Steve_H

it didnt sell without me taking a hit but the fun factor was well worth it

i guess thats what it all boils down to. the cost of that commodity called fun and the freedom of being on the water. a lot of people including myself will just have to scale it back a bit.

cuda

I was wondering about that gestation period myself.

minxguy

I was boating on the St. Lawrence over the July 15th weekend and Friday night at 5:00 pm I pulled into a Marina in A-Bay to fuel up. The attendant told me I was the 8th customer all day and that included 2 walk ups with gas cans. The number of boats in A-Bay is down significantly. Gas prices then weren't bad $2.39/gal. Ken

hpoffshore

Pleasure-boat sales have been "off" before, and they will be again. Every time the economy re-organizes, or re-distributes due to interest rates, fuel prices, real estate market etc., someone(unfortunately) is gonna' fall out of the "I can afford to go boating" mix. I remember back in the '70's(yeah, I said it), manufacturers actually built sailboats out of ferro-cement, because it was so inexpensive in comparison to resin. AND PEOPLE BOUGHT THEM!!! I've been through two periods when boat loan rates were this high or higher. It's not all doom & gloom; boat manafacturers and dealerships that aren't financially healthy will go by the wayside, and folks that could just barely afford to go boating last year at the entry-level will not do so this year. But they'll all be back in one form or another.
Hugh

CcanDo

Perhaps, diesel engines will offer some degree of encouragement. A new fuel system will debut in 2007,allowing lighter engines,better fuel economy,longer life expectancy and reasonable power. Predictably,a diesel package may be an economical choice for repower.

Historically,diesel fuel has been less expensive than 87 octane,though it is not presently.

Noise laws,effecting diesels,would be much easier to comply with.

Ethanol and it's effects are eliminated.

The finance lender and insurance company should be more comfortable, because,the engine life expectancy is much greater. In fact, an extended warranty structured into a given package would provide further assurance for everyone.

In summary,I predict,the next generation of diesel power will be a strong,viable option. The amortized, hourly cost of operation will go down dramatically. Especially,when compared to high horsepower, big block gas engines.

Praetorian

Not sure how things are in other parts of the country but I wouldn't go so far as to say the whole industry is in peril. Nor would I say real estate and gas prices have the economy doomed. In our area there are more boats on the water than ever before. Boat dealers are moving inventory well and there are lines at the marinas of boats waiting to take on fuel. Real estate has softened a bit but houses, condos, townhomes are still selling very well and folks are building like crazy.

As with any commodity or industry there are market corrections from time to time. Sounds like there are going to be some great deals for some folks in the near future. Or now even.

Jerry B

I have to agree that everything runs in cycles. Althou sometimes more extreem than others. My wife and I still spend as much time boating as any year before but less time on the sticks. I still cuss those PWC"s but have to admit I bought one recently. We usually take them both out and use the boat for a dock to switch out riders.

As far as for those selling performance boats I feel for them. I think they know all to well what they will have to do to make the sell. It's very hard to bite that big of a bullet especially when the owner is way upside down which is the case many times.

I tend to be more of an optimist and beleive better times will return. Not allot I can do anyway. I just choose not to live gloom and doom.

I work in the automotive industry. Actually a dealership mechanic. Our work has changed dramaticaly. We still make repairs but have had to become much more focused on maintenance to stay busy. Most industries will adapt. We have to.

Sorry for straying from the original thread.

Happy and safe boating to those still finding a way to enjoy it.

Jerry.

NickOTeen

With all the doom and gloom in this thread I should be able to keep my current ride, and pick up a Top Gun for pennies on the dollar in a year or two. Jeeeez. Parts of the country (ie Michigan) are in bad shape, but GM, Ford and the UAW made their own beds. Meanwhile other parts of the country are booming.

The boating industry has never been a fabulous business unless you can carve out a niche, and provide excellent customer service. Hell the owner of Cobalt boats just built a multi million dollar lake home right up the cove from me so he must be doing something right. Gas prices go up and down. Eventually they will go back down. Economics demand it. In the mean time I'll keep the throttles pinned when I'm running.....

fund razor

Or it was a horrible, short sided mistake.
Or his grandfather left him money.
Or he has other means of income.
Or he won the lotto.
Or he has 5 years to live and doesn't mind the debt.

WE DON'T KNOW.

But one can't assume because someone is spending money that they are wealthy and/or have a lock on future earnings.

"A therefore B" is not a logical equation in this case.

In fact, it is usually the folks who do these builds, often on a speculative basis, that end up over their head in a year.

duunoit

iTrader: (1)

I wouldn't expect them to go down too far. Our gas prices have been out of line with the rest of the world for a while. When I sold my Pantera to a guy in England two years ago, he said that he was paying the equivalent of $7/gal.