake, local boaters can keep those steps at one marina. That gives Rice Lake boaters a simpler path from quote to service.
4. Local Ontario freshwater specialization
We rig boats for Rice Lake, Kawartha lakes, Lake Simcoe, Lake Ontario, and connected waters.
- Boat-to-motor matching specific to Ontario hulls and use cases
- Prop selection based on real lake-test data from local lakes
- Service patterns matched to Ontario seasonal cycles
- A customer base that overlaps with yours
- Reputation accountability in a small market where quality gets noticed
5. Full-service marina capabilities
- Mercury sales and service (the core business)
- Legend Boats sales
- Haul-out and launch services at the marina
- HBW offers outdoor storage with professional shrink wrap, outdoor uncovered storage, and shrink-wrap-only service. We do not offer indoor or heated boat storage.
- Winterization and spring commissioning services
- Used boat sales and trade-ins
- Pleasure Craft Licence (PCL) administration for repower customers
What HBW does for repower customers
- Honest hull walk-around to confirm the boat is repower-worthy
- Use-case-driven motor selection matched to the specific boat and use
- Live pricing transparency on the motor selection page
- Prop selection during the lake-test to confirm performance
- PCL update as part of the project
- Service log entry for warranty support and resale value
- Repower financing at 5.48% APR through TD Financing (via Dealerplan Peterborough, OAC, canonical rate through Dec 31, 2026, as of September 2026; see current promotions) for qualified buyers
- Trade-in evaluation for old motors
We don't push repowers that aren't needed. Sometimes a customer comes in with a motor that has seasons of life left. We tell them that, and they go fish.
HBW's standard repower handoff includes an on-water test on Rice Lake before pickup when safe seasonal conditions allow.
Ready to repower? Build your Mercury quote online.
What HBW does not do
- Saltwater servicing
- Sailboat-specific outfitting
- Personal watercraft (PWC)
- Jet boats or jet drives
- Most non-Mercury repowers
If the work falls outside our core, we'll tell you that and point you toward a shop that's better set up for it. We'd rather you get the right service than take a job we can't deliver at our standard.
