Very sad indeed, I hate reading this. I met Bob this spring, TOTAL Class Act, just like his boats and facility. I wish Eliminator Boats and Bob the best during these difficult times.

tom

"I hate to see a great builder go by the wayside" would be a better response.

sorry i never knew.

No sweat, some things just sound different than written.

My wife had a list of good ones:
Jupebox- Jukebox
Doverman-Doberman
Rockweiler- Rottweiler
Hit the nail on the pin- Hit the nail on the head

I am famous for asking......What did you just say? Then she knows that she is killing a word again!
She had a grandmother that slaughtered the English language and the "trait" got passed down. She still laughs about her "goofs" and has gotten much better over the years.

My wife is great to correct me.

A couple more I've encountered.....

For all INTENSIVE purposes = For all INTENTS and purposes
Making money hand over FOOT = making money hand over FIST

As I understand it, DCB is in good shape for several reasons. There is still demand for the company's products. That likely has to do with a combination of high quality and limited supply. In a great year, DCB might build 30 boats.

But, and here's the important part, DCB doesn't have to build 30 boats to stay in business. The company can build less, probably a lot less, and remain healthy. As I understand it (once again because I don't work there and I'm not privy to the financials of a private company), Dave Hemmingson resisted the urge to expand facilities and his workforce in the "boom years." Very wise.

Of course, like every business, DCB has a threshold. There's a certain number of boats they have to build a year to stay in business. I don't know what that is, but I also don't think that, at this point in time, it's anything close to an issue for the company.

Another point of note is Bob had what I thought was a really good model for his new facility, for those that dont know what Im talking about Eliminator has built some top notch production facilities and also a service and storage addition to subsidize overhead (brilliant really). I believe this is a classic case of bad luck and timing. If Bob had pulled the trigger on this in 02 or 03 to catch the wave he would be swimming in it.

With all that said..........and without the emotional desire to cheer familiar boat businesses on regardless of the circumstances, does anyone see a concrete reason why the performance boat market will ever return?

If Bob Leach did, in fact, invest all of his personal assets in Eliminator to prop it up, a reasonable business man might ask why?

The performance boat business is a small one, relative to the size of the entire industry. The way Matt explained DCB is indicative of what probably lies ahead.

The key to success in any smaller industry segment is that you want to be high end, and have people Perceive your brand and product to be hi end. People that buy HP boats, for the most part, probably enjoy the fact that a small minority of boaters have one. It's a statement, a lifestyle, a "feeling" if you will.

There were obviously many, many more people buying expensive HP boats than could afford them. That cannot continue under these conditions, and I think it's likely to become a smaller market than it is. It's hard to be exclusive when there are so many boat builders out there.

Given that, the performance boat market will become a very lucrative one for those that show restraint, pride in work, and use sound business practices. I'd rather make a large margin on 30 custom boats than break even, or even lose money, producing 4000 boats. So for the performance brands out there now, prices increase as build numbers stabilize. The high entry price will keep the market exclusive, and builders will have no problem filling paid orders for a small production.

Boats have always been a discretionary, luxury item, until the financial world enabled practically anyone to buy everything. I qualified quite easily back in 2007 for a $350,000 Formula that I couldn't afford, and with no money down, and no need to go find those useless income papers. The boat I ended up buying was a bit more conservative, at less than 10% of that number including taxes

It's an expensive sport for those with the discretionary funds to participate.