In 1962, Brunswick Corporation took such a licking in the stock market that they GAVE AWAY some of their many boat companies, Owens, Brunswick, Larson, and a dozen others. The ones they didn't give away, they sold for pennies on the dollar.

Senior execs who remembered and tried to prevent the purchase of the current boat companies were swept out of the way. "He who fails to study history is doomed to repeat it".

Yup Brownie. It's going to hit the fan

And i am not trying to be pessimistic, but can the boat companies survive this one? Many say yeah, but there are so many different variables today than before, it makes me wonder.

In the past when things got tight, people making $25k a year could figure out how to get a cheap boat and buy gas at .55 cents a gallon, but that same class of people today (probably $60k a year) are confronted with $5 (maybe more) a gallon. Seems to be way out of balance!

Sad.

History can even relect Jimmy Carter

They are about to!!!!

I was saying that the other day to my wife. Used to be that it would cost 20 bucks to fill up and 100 bucks for dinner. Now the fill up is 150 bucks and dinner is the same 100.....

Anyone who has been in the boat bidness more that 40 years has been down the shi**er at least once. Margins are not conducive to laying up large hunks of cash. In the past, we have relied on Prohibition, smuggling, etc., to bail us out. Don't know what they are going to di this time.

I guess that means the Brunswick/Contender deal is off....

Brunswick was going to buy contender?

I think some of the boat builders like Cigarette, Outerlimits, Skater, MTI, etc... are still going to have strong sales. They all have a serious following and most of their buyers have unlimited funds.

The smaller, moslty custom builders and suppliers are going to have it tough! Boating is an expensive hobby and the fuel prices and economy are going to do some serious damage to sales.

Goddam, Poodle, it must be esp!