An aspect of this discussion that's missing. You don't need a CC to have outboards, just get a closed-deck if you prefer.

Why a C.C. ?
Why haul around a cabin/basement if you don't need it ?
Why work in a cramped, hot engine compartment ?
ed

I'm guessing here but don't outboard owners tend to keep the engines/accesories etc. stock which promotes reliability ?
ed

Very good point.

The engine reliability factor is huge draw for folks coming out of the go-fast boat world. As is versatility for a "shifting—OK, aging—demographic. Needs and priorities change.

Fortunately, at least, quite selfishly, for me, there will always be people who want to go fast on the water. But performance-boats consumers are aging and the replenishment rate, so to speak, is a lot slower than the depletion rate.

I don't think anyone in the industry would argue that the industry does a "great" job of bringing in new blood, despite that the product, especially on the engine side, has become much more reliable than it used to be. There was a time when a 500-hp engine was a grenade and a 700-hp engine was a grenade with a pulled pin. Now, not so much.

And still ... people keep bailing out. Of course, the economy makes a huge difference, but the exodus has been happening for years. Or maybe it's not so much an exodus, as a failure to replenish. And maybe that failure has as much to do with entertainment options that baby boomers, typically people born between 1944 and 1964 who make up the consumer base for the go-fast boat industry, never had.

So our world is a very small one. Performance-oriented centers consoles, rather than their hardcore offshore fishing cousins, are just an extension of it ... and a welcome one.

Sure, you could call Eliminator's planned center console a "me too" Or you could just call it foresight.

You bring up a very good point Matt - failure to replenish. You see this in just about everything these days - hunting and fishing, team sports, etc. I guess we are getting into the generation that just sat around playing video games rather than getting outside and enjoying life. Only going to get worse I fear.

If you think about it, just a few short years ago you were bombarded with ads for what I'd consider "realistic" go-fast powerboats - baja, fountain, etc. What is really left that offers the high performance experience at a reasonable price...that is still advertising???? Consumer interest is sure to be low for quite sometime. This industry is gonna need a booster shot to recover.

Nice to see the perfomance manufacturers answering the current demand to stay alive.

A 30 Daytona CC with trips sounds interesting!

I hope you don't feel as if I were taking a poke at you? Not by any means. I'm your biggest fan with all the coverage you have provided performance CC's lately! Keep up the good work!

Fanfrickintastic!! I could have only dreamed all of those options were available to me the last time I ordered a boat!!! I felt Concept was my only choice, nothing out there was even close to as sporty IMHO. Now, choices galore and more coming to the market every day!

Concepts are still one of the best values in performance CC's and for a no frills, sporty looking performace CC, Concept would be my first choice for a 3rd time. Yea, one can get a head or A/C and a TV and so on but still nothing like the new plush rides out there these days (sans the Concept 44 but not sporty enough for me). Of course the new rides are 3-4 times the cost of a Concept so kind of apples to oranges but still more choices out there none the less.

I can't answer since all of my boats have been CC's but one of my best friends that owns a boat dealership told me many moons ago that if he didn't own a boat dealership, no way in the world in a million years would he own a boat. Funny- he has 3 now, 20ish CC, 46 Black Thunder with trips and a 36 Spectre.

Too much cleaning, wrenching, breaking, fixing, towing, cussing and not enough boating for my taste so CC's it will be for me!

I'm hoping my next ride will be a 2014 340 Nortech with twin Smith Power R4 (800HP outboards), an option that didn't even exist 4 years ago.

Sorry Eliminator, didn't mean to hijack your thread. Congrats on getting in the CC market- glad you are here!!!

Matt (and others) make an excellent point here - one that gets talked "around" a lot but not addressed directly. You have to wonder where the next generation of hi-perf boaters aro going to come from - and what they are going to be using to get from point A to point B.

Maybe they'll be riding in used boats. Or CC's, or something else a little smaller and more affordable. No doubt there is more competition for leisure time activities now, so even if they DO enjoy boating, they may not be able to devote such a large chunk of their financial resources to one activity. That means less time boating - and probably - less boat.

Smart young people today (educated, relatively high income) tend to segment their life to a high degree - devoting resources and time as they see fit - and based on the gratification they get from leisure activities. Even when the Economy bounces back, there's just more stuff to "do"...so the pie slices get cut a little thinner.

A boat may have to do more, or cost less--or cost less to maintain--to fit the bill for these people. Sure, the lifestyle and the activity appeals to them, but they're not ready to go "balls-to-the-wall" and spend outrageous $$s for 36' offshore boat. So they might buy a CC - or even more likely, a wake boat.

Matt is right to look at these developments and ask "what does all this mean?" It's a question everybody who loves high performance boating should ask. Frankly, I think it would be nice to have a separate forum here on the board to discuss thoughts and ideas of how we can increase awareness of our sport/activity and what people can to do ensure it has a future. Just my .02...

Just curious, how does pricing of a CC compare to a performance boat? Never priced one out.

Say:
Under 30'
30-35'
Over 35'

Are they drastically cheaper? Im sure outboard cost makes up a considerable chunk of their cost. Not talking maintenance, strictly purchase.