Pietro
Active Member
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So, what are the masses doing?
Watching TV and spending their weekends in shopping malls (without buying anything though)???? :huh:
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So, what are the masses doing?
Pietro has a point...people in general don't have the amout of "play" money as before, so they are doing less expensive things.
I guess I disagree and will try to be the voice of optimism here. Regal Boats just re-hired 100 workers in anticipation of increased sales of new boats in 2010. Last fall they laid off 200 of their 400 employees and they're bringing half of them back. Also, Brunswick has restarted it's Meridian Yacht plant in Florida and has brought back 100 employees.
I don't think the days of easy credit terms are over forever. Banks are still feeling the sting right now so they are being overly tight with the money as they should be. Things are starting to balance out and over time banks will ease up. We probably won't see crazy, risky credit terms anymore but it will get easier.
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Is boating dying
I remember when I was a kid back in the '60s, my dad bought a two year old Trojan F26 for about $3500. Today a two year old 26' boat of comprable make will cost way more(adjusted for inflation).
I remember when Jimmy Carter was president, 79-81, every thing had gone to hell. Grand Banks had the Trawler market under control. DeFever sold their operation to a couple of investors that started having them built in Taiwan. Next thing you know...here came Choy Lee..another high quality line of boats. They were a fraction of the cost of the Grand Banks and they sold.
The Chinese are masters of duplication. I would not be surprised to see the Chinese get into building boats for the US market.
With all of the pent up demand that the public has for boating a quality built boat replicating some of Sea Rays more popular models could be a viable alternative for cash strapped buyers.
It doesn't take a lot to build a boat. I have seen some very good boats built here in South Florida over the years for not a lot of money. The example cited earlier of $325K for a 35 ft Sundancer has a lot of margin in it. If you can produce a similar boat with the same propulsion system and price it at $150K you will be a very busy man at major boat shows taking orders.
These economic downturns produce the next winners...there was a recession in 1959~1961. Glastron and Larson were big players in the recreational boating field. Times were hard and a fellow by the name of Connie Ray thought he could produce a less expensive alternative to the big names of the day...the rest is history.:thumbsup:
Kia brand boats or equal.
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