Brunswick selling off Sea Ray brand

RollerCoastr said:
Take a look at the 53 Tiara. If you really want an interesting experiment, put it next to a last-gen 40-something Sundancer. We can't make fun of Tiara styling anymore.
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That's no lie. The 40-48 Sundancers sit at the sales dock of our marina month after month and I don't even bother walking on them and daydreaming about 'one day'. I think the Tiara's are beautiful and well thought out compared to the glorified high-dollar house-boats Sea Ray has been pushing out in that range. I exclude the L-Class from those comments but it's a tiny % of the Sea Ray buyers population that will be moving up to that price range.
 
RollerCoastr said:
Take a look at the 53 Tiara. If you really want an interesting experiment, put it next to a last-gen 40-something Sundancer. We can't make fun of Tiara styling anymore.
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A boat that still looks, feels, and acts like a boat. What a novel idea. They're beautiful and from what I've heard are quite the performers, but I've never had a chance to run or be on one.
 
Strecker25 said:
A boat that still looks, feels, and acts like a boat. What a novel idea. They're beautiful and from what I've heard are quite the performers, but I've never had a chance to run or be on one.
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Except they are all coupes nowadays. I just can't get into indoor captaining. For me boating has always been about being in the open air. I guess I am in the small minority there, since most new sport cruisers seem to go with the pilot house design.
 
ZZ13 said:
Except they are all coupes nowadays. I just can't get into indoor captaining. For me boating has always been about being in the open air. I guess I am in the small minority there, since most new sport cruisers seem to go with the pilot house design.
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No, I agree with you there. I can see it down south, but where we are and the way we boat I am going to the water to be outside. Most of the time I peel back the canvas for our days on the lake and put it back up for the nights. Canvas can be annoying and expensive to replace, but open air boating is what we want to do
 
ZZ13 said:
Except they are all coupes nowadays. I just can't get into indoor captaining.
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They also have large sunroofs that open things up when the weather is good and button things up when it is cool or rainy. We don't think too much about weather any more since moving to Tiara. We are boating this PM with friends and forecasted rain. Their designs give you flexibility during iffy weather.
 
sbw1 said:
They also have large sunroofs that open things up when the weather is good and button things up when it is cool or rainy. We don't think too much about weather any more since moving to Tiara. We are boating this PM with friends and forecasted rain. Their designs give you flexibility during iffy weather.
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There's a Regal like this across from me, and it makes me kind of jealous. The downside, of course, was when his magic sunroof jammed for a week and it rained. A lot.

Plus he has zero tint on the windows and it looks like a greenhouse inside unless you run gen/ac constantly, the side windows don't appear to open, just the center windshield and top.

But that cool weather/rainy boating would be nice.
 
MonacoMike said:
The upper middle class that built Sea Ray is mostly gone. What are the demographics of the family that can afford a new $400k boat. It could be wrong, but my feeling is boat prices have risen way above the incomes of the type of folks they used to sell to.

MM
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you aren't kidding .. ive watched some episodes of "selling yachts" just because that's the only thing on tv you can see boats. I look at the craft that are being marketed and I ask myself is this where the boating / yachting is now? they toss around million dollar price tags to these people that clearly don't know the pointy end from the round end. if they could blank out the people and just show the boats , that would be great! then you get some 30 yr old hedgie guy with his silicone girlfriend sitting at the helm of some 70ft spaceship saying "look hun I could drive from here". I saw an episode with a 64' classic burger that was absolutely beautiful , the wife says why does the teak deck look so raw? can we change it? (deck was pristine like the day it was layed down) I felt like reaching through the screen and choking her.
 
I'm not in the market for a big boat and probably never will be, but I sure will miss seeing larger SeaRays. I like the styling of the new Fly's, but just have a soft spot for the sedans. Was in Myrtle Beach this weekend and went for a walk around one of the marina's. Little bit of everything, but still like the late 90's > mid 2000's styling. Can quite get my head around a 50' in one slip with a pontoon sitting in the next slip. I don't know that I have any real feelings about this - I certainly didn't want SeaRay to go away, but was anticipating a new buyer they might have done some new / good things. Brunswick, Mercruiser, MarineMax just seems like more of the same. I guess time will tell.
 
I've got to say I'm a bit surprised by the decision....I'd enjoy understanding all the variables that led to this conclusion. I'll reserve judgement, but for now I'm disappointed in this plan. I understand that corporations have a fiduciary responsibility to it's shareholders. Yet, it will be interesting to see how it plays out...

Someone faulted management...I can't say I don't see his argument and I have my own questions. Like, how is Sea Ray not competitive with the other brands in this space? I think MM might have a lot to do with this and if I was SR I'd think about direct to consumer...When your largest dealer is selling competitive brands there's a conflict of interests...I would guess it's a bit of the tail wagging the dog.

At this point I only have one real concern and it has nothing to do with my interests....
 
Bridog said:
A few things I've taken from all this...
1) Big boats aren't selling ("the market for Sport Yachts has materially weakened vs our expectations")
2) Don't make as much profit off big boats as we do little boats. ("lower return on invested capital versus other opportunities within the marine portfolio")
3) Soon the, you know what, will hit the fan..("more cyclical segment of the boat industry")
4) The biggest retail seller of SR's (Marine Max) has branched out into selling other yachts instead of just SR/Meridian.
5) Mercury Marine! We don't provide marine propulsion to big boats, but we do to smaller ones. ("our Marine position is a Unique Advantage. Each engine sold establishishes a 20 year P&A annuity")
My feeling is number 5 alone is the main reason. Smaller boats with outboard power is the growing market. Like it or not.
Mercury is the leader in that area and Brunswick owns Mercury.
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I too feel that #5 is a solid reason that helped keep SeaRay under Brunswick's ownership, but you costal guys are too swayed by what you see in saltwater. The interior of this country has almost no outboards except fishing boats, not around here anyway. Everything is I/O powered unless it is a fishing boat or wake surf boat and almost everything is powered by either a Merc engine and I/O or a Volvo one. With Merc now making the blocks for their engines, the entire engine and drivetrain of a I/O is a Brunswick product.
 
sbw1 said:
They also have large sunroofs that open things up when the weather is good and button things up when it is cool or rainy. We don't think too much about weather any more since moving to Tiara. We are boating this PM with friends and forecasted rain. Their designs give you flexibility during iffy weather.
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Pretty sure Sea Ray has had retractable sunroofs for awhile. I found a 2009 430/470 with 2 independent retractable sunroofs. That was the first one I checked on Yacht World.
 
Sterndrives are OK with me. There are lots of advantages to outboards, but for the type of boating I do, I prefer the aesthetics and swim platform with the sterndrive. So I hope Sea Ray won't forget that not everybody wants an outboard. I would consider a jet drive.

Not much said about product engineering in the company report. Sea Ray's dedicated engineering staff is being folded in with Boston Whaler. I hope that doesn't result in loss of product focus, innovation, and styling.
 
I have been reading this thread thinking it is surreal for Sea Ray to get out of building yachts. Then I go on facebook and see Sea Ray just changed the name of their page from "Sea Ray Boats & Yachts" to "Sea Ray Boats". That hit home and I'm incredibly sad.
 
RollerCoastr said:
Take a look at the 53 Tiara. If you really want an interesting experiment, put it next to a last-gen 40-something Sundancer. We can't make fun of Tiara styling anymore.
Click to expand...

We are seriously considering the 53 Tiara Coupe as our next boat. We're not ready to make a move yet but it's very high on our list. We toured the 2018 model while visiting Chicago and it's a gorgeous boat. Fit & finish very much on point with Sea Ray quality. But - we need to wait for the boat to depreciate first. Not paying new boat prices!! Until then, we're very happy with our 450DA (except for the damned canvas).
 
ZZ13 said:
Except they are all coupes nowadays. I just can't get into indoor captaining. For me boating has always been about being in the open air. I guess I am in the small minority there, since most new sport cruisers seem to go with the pilot house design.
Click to expand...

We went from a 30' Chaparral to our 450DA with a fully enclosed windshield and hardtop. With the front vent windows, the sunroof and pulling off the canvas we don't miss our previous boat. It's a different experience but one that we enjoy.
 
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