About Hank's Marine
Over 75 Years and Still Running Strong
Hank's Marine was founded in 1939 by Henry "Hank" Kokernak, a passionate Ontario fisherman with a knack for fixing motors. He started out selling Mercury motors after a handshake deal with Mercury founder Carl Kiekhaefer at the 1939 New York Boat Show. Fast forward 30 years, and a couple buildings later, Hank hires a young "Go Fast" enthusiast named Douglas Shogren. Doug's passion for outboards and speed led them in a direction of fast boats and fast motors. It wasn't long before they built the current shop in Leicester and sold Hydrostream and Mach 1 boats. After the economic collapse in the late 80s which drove many boat manufactures out of business, Hank's stepped into the world of Sea-Doo watercraft. Sea-Doo took Hank's in a new direction which did very well with both the PWCs and sport boats.
This took us through the late 2000s and another economic meltdown that saw a huge impact on the PWC market. Hank's took on its first non-Mercury outboard with Yamaha. Doug has since retired and his son, Matthew, has taken over the business. Matthew holds multiple certifications from both Mercury and Yamaha, which he puts to work in the service area, and has been successful at making sure the company is always focused on the customer, and service-oriented.