History repeats itself.
 

In 1962, Brunswick Corporation took such a licking in the stock market that they GAVE AWAY some of their many boat companies, Owens, Brunswick, Larson, and a dozen others. The ones they didn't give away, they sold for pennies on the dollar.

Senior execs who remembered and tried to prevent the purchase of the current boat companies were swept out of the way. "He who fails to study history is doomed to repeat it".

Yup Brownie. It's going to hit the fan

And i am not trying to be pessimistic, but can the boat companies survive this one? Many say yeah, but there are so many different variables today than before, it makes me wonder.

In the past when things got tight, people making $25k a year could figure out how to get a cheap boat and buy gas at .55 cents a gallon, but that same class of people today (probably $60k a year) are confronted with $5 (maybe more) a gallon. Seems to be way out of balance!

Sad.

History can even relect Jimmy Carter

They are about to!!!!

I was saying that the other day to my wife. Used to be that it would cost 20 bucks to fill up and 100 bucks for dinner. Now the fill up is 150 bucks and dinner is the same 100.....

Anyone who has been in the boat bidness more that 40 years has been down the shi**er at least once. Margins are not conducive to laying up large hunks of cash. In the past, we have relied on Prohibition, smuggling, etc., to bail us out. Don't know what they are going to di this time.

I guess that means the Brunswick/Contender deal is off....

Brunswick was going to buy contender?

I think some of the boat builders like Cigarette, Outerlimits, Skater, MTI, etc... are still going to have strong sales. They all have a serious following and most of their buyers have unlimited funds.

The smaller, moslty custom builders and suppliers are going to have it tough! Boating is an expensive hobby and the fuel prices and economy are going to do some serious damage to sales.

Goddam, Poodle, it must be esp!

That was the story floating around here..

:drink::drink:

and contenders run yamaha's mostly? Aren't the mercs 4 stroke o/b yamaha design?

Older Merc 4 strokes were Yammies.. The new ones are their own design AFAIK...

Used to be. Not anymore.

Classic statement Brownie. Only thing to smuggle these days is people. But, the cubans have a lock on that market. At 25K a head it's a profitable racket.

if you can do this with an old mustange...there is possibilities, the automakers are just to busy trying to CYA to make progress...technology eventually will turn the economy around


http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll...41/-1/BUSINESS

My question is why would brunswick be interested in contender anyhow. Is contender doing that poorly financially?

No, not the issue.. HUGE source of transom slots though....

:)

It is possible we will not know the actual situation with the Economy till after the Election,which is not far off. This is how the Democrats get elected (whine and cry us right into a recession,and the press and CNN runs right along with it .After the election it could all go away. Sorry for long post.:ernaehrung004:

Exception to your theory is that all of the boat builders listed don't produce 150 boats a year combined! Boat production is still based on quantity, as in produce none and make none ($).

400hp / 500lbs of torque.........50mpg. Nice read.

Since I have been old enough to whine about gas economy, I have heard about 100 mpg carbureters, etc. It takes a ratio of about 14.5 pounds of air, and 1 pound of 'fuel' to make a proper explosion in the combustion chamber. You might stretch this one way or the other, but you are not going to change it 500%!

Brownie: Bingo! Why do people think that they can change the laws of physics and get miraculous efficiencies? You'd think the human race would have learned from the Alchemy days in the Middle Ages that you can't make gold from something else.

W.C. Fields was right: "There's a sucker born every minute."

There are some reasonable improvements coming. I am working with Harry Schoell on the Cyclone external combustion engine in a small way. I think that the definition of 'external combustion' frees up the ratio business. There is no longer a need to "time" the combustion, or to keep the temperature down to protect valves, etc. When you can burn the fuel completely, and not require fuel that can explode, anything is possible. Any liquid that will burn can be used.

I worked with Ford gas turbine in the early 70's, and we were limited to 1940F turbine inlet temperature. #2 dDiesel can burn at 2550F. We 'junked' that amount of fuel for material considerations. At that time, Ford had the ARPA grant for the ceramic turbine study. It was to operate at 2500F inlet temperature. TWICE the horsepower! Never mind that it didn't work. When they find the right material and they will, you might see a turbine doing private transportation duties. Right now, I am casting my vote for external combustion. Look up Cyclone Power Technologies for more info. I'll keep you posted.

Get those over seas orders going....