this is the business acumen that is needed. costco has thousands of profit centers to pay for a single loss whereas you have one and if it does not profit you do not eat. this is why the service department at most boat dealers and manufacturers makes more money for the owner than the boat sales do. there merely isn't enough due to the fact that this is a numbers game. %20 of 100 is 20 but %20 of 600K is 120K so making the same margin can make it easier to pay the rent, insurace, warranty and salaries than the 100k level will provide.

Do a business plan before giving up, then you know that you did your due diligence. The primary reason the bigger higher end market is a target, because your fixed overheads are basically the same, if you build a 28' or a 50' but the actual profit potential is significantly higher.
On the other end of the spectrum, Bayliner targets entry level market with huge volume and lean manufacturing.
You don't need to make a ton of money, but you do need to make "enough". And "enough" is different for everyone!

Put the entry level boats in the back and the million dollar boats out front. All joking aside boatbuilding is somewhat a labor of love , that being said the successful performance boat guys out there now didn't get to where they are today my building an " entry " boat . They built a great boat and slowly developed a following and then capitalized on current customers wants and needs. Build a great product and and Develop a following. Someone that is going to spend 120 on a brand new boat I bet would be willing to spend more on more horsepower or a more luxurious interior.

why would anyone try to do this with a cat...be better off with a small v-bottom. not enough buyers in the cat market due to insurance.

as already mentioned...tough to make it a viable business unless the company had other offerings and was willing to blow this model out at a deep discount.

wish someone would make it a reality. I’d be a buyer in a brand new boat that was close to 100k. Sick of buying others used sh!t and then having to fix it to make it my own.

change the name from cat to v and you still will not make any money as you want a brand new boat for nothing and it is admirable but unrealistic that anyone is going to stick their neck out of your segment of the market.

wait, where the bayliners? maybe thats more your budget of beer looking for champaign.

At the end of the day $100k is not "nothing" as you claim. Well maybe for you it is. As you seem to have a net worth of over $100M. But for the majority of people that make under $250k a year. $100k will go a long way.

A buddy of mine wanted to open a bar/restaurant. I told him to give me $100,000, let me kick him in the nuts, and never mention opening one again. 2 years later he told me that it would have cost less and hurt less if he would have taken me up on it. I would offer you the same deal.

“Liberator” have been mentioned on here, which brings up an interesting example.
As I understand it, the Liberator dealer in Florida (Randy “Wildman” Corson) buys bare hills from the factory in Texas and does everything else himself. Rigging, set up, additional fiberglass work, interior, trailer, loads of custom paintwork, anything the buyer wants. He works pretty much on his own and has a great reputation for quality of work and he’s always busy. Small boat business doing well.

Recently he took a 25’ Liberator in as a trade. 2019 or 2020 model with a single 400R and 30 hours use I think. Boat ran well into the 90’s and he was selling it for $97,500. That would put a new boat within the price range the OP is thinking but obviously, it’s not a 28’ with twins. Food for thought. 🙂

RR

I'll take your deal haha, I like that!

if rumors are true, randy is kinda independently wealthy enough that he does not need to make allot money as that is merely a hobby for him. totally different set of criterias and he is selling a used boat at the price point not making a new one.