Is boating dying

giff1 said:
Thanks everyone. This thread may have went off topic once or twice but still provided thought out replies.
It does seem boating will survive.
In keeping with the season,all I can say is ( YES VIRGINA,THERE IS A SANTA CLAUS ).
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I also believe it will suvive, and it will be somehow better than before...
 
I stubbled onto this thread and since the last reply was two year ago and the economy is not much better now than it was than, I wonder if opinions are the same?

Personally, I think boating will live on forever. However, yachting is a different story. While the number of mega yachts may be increasing at an alarming rate, the number of 30-50' boats has declined. Just ask Sea Ray how many 30-50' boats they have sold since 2007 verses any other 5 year span in their history.
 
Good of you to find this thread. Based on what I have seen there are fewer boats out, people do not go as far, marinas are not full in the
summer. The marina owners I have talked to say they have lost a month. Going north fuel sales are up because the meg yachts are moving
but 30 to 50 footer are not. We still go north but not as far. The quality of people to work on your boats seems to be less and the prices
are up. Marinas even though they are not full are not dropping the price. There are lots of boats being used as a cottage at the marinas
with for sale signs on them. Noticed bottom maintance has dropped as there is a lot of growth on boats. If the world doesnot improve soon
I think there will be some marinas closing
 
Northern, you made some good points about marinas. One would think that a marina that wasn't full would try to do whatever it could to get boaters to come in, rent slips, have maintenance work done there, etc. I wonder if they think that if they lower their prices now they will have a difficult time raising prices when times get better?

On an unrelated note....do you keep your boat in the Vancouver area? Just curious.
 
Yep, more marinas lost to condos. Sandy took out a lot too.
 
MonacoMike said:
I'm more worried that the real estate value of our marinas becomes worth way more as condos.

MM
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Mike I like your, "Live as though the world will end on 12-21-12". Life is short, enjoy what you have.
 
In 2002 our marina had a 2 year waiting list for a slip, now they have signs in the front advertising slips available.

They have also gone up in price the last few years, just the opposite of what you would think with empty slips to fill. But they would have to drop the price for everyone if they lowered it to occupy the empty slips.
 
We have about 5 slips available each year but are always filled. We house 14 cruisers and 40 pontoons & runabouts. When gas prices peaked a few years ago, we sold more gas than ever. People stayed home and boated. It did not get that bad this past summer and the weather was so so and the 4th being on Wednesday was odd. Our slip prices have remained the same for the past 10 years but we are a non-profit corp and do our own work. We also have about 125 Associate Members that store their boats on trailers and launch when they want to boat. My family joined in 1974 so I've grown up there and now serve on the Board of Directors and Treasurer for the past 10 years. My boats are paid for and I could live there all summer.....very relaxing and worth more than a second home or big vacations. We do see some younger singles and couples join our ranks but it's not a cheap hobby, Mike.
 
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Our marina, with over 400 slips for everything from pontoons to house boats, has an 8 year waiting list. I see people upgrading boats every year.
 
I am in Halifax Harbor in Daytona Beach. 500 slips ( I think) running maybe 70% occupancy or something like that but that number jumps around due to transients from north coming to stay for a few months at a time etc. Our prices have stayed the same (no rise or fall) while the waiting list went from 4 years to slips available now. I have talked to the dock master and one reason he wants prices to stay the same and not come down is they are trying to keep pontoon, deck, house boats and people looking for a slip to work on the boat at a very minimum to none. He already told me they denied access to several boats because they were in that category and didn't want others in the marina to have any reason to leave. Is it perfect, no but probably the best in the area. We are mainly sail, power and fishing boats all privately owned with no charters. Well, some people run charters but it is on the down low and that is another story.

Will boating ever cease, probably but not in our lifetime. Liberals will continue to raise the prices of fuel, more and place more restrictions on boating that it will make in unaffordable for everyone. Just think if they ever get wind of unburned fuel that comes out with the exhaust being dumped in the marina on 500 boats. They would pitch a fit on that I would think. Bilge water that is ejected overboard is another. Again, not sure if this would ever come up in restrictions for what boats can and can't pump oeverboard but these things are just a couple that would make boating restrictive. Not to mention the amount of fuel that is need just to move these things through the water. Hope they stay away.
 
sfergson727 said:
Lake Michigan boating, at least at my end, is not doing well. This past summer was one of the quietest that I can remember, with many boats for sale, and lots of empty slips in a normally full marina. Personally, I only put 15 hours on my 340, which is pathetic. Boating may not being dying, but the way people use their boats is. The days of cruising up and down the lake, harbor hopping, unfortunately are probably gone as long as fuel costs are high. Who wants to spend $100 to move your boat 10 measly miles? I sure don't.
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I agree, right now fuel is 4.50 a gallon and this small boat gets around 2mpg, to go to lunch in downtown Knoxville was always a nice ride for friends and family, but it takes about 25-30 gallons of fuel to do it. I can do the same in a car, and not an economy car either, for 8.00 lol.

So we spend a lot of time a mile away from the marina anchoring/swimming and occasionally overnighting (along with many others), havent gone through any locks in a couple years and visited any of the smaller marinas on the way to Chattanooga. Only went downtown once this year, used to be 4-5 times. My guess is a lot of those small mom and pop marinas are no longer open. I would like to get into a larger boat again but honestly a summer home on the lake with a slip to keep this boat makes more sense to me right now.

I still managed to put on almost 100 hours from May to the end of October though, lot of that was just idling around. I doubt its a dying hobby, but its certainly slowing down some. Its not real high priority for me though, it will be the first thing to go if money gets tight, even if I just gave it away I would still be money ahead as opposed to keeping it for a few more years :)
 
Boating will always exist, I believe. But it’s definitely changing in my country. We are deeply into the economical crisis and more and more people are giving up.

Diesel is now 1.8€ per liter and this keeps lots of boats at the dock for most of the time. I have seen many powerboats cruising along at displacement speed to save on fuel…

On my pier every third boat is for sale…it’s just depressing. Only the sail market seems to be alive and this is the best time to buy a boat, that’s for sure.

Then we have another problem as much of the market related to boating thrived on black money and since our new government is trying to control this more and more, money is not flowing anymore… so, for Italy is and internal crisis over a global crisis… as I stated a couple of year ago, it’s changing, probably for the better.
 
This thread is depressing. I just ordered a survey on another boat we want to purchase, and I know the brokers that I have spoken with all had better years than the last few. All of our marinas are still full with 3-5 years waiting lists and the local inland lakes are jammed every weekend. I think the low water levels on our side of the Great Lakes is more of a concern than boating dying off. Gas is expensive but to me remains near the bottom of the list of expenses that go along with owning a boat. Albiet we dont travel long distances but have just as much fun staying close to our port. It goes without saying that if times get rough which they have, I will step away or minimize the use accordingly but boating is and will remain a priority for myself and my family.
 
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Here is a strange one. The boat sales people in Marblehead, Catawaba area told me they had the best summer this past for boat sales since the 80's.
 
for the admiral and I at this point the $$$ isn't the issue
it's having the time left over to boat after working for the $$$
(we are both in management in a retail setting)
new plan for 2013 though :wink:
 
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