Is boating dying

giff1

Member
Feb 9, 2009
265
North East River, Upper Chesapeake Bay Maryland
Boat Info
340 EC 1987
Engines
Repowered 454's MarinePower
This comes from my boat clubs Christmas party. As of this weekend I am now a Past Commodore. I was seated with another Past Com. of 2003. We talked of the number of members, or lack of members. In his year the club had 110, today we have 65 members. They did not leave all at once. We discused why this has happened.
In the past six years we have seen $5.00 boat gas with E10. Boat companies closed. Boat equipment stores gone. Used boat values down and still not selling. Even my boat yard is only 60% full. In 2003 my boat yard had a five year waiting list.
With the turn of a new decade,there is talk of many troubles for boating coming. There seems every government agency is creating regulations,taxes,and an attitude against boating.
My question is, In six years will I be seated at a boat club Christmas party as a Past Commodore?
 
This comes from my boat clubs Christmas party. As of this weekend I am now a Past Commodore. I was seated with another Past Com. of 2003. We talked of the number of members, or lack of members. In his year the club had 110, today we have 65 members. They did not leave all at once. We discused why this has happened.
In the past six years we have seen $5.00 boat gas with E10. Boat companies closed. Boat equipment stores gone. Used boat values down and still not selling. Even my boat yard is only 60% full. In 2003 my boat yard had a five year waiting list.
With the turn of a new decade,there is talk of many troubles for boating coming. There seems every government agency is creating regulations,taxes,and an attitude against boating.
My question is, In six years will I be seated at a boat club Christmas party as a Past Commodore?


It certainly looks that way. With this health care crapola, the EPA junk announcement today and a push for 15% Ethanol.

There are very few people anymore, most of what were once classified as people are actually sheople.

Sheople and socialism. :smt013
 
Wouldn't it be fair to say there are a lot of people who got into boating that shouldn't have? It isn't too different from the housing bust. Sure there are people getting out that don't want to but that is what happens when people and companies think the good times will never end. Hopefully it means I have a better probability of getting "wall" space in Georgetown.

-John
 
You may be seeing a double whammy in your boat club.

Due to the economy and other above mentioned things the boat market itself is shrinking.
In addition to that, membership at many long term established organizations is down. Its just a sign of the times and has many reasons such as the internet.

Look at national membership numbers of other non-boating related organizations and you will see the same thing. One such example is the American Legion. Over the last decade or so very few veterans have joined their local American Legion.

I'm not trying to pick on the Legion's, just using it as a example.
 
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It figures, just when we get into boating everyone else is leaving. I understand the price of gas at my dock in 2008 was $4.85 with two hundred gallons do the math (a lot) it is definetly an expensive lifestyle and a shame not everyone can afford it but i be in it for as long as i can. If" healthcare"
doesnt kill me first.
 
Maybe if you stopped sitting there saying 'I wish more people were here' and 'look what the economy and the govt has done to boating and my boat club' and start looking into what you can do to entice people to join your club. Maybe your club doesn't have that much to offer and they are leaving because they weighed the options and your club did not have enough benefit to offset the cost.

If everyone would stop crying already and do something about it already then we would not be in this mess.

Now is not the time to sit and cry over spilled milk, get up and show what you are made of and do something to survive, grow your business, or even build up membership in your boat club if that is what is your passion.

I will step down off the box now.
 
This turn in the economy is unlike anything our generation has seen in the past, and it has affected everything, including boating. People on shaky ground before the turn were sunk; people living right at the edge of their means had to cut back. Let’s face it here a lot of us are living at the edge of our means. But maybe it is a good thing, we all know now that things are not always rosy, and building a nest egg and paying off debt goes a long way to lives enjoyments.

I too have seen the changes at our marina, some people you just don’t see any more. Others keep the boat at the dock and spend their time their. But just as in the bad times of the past, this one will pass as well and things will spring back. Let’s all hope we take a big lesson from this one.
 
Wouldn't it be fair to say there are a lot of people who got into boating that shouldn't have? It isn't too different from the housing bust. Sure there are people getting out that don't want to but that is what happens when people and companies think the good times will never end. Hopefully it means I have a better probability of getting "wall" space in Georgetown.

-John

I think this is a very valid point - almost anyone could get loans for almost anything. Now with people losing their jobs or having to really watch their personal finances they are downsizing their lifestyles. Add to it the price of gas and maintenance and some folks are just stretched too thin. I for one will not be giving up boating anytime soon! I sure would like to get a larger boat when I'm more confident things will improve....maybe after the 2010 elections....
 
It's not "doom and gloom" yet guys...Think what people thought in the great depression....ww1....ww2... go further back to the dark ages or the mongols or the spanish inquisition!!! lighten up and go boating!!!!(or ,if you live in the north like me...THINK about boating) Ric
 
Maybe if you stopped sitting there saying 'I wish more people were here' and 'look what the economy and the govt has done to boating and my boat club' and start looking into what you can do to entice people to join your club. Maybe your club doesn't have that much to offer and they are leaving because they weighed the options and your club did not have enough benefit to offset the cost.

If everyone would stop crying already and do something about it already then we would not be in this mess.

+ 1
 
Is boating dying
No, we're just working our way out of a rough patch. Life is cyclical and although this one is "unlike anything in the past" -- it is still part of a cycle. What goes up must come down, what goes down will eventually go up. I truly feel bad for anyone that has been affected by the economy but this is not the beginning of the end.
.
 
Seems pretty straightforward to me. Most people have less disposable income these days, and it's not a new thing. either. It's just a mighty expensive hobby. I've seen the same thing happen in general aviation. Used to be you would always have a few people in the pattern at the small GA airports. Weekends were generally pretty lively. Frequencies were a lot busier when you flew (IFR) cross-countries. Between the big fuel price spikes and tighter economy, a lot of the life got squeezed out of these 'little addictions'. It's all cyclical, and we'll see more planes overhead and boats passing by - but it will take a few more years.
 
Interesting post...and in thinking through this and reading all of the comments, I feel this way:

Boating is a form of recreation that took off like a rocket after WW II. I would hazard a guess that most of us on CSR are "Boomers" or Gen "x". We grew up with this and I know boating has been going on in my family for 75 years or more.

I think we are experiencing a paradigm shift in the recreational boating business. I think there are good opportunities in this change for consumers as well as businesses. I think there will be increasing demand for good high quality and well maintained boats of all types and sizes. There will be more cash sales of used boats and additional money spent on their restoration.

I really believe the days of an average middle class guy walking into a bank and obtaining an 80% loan secured by a boat are nearing an end. Boats are not a good risk for lenders because they know that when things get tight...the boat will be one of the first things that a family will give up. Boat repo men are very busy in popular boating areas because of this.

The shift is moving to things like this:buy a 25 year old 34 ft Sundancer or Express cruiser for cash and either restore it over time or do a re-power or any number of things. For $25K~$30K total outlay you can enjoy a solid reliable and serviceable boat for a fraction of what the new equivalent would cost. As things improve in the economy we will see a natural increase in demand and price for this type of thing.
The days of " easy credit terms" for new boats I feel are gone forever.

As long as the desire to get out on the water with the family is present, boating will stay alive. I think the way that we enjoy it and with what is about to change significantly.
 
Well... who knows. But without a doubt it is being very badly beaten up right now, and there are not a lot of good signs pointing to a recovery..... Let's hope.
 
I do not know if it may help cheering you up a little or not, but here in Europe the situation is not much different from what you are experiencing. Boating suddenly became the trendiest thing some 5-6 years ago as easy credits became available. You could buy a boat here in Italy, get a loan in France pretending it’s for chartering, and you didn’t have to pay VAT!!!
Everybody was buying a boat and you cannot imagine what kind of crap you can find here.
All these land rubbers could not figure out that owning a boat means dealing with maintenance, finding a slip and paying for fuel (price for one gallon of diesel is about 6 $ here). The result of the easiness of getting a loan and the terrible quality of boats was yards full of boats with broken drives, leaking hull windows etc. and hungry owners not willing to pay the bills….in the meantime slip prices were skyrocketing. As usual our government was not supporting the national industry not giving permits to build new marinas..
Then 2008 came…empty yards, lots of boats for sale and nobody buying them. Yards closed and even the always bragging owner of Ferretti started to moan…
Boats abandoned at their moorings. Nobody participating in sailing regattas anymore. It is sad and everybody in the business feels that it will never be the same again!
Buying a new boat? I do not have the guts because it is not ended here in Europe. I will rather restore my faithful 390!
 
The shift is moving to things like this:buy a 25 year old 34 ft Sundancer or Express cruiser for cash and either restore it over time or do a re-power or any number of things. For $25K~$30K total outlay you can enjoy a solid reliable and serviceable boat for a fraction of what the new equivalent would cost. As things improve in the economy we will see a natural increase in demand and price for this type of thing.
The days of " easy credit terms" for new boats I feel are gone forever.

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.
-
 
I do not know if it may help cheering you up a little or not, but here in Europe the situation is not much different from what you are experiencing. Boating suddenly became the trendiest thing some 5-6 years ago as easy credits became available. You could buy a boat here in Italy, get a loan in France pretending it’s for chartering, and you didn’t have to pay VAT!!!
Everybody was buying a boat and you cannot imagine what kind of crap you can find here.
All these land rubbers could not figure out that owning a boat means dealing with maintenance, finding a slip and paying for fuel (price for one gallon of diesel is about 6 $ here). The result of the easiness of getting a loan and the terrible quality of boats was yards full of boats with broken drives, leaking hull windows etc. and hungry owners not willing to pay the bills….in the meantime slip prices were skyrocketing. As usual our government was not supporting the national industry not giving permits to build new marinas..
Then 2008 came…empty yards, lots of boats for sale and nobody buying them. Yards closed and even the always bragging owner of Ferretti started to moan…
Boats abandoned at their moorings. Nobody participating in sailing regattas anymore. It is sad and everybody in the business feels that it will never be the same again!
Buying a new boat? I do not have the guts because it is not ended here in Europe. I will rather restore my faithful 390!



Thank you for your international perspective.

OK so the masses are no longer on their boats, sitting in boat club meetings, flying their airplanes, deer hunting over thanksgiving week (numbers are way down.)

Due to the much more restrictive no smoking laws, bar’s are far less busy. Note: I am a no smoker but I never hung out in bars anyways so I never got involved in the battle, should bar patrons be allowed to smoke.

Major sporting attendance as a hole is down.

So, what are the masses doing?
 

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