Yup !
The terms "automation and/or robotics" do not exist in this industry. There isn't two of these things built the same.
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also on the economics of scale thing I remember reading that mercury will not sell in 1 year the amount engines GM produces in a day.

The guys that buy the new boats keep it all moving. For every $500k boat, there's advertising, marketing and Warranty. Don;t forget that a $500 k boat rarely if ever sells for $500k. Look at the prices Merc charges for their engines and drives. But then look at the company, not a huge profit put in proportion.

For normal recreational boats, look at the difference in price for a Cobalt versus many others. But then look at the longevity of the boat. Now add in the huge increases, not to mention fluctuations, in the cost of high-quality resins. Add to that a highly-qualified staff to do all of the labor required. Add in backroom staff, R&D, designers, transportations, etc...

The real killer is Volume, or lack thereof. Most of the industry has determined that they now need XXX dollars to survive, on far less volume. So for an Outerlimits or a Cig or whomever to not only remain in business, but to have current product and keep customers happy, they need margins. Maybe you can get a 30% margin, but after you pur it back into the business and new orders and R&D, it evaporates quickly. I'd guess many are probably returning a 5% to 12% margin overall at most.

I fully understand, I grew up in havasu and also lived in Parker on the water, ive seen plenty of nice boats, yes, my 25 Baja is nothing in comparison! I just have always wondered if there was 500k in boat, or more in mark up. Yes motors and drives are expensive, but are they really worth as much as we are forced to pay for them? It just seems to me that every part to a boat cost way more than it should, just my 02...

I am a huge fan of these boats, so please don't take this thread as me bashing!

They are only worth what someone will pay for them. You'd have to be stupid to pay MSRP on these types of boats. Realistically (especially in today's economy) I'm sure most can get them for 80% of MSRP, maybe less. I know our Donzi speced out how it is has an MSRP of $910k new and the Formula is close to $600k but you'd be nuts to spend that, or just ridiculously rich

I think I was looking at it a bit differant... I was thinking, lets use seats... Say they cost 2k to build, they add 5k to the boat price... Then motor, 15k to make, $35k added to cost of boat, so on and so forth, I'm just using made up numbers to present my question. Is this how the cost of a $500k boat gets it price tag...

Your not kidding, I think the ridiculously rich part is most accurate!! I would have to believe if you have that kinda money you really don't care how much they spent on building your new toy!!

Henry Ford did not invent the automobile, he created a way to build them by the thousands.......cheap. When 40,000 people will pay $60K for a 33ft cigarette boat you just might see an assembly line to build them that cheap. Currently, even the builders that put out "standard" models are actually building a fairly custom product.

And their is the sponcership of the race boats to help promote the sales to the consumer to factor in. This is a huge part of the overhead, as well as advertisement. They proberly equal each other. Advertisement is my biggest overhead in my business.

Thank you sir, that is exactly what I was wondering.