Indy

The boating market is a shell of its former self, the average guy has been priced out of the hobby..fact. I go out on Long Island Sound these days and it's void of boats compared to 10 years ago.

payuppsucker

The real reason there are so many for sale is people are realizing they aren't what they envisioned them to be. I mean who wants a boat that will run 120+, sips fuel, rides great and comes back to the dock on both motors every time you take it out?

Matt Trulio

Best laugh of the morning. Well played.

Cash Bar

It's a great topic when both GATORONE and 44MTI join the discussion.

precisiondetails

Good point Greg

Madman7

Payup, I do not disagree with your assessment ----- which is why I was looking into buying one. Affordability or not, I have a hard time justifying the cost for what you are getting. Others obviously think differently. Carry on

payuppsucker

Especially when that hull could be bought for roughly one third of the price just a few years ago. While material costs have no doubt increased, they haven't tripled. It's what the market will bear however and as long as they're selling the prices will hold or increase.

ToMorrow44

Jimofstuartfl

I agree that the cost of these boats have gotten out of reach for the average person. Most are over $400K. I've been in the marine industry for almost 40 years in both sales and now building boats. The cost of the tooling is very expensive. The boats are designed on CAD and plugs are cut on a 5 axis router. This is very expensive. The craftsman that use to build them from scratch are gone. With tooling costs and labor costs its easy to see why they are so expensive. Also the tooling is usually not correct and adds hundreds of hours of labor to the boats. You wouldn't believe what I've seen.
So I decided to tool up a cat from a Chris Cat I bought. I cut it in half and made it a foot wider with a 60 inch tunnel. Added a foot to length to make it 31. The key to building the boats is to resin infuse everything. Hull and stringers together. I can build an entire boat with a helper. I've kept the cost of everything down. I'll use a hybrid carbon/Kevlar glass in the hull. With the 400R it'll run in the 120's. They'll be priced under $250K fully loaded. They'll even have a head and cabin you can sleep in. You Tube Chris Cat American express and you can see how they run. Now there will be a cat people can afford that is very high tech. I've built and infused many boats much larger than these. The reality is this is a very simple boat to build with OB.

luke81

Sort of on the topic of OB cats here, have any of the Donzi Icon 44 been sold? It was certainly a polarizing design so I'd be surprised if it were a big mover but I'd think it's someone's cup of tea, maybe?