Things are not looking good for Crownline Boats

D

Dave S

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TECHNICAL Contributor
Oct 3, 2006
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Upstate South Carolina
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In today's market you hate to hear any bad new about the boating industry whether it's Sea Ray or even a competitor like Crownline which has always produced (in my opinion) a pretty decent boat.

Crownline only has one factory and they shut it down last December and now have said it won't re-open until June. I saw this post on the Crownline forum which pretty much sums up the situation. :smt009:smt009

http://www.teamcrownline.com/forums/thread/59534.aspx
 
Sad to hear. We took a demo on a Crownline before we purchased the Searay. Fit & finish was very good. Crownline has a pretty big following too.
 
We almost bought a 270br until MM came through with the right price on our 270 SLX. Nice boats. Spent a lot of time on their forum, good group of people. Hopefully for them the company survives. Scary $hit...
 
I read that same thing the other day. I wonder what they are going to do with the new boat orders they got at the boat shows. I know I would be upset if I had placed and order expecting to be boating this spring/summer on it.

I still look at the Crownline 255CCR and 275CCR since Sea Ray does not offer anything like it.
 
The Crownline news was posted last Friday, they just have too much inventory in the pipeline to justify making any more boats. It's not much different for many of the builders. S2 is shut down all manufacturing for March, Four Winns is shut down manufacturing for March, Carver is on a limited staff and building just two boats currently,Hatteras is finishing up a few boats with no new orders, Sea Ray has even mothballed some of their plants, but they do have some new builds in process. No builder is benefiting from this economy. The shutdowns are needed now to keep the companies alive when things start to turn around.

You can add these as well to the list of layoffs/shutdowns announced in the last two weeks.
MasterCraft cuts a third of its workforce
MasterCraft last week laid off about 110 workers, or about a third of its workforce, from its production and administrative facilities in Vonore, Tennessee. The builder makes high-end wakeboard boats and cruisers.The company said that about 200 employees will remain at the facility. Those laid off will not receive severance packages.


Not just here in the states either...
Princess to cut up to 450 jobs
British luxury motor yacht builder Princess has announced that up to 450 jobs — a fifth of its workforce — could go at its Plymouth base, following a strategic review aimed at 'strengthening' the company.
 
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Sam1 and PascalG. Those two fools should be married to each other. They are cast from the same lot.
 
I almost bought a Crownline because of the great fit and finish. The thing is, the dealer never offered to work with me on price, even though I had been showing interest for over a year. I never actually made an offer, but there was no sense he was willing to deal....so what's worse, holding on to your price and getting no sale or knocking off 10-15% and getting some cash flow?
I bought a 2003 280 dancer instead for a great price from a dealer who was willing to do whatever it took to make me happy...and he did...and I am.
But I do feel bad for Crownline...they should have just sucked it up and discounted their inventory, taken the loss this year and then regroup according to the economy.
 
I did buy a Crownline back in 2002, new. My wife still loves that boat more than this one. For me, it was a close second. I used to hang around the Crownline Message Boards back in the day. Good group of people. That nonsense on the BOAT/US boards is precisely why I took that site out of my favorites a LONG time ago.

Anyway, I doubt CL will close completely. Probably get swallowed up by some conglomerate - that is, of course, if the conglomerates don't go belly up.

krisboat1.jpg
 
Hey. One look at the Crowline 275CCR put me out of the 22' bowrider market for good. But, unfortunately, the crownline dealer network (i.e. TWO) in the NJ/PA area was too limited to serve my needs (i.e. you would get ZERO attention without a signed contract. Sorry, for $70K, I demand to be treated as a customer throughout the buying process).

Of course, my 280SS has twins while the 275CCR does not. . .big difference.
 
rondds said:
I did buy a Crownline back in 2002, new. My wife still loves that boat more than this one. For me, it was a close second. I used to hang around the Crownline Message Boards back in the day. Good group of people. That nonsense on the BOAT/US boards is precisely why I took that site out of my favorites a LONG time ago.

Anyway, I doubt CL will close completely. Probably get swallowed up by some conglomerate - that is, of course, if the conglomerates don't go belly up.

krisboat1.jpg
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Ron, Is that F-cove? Nice looking boat. I agree that the Boat US site is alot of nonsense. I still get worked up about SR trash talk though.
 
Yep. F-cove, summer of 2002. I had no problem with the NJ dealer or the PA dealer. In fact, I pitted them against each other for the best deal - went with D&R. I had two things on the punch list after delivery and they were very accomodating. I never had to move the boat. One involved pulling the boat. I left the keys at our marina office, they came with their trailer, brought the boat around to the ramp and did what they had to do. I bought right after 9/11 and there were lots of deals to be had at that time. And I did not buy from stock. The boat was made for me.
 
Really? D&R boats treated you well? Well, I guess there is a first for everything.
 
Interesting. I wonder if the would keep the same quality? I almost bought a Crownline. They have a nice cuddie with AC in their lineup, Sea Ray has nothing like it expect when you get up to the 290SS.
 
Figures. A good buddy of mine (he is in some of our vids and the ones that gave us the gas card) just bought a Crownline on my recommendation. He called me from a dealer to ask how good of a vessel it is (after I dissuaded him from a Bayliner).

I told him they were a good quality. I hope CL will stay in business and support :smt021

Here is their new boat, 19' that they just got wet 2 weeks ago. They are part of the raft up on Saturday we have going.

I was aboard and all around it on land and in water, very nice boat.
 

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