Photo credit: Shane Desloges

Mar 4, 2025

By Mathew Channer

It’s rare to hear someone say “my dream and my purpose is to show up on the water every day and be of service” as passionately as Shane ‘Spike on the Water’ Desloges. A unique voice in Ontario’s marine industry, Desloges embodies the service first attitude he brings to his business, striving to show up every day, be of service every day, and “empty the tank every day”.

Completing a program in marine tech in 2000, Desloges was fortunate enough to start getting both boat-handling experience and administration experience immediately, setting up to become a well-rounded marine expert later in life. But it wasn’t until a streak of bad luck and poor employment opportunities kept him off the water for several years that Desloges rebranded himself as Spike on the Water in 2003, the beginning of a long and successful ground-up career.

“I headed to the marina’s and just asked people, can I clean your boat?” he said. “And it was extra cash that far exceeded my salary, and I knew it was a viable business opportunity.”

Desloges’ business We Beautify Boats has since evolved into a wide-scale mobile operation servicing all of Ontario and covering every element of boat detailing. But beyond simply maintaining and restoring vessels, Desloges uses his business platform to encourage greater collective knowledge and inspire more industry entrants to better support Ontario boaters.

“We’ve got hundreds of thousands of lakes, and all the boats on them need regular maintenance and regular servicing,” he said. “But the after-sales service sector is shrinking, and we don’t have enough skilled, confident and capable service providers for the nearly 100 niche trades that exist in the service of boats.”

“My goal is to ensure that more people see there’s a life out here on boats, and it actually pays extremely well.”

Desloges’ main focus for 2025 is making his 30-plus years of knowledge more accessible to boaters and to those considering entering the marine service sector. As part of his service, he visits boaters across Ontario to spend time with them on their boat and discuss proper maintenance for each specific part of the vessels. He is also currently incorporating training modules into his website that will allow people to benefit from his experience in vessel maintenance and detailing.

“I am always happy to give service, but I also want to be a mentor to those looking at our industry as something they’re considering,” he said.

“My mission is to cultivate opportunities in the through education and invigoration of all those old and new to the marine industry.”

 Learn more at about Spike on the Water at https://www.webeautifyboats.com/