epeek

I'm with you on this one!!!!!!!!!!!

epeek

Hee..Hee...You guys are funny! I got in real deep
that time and he took 2 years to pop out.

Jigsaw89

I agree that there's a noticeable decline in boat traffic & boat related spending attributed to many of the reasons already voiced in this thread. Many good points have been discussed and the naysayers will continue to spout their apocalyptic visions whenever times are in a state of flux. Change however is good.

I spend every weekend boating Barnegat Bay & the ocean and have already logged over 50hrs of run time. I’m enjoying more time boating this year than years past. Yeah, gas costs more, but so does virtually everything else. IMO, either adjust your spending habits to enjoy the boating lifestyle we have all grown to love or make more money.

Dan

ofshore

Hmmm... Interesting perspectives for sure.

It doesn't really seem like there are less people on the water around here (Southeast Michigan, Northwest Ohio) but it's really hard to tell. I was down at PIB a few weekends ago and the public docks were filled up by 3:00 Saturday afternoon, how many hundreds of boats do they hold? I never saw them full last year (unless there was some big event going on) and I was down there 7 or 8 weekends.

It's no secret that Michigan's economy is one of if not the worst in the nation, so naturally the people effected by that are going to start selling their non-essential toys. Does that mean the boating industry is sinking?? I don't think so.

I know nation wide the economy is softening a little which is greatly attributed to high energy prices so some of the people living above their means are probably going to take a bit of a financial beating. Like selling your boat for less than you still owe on it because you took out a 25 year boat loan and the principle doesn't drop quite as fast as the value of your boat. But again I don't think that means the boating industry is sinking, if anything the industry is coming back down to sustainable levels from a few good years of exceptional sales.

FeverMike

I've owned my new boat now for 9month and have 92 hours on it. I expect by the time I get to 1 year of ownership I should have around 130-140hrs. However the marina gas prices have kept me from doing any real long offshore runs which is what my boat is made for. We'll see what happens when the re-up for insurance hits me in September and how much more expensive gas get's. Just for fun I put my boat up for sale. I will not be getting off the water but may get a more economical boat.

Pantera1

If it gets so bad I have to drive a pontton with a 40 HP outboard.. Ill still be doing the thing I love most ..Powerboating

dean51267

Okay Guys, here is a cliff notes version of a PhD in economics..... everything has, and floats around, an average, on a predictable cycle.... EVERYTHING in economics works this way.... if gas is higher than average now, you can, with an extreme degree of accuracy say gas prices will fall to below average in a matter of 6 to 9 months....

Economic growth averages 3.5% of GDP, if our economy is growing faster than that, then you can every accurately predict it will slow in 6 to 9 months, if it is growing slower than 3.5% then you can very accurately predict economic growth will accelerate in 6 to 9 months....

If energy prices are above average, they will fall, if they are below average they will rise. If housing prices are increasing at more than 4% they will slow in 6 to 9 months, if they are increasing at a rate less than 4% they will increase more rapidly in 6 to 9 months....

If the economy is "booming" it will slow, if it is slow, it will soon be booming again.

THe powerboat industry, from what I can tell, acts a lot like the housing industry, which makes sense because MOST high end boats are sold with financing, meaning people can not "just sell" they have to sell at a price that allows them to pay off the note, or trade up.

Interest rates have been artificially low because of the 9/11 attack, we are now coming out of the artificial stimulus created by our government and fed reserve that was used to keep our economy afloat after that attack.

This means we have been enjoying a artificial "high" in economic activity for the last 12 to 18 months, now we are going to slow down and get back to normal.

The underlying fundamentals are still very, very strong. Increasing wages, increasing productivity, low inflation, 16 quarters of straight economic growth, strong housing sales, super low unemployment, hell, our economy is so good we send millions of jobs overseas and we sill can not fill the jobs we have open here in America with qualified people.

Everyone like to sell fear, and the out of power political party always does, they think it will help them get elected. Just remember, the hippie, free love, mega dopers, anti-Vietnam, protest everything, make up lies about soldiers and spit on them punks from the late 1960's are now running our media. They HATE Republicans, they HATE the ideas of rugged individualism, capitalism, and free economies, and LOVE socialism, France, and liberal ideas, so when America starts voting Republican they have a horrendous FIT, they point out everything bad they can, they preach hate and misery, and try to create it.

This is the best damn economy we have seen in decades, yes, there are holes, and yes I hate paying 4$/gal for gas at the marina too, but guess what, we can AFFORD IT!!!!! And we are affording it, and I still have clients call me every day needing to find good employees, and houses are still being built, and cars are still being sold, hell even GM just reported a profit......

Dear Lord people, get off the chicken little "sky is falling" **** and enjoy one of the best economies in America.....

As to the state of the power boat industry, if people would price their stuff at REASONABLE prices it would sell. For those who think their boat is made of gold, well they will not sell it..... I have been looking at boats as a SERIOUS buyer, and I get all kinds of crap, people trying to sell boats for 50% over what they are worth, we have some of the highest and over priced boats in the world for sale right here on this site, and they do not sell and that is a sign of a bad economy? Horse schite.....

Go enjoy the strong economy and make a bunch of money, it is easier right now than at almost any time in history, I see 150 businesses doing it every month. If you gotta betch about this economy God help you when it REALLY gets tough.....

ofshore

So what your saying is: if your looking to upgrade your boat wait a little longer because the prices will down more before they go up. Sounds like a good plan to me

BGIII

iTrader: (3)

I'm sure glad I got another great weekend in before the apocalypse hits! I hope they are still selling gas next weekend.

fund razor

I thought about this issue a lot for a couple days before I came back and posted my final post on OSO, which is the following:

I think that it's time for me to go the way of some of the other active members who have hit a point in their life when they can no longer relate to some of the popular positions on the site, or the focus of their life has shifted off of possesions and on to people full time. My current focus in life makes it almost impossible to relate because I am not insulated from the actual non-priveleged population. Yes, virginia... there are poor people out there. You just don't see them at 90 mph on the lake. You see them at 0mph in some of the less economically rersourceful parts of this country, but only when you get out of the bilge for a few minutes.

I sold my boat a couple weeks ago. Shortly thereafter I realized that my view had been skewed by having to rationalize the expense of offshore style boating so that I didn't feel dumb for having one and having to spend so much time and money for a hobby that was getting increasingly expensive to support, and that I had less and less time for. And frankly... as a professional fund raiser, director of 2 regional offices of major national non-profits, assistant director of development for a children's hospital and a major medical center... I have a unique insight into leading economic indicators as my constituents are the financial officers of major companies part of the day and "desperately poor families with less than adequate health care skipping chemotherapy because they don't have a car and the can't afford a cab" the rest of the day.

Personally, I have chosen the path I have because while I am not substantially financially compensated, the compensation takes many forms.
That's my thing, you do yours. Not a guilt trip.
I have never tried to raise money or push my charity on OSO so spare me the bleeding heart crap.
Because of the day to day things that I see in boardrooms and patient rooms, in the community as I try to raise funds, and across the nation as I represent my organization I have realized that things are changing very fast and possibly beyond our control. Like Buyafountain said (Paraphrase: we've been through it before, but this time is different.)

I don't mean to alarm anyone. In fact, it is in my best interest as a professional fund raiser not to alarm you guys. I need you to feel loose with your money as you go about your merry way. In fact, it is in the best interest of the economy for people to be as oblivious as possible that there has been a second recession basically, which in parts of the country with bad real estate markets and declining stands to become a depression.
That's not a political statement. It's an observation.

But ignore that statement. Please. Spend spend spend. Go get those new shirts down at West Marine and hey, howabout colored docklines. And you need matching shirts and jackets with the name of your boat on it. And a better stereo. Don't you want to put new engines in that bad boy? Do it. Go for it. You will love it. It will go one mph faster. You can afford it. Call Fred at Trick Marine. He has everything. He has bills too. Don't stop boating for God's sake. And you know... Bill can get you in a brand new Fountain for less per month than you probably thought possible. You have worked hard. You deserve it. They go really fast. You could be faster the your neighbor in the subdivision who thinks he is so cool because he has a smallish Baja.
You can probably outspend him. Do it.
It's not for me. It's for the kids.

The biggest reason that I stopped perf boating was that I no longer had time because of the broad range of responsibilities at my work.
It was only after I could look at my hobby with some perspective did I realize that it was expendable after all.

You guys have fun. Be safe. Hopefully it takes a few years longer for perf boating to go the way of mega yachts and be something that only the upper .0002% can participate in. Seriously. I would hate to stop seeing them in pretty good numbers. I think that it is good for our economy to have perf boating despite the enormous recreational energy demand.

Somebody have Capo post this as a death notice over in the bilge.
Doesn't seem to make financial sense to renew my membership to post a last thread over there.

4782 has a nice ring to it. I'll just leave it at 4782.

To everyone I have met along the OSO way...
Fair winds and following seas... aloha OSO.

Those who have followed my career would not be surprised that I hijacked the thread of some dude I don't know to post my last post on OSO.

I couldn't have imagined a better thread than "why the powerboat industry is sinking" to split.