Perhaps she was only pregnant for 9 out of those 24 months.

Oh.....................................

the state of the economy is not in a normal "downturn". This is very different. This one is a little scary. I've been steady, but thats it. Things are deff slowing dramatically.

True, but I wonder for how long. If Brunswick is not selling Bayliners for $20K this years, what makes them think that they'd be able to sell them for $22.5K next year?

For me I'll makes cuts in the household budget to have a boat. I don't have a boat right now...weekends are very SLOW. Two weeks ago my wife tricked me into going to Pier One Imports. She starts looking at candles and other useless junk. I said to myself...that's it I've had we need another boat...soon!

It may be called optimism...hopefully, things will turn around and people will be purchasing their products, and if this happens, they will be selling the $20k boats for $22.5k.

I'm 61 years old and have never seen so few cars on the road the past 4th of July week, so many lakefront properties for sale and so few boats MOVING out on the lakes here in Michigan. Our state economy is in a very bad condition. The auto industry will never reecover here and the other businesses suffer. We have one of the highest boat ownerships in the country. Powerquest went out of business, some marinas are half full on Lake St Clair. Yes, boaters are goint to/from the raft locations but that's it.
A recent Saturday I sat at the beach on Lake Huron for about three hours and did not see ONE boat moving offshore.
I'm sure the guys from the west side of the state will verify the mess we have.
A number of economics gurus stated two years ago the effects of the economy downturn will not begin to be fully seen for about two years.
ed

Even with high gas prices I haven't seen more sailboats on the water (thank God)...I have seen more PWC's though...

The guys on my dock with houseboats are b!tching about gas prices with their little outboard motors. That's when you know it's bad!

I think people are just finding another hobby off the water.

So your saying your looking foward to a sail boat

My sentiments exactly .. A few posts back someone mentioned Bush .. Remember when Jimmy Carter was pres. We had more problems with Iran (who IMHO will need their azzes kicked soon) interest rates saw 18% and you could not buy gas at all in some places !
The sky is NOT falling ..yet
As far as Brunswick, who cares ..They are in the largest player in the Recreational boating industry which is extremely fickle to start with.. Buy a well made custom boat from Joker who isnt going to double the price of a boat because the cost of resin went up a buck a gallon..

No. Not at all.

What I am saying is that from a historical perspective... the clanging of rigging on a mast will be a sound which has been heard for thousands of years and will be heard for as long as there is civilization.

The roar of a hp boat however, from a historical perspective... is looking like maybe a 100 year blip on the timeline of marine designs.

My prediction is that sailing vessels will still be in use long after the last hp boat has roared.

Looking forward to it? No.

Not looking forward to the last combustion engine car either.
But that day will come also.