Where have all the boats gone?

xravenx

xravenx

Member
Oct 5, 2006
858
Baltimore, Md.
Boat Info
370 Sundancer 1995
Engines
8.1s (2013) w/ V drives
I stopped down to check on the boat this week and I always take a lap around the grounds before I leave. I couldn't help but notice how many available storage spaces there was. At this marina all boats must be hauled for the winter and they have been. I've been winter storing there for about 12 years and I can remember when you probably couldn't fit another boat anywhere. Also they never used to have any available slips, unless you bought a boat from them they would fit you in. The last couple years there has been a big sign at the entrance saying "slips available". Another example is where I have a slip for the season there have been empty slips the last two years, prior to that they had about 20 boats on the waiting list.

I'm not singling out these two marinas, they are just the ones I'm familiar with. So where in the heck have all the boats gone.

Anybody else seeing this?

John
 
Five years ago you couldn't find a wet slip anywhere on Lake Norman and dry stack storage was only available in inconvenient locations (for me). The marina operators pretty much laughed at you when you asked to be put on their wait list. Now there are 3 slips open on my dock in which is in one of the most desirable marinas. The lake was noticeably less crowded this past summer. I realize many in the boating industry are suffering in this economy and I feel for them. However, from my perspective the lack of crowds is a major plus.
 
xravenx said:
I stopped down to check on the boat this week and I always take a lap around the grounds before I leave. I couldn't help but notice how many available storage spaces there was. At this marina all boats must be hauled for the winter and they have been. I've been winter storing there for about 12 years and I can remember when you probably couldn't fit another boat anywhere. Also they never used to have any available slips, unless you bought a boat from them they would fit you in. The last couple years there has been a big sign at the entrance saying "slips available". Another example is where I have a slip for the season there have been empty slips the last two years, prior to that they had about 20 boats on the waiting list.

I'm not singling out these two marinas, they are just the ones I'm familiar with. So where in the heck have all the boats gone.

Anybody else seeing this?

John
Click to expand...

John,

I have been living here for 4 years now and each season there are less and less. This one is the worst so far. Damn guys still manage to load them up right behind my house though, even with all that room. The first year I lived here I remember it was hard to find an empty spot.
 
Marinas in the metro Atlanta area certainly did not act desperate for business when I went searching recently for a home. No one was discounting (although to be fair, there did seem to be some mild incentives), dry stack was full and two marinas were taking waiting lists that I spoke with. The last summer seemed a little lighter on the lakes we frequent, but the drop off wasn't precipitous.

I am not challenging the premise. There is no question that boating is, for the vast majority, a discretionary income pursuit. Also no question that the economy last year took a beating and discretionary income had to be crippled across the board. Someone I consider a friend actually lost their boat...something I had never even heard of before last year. Just observing that this area, for whatever reason, may be feeling the effects in different ways. It is also possible that my observations were too narrow.
 
JimT said:
Five years ago you couldn't find a wet slip anywhere on Lake Norman and dry stack storage was only available in inconvenient locations (for me). The marina operators pretty much laughed at you when you asked to be put on their wait list. Now there are 3 slips open on my dock in which is in one of the most desirable marinas. The lake was noticeably less crowded this past summer. I realize many in the boating industry are suffering in this economy and I feel for them. However, from my perspective the lack of crowds is a major plus.
Click to expand...

same on Smith Mountain Lake ...now everyone has slips available :smt009
 
JediJD said:
Marinas in the metro Atlanta area certainly did not act desperate for business when I went searching recently for a home. No one was discounting (although to be fair, there did seem to be some mild incentives), dry stack was full and two marinas were taking waiting lists that I spoke with. The last summer seemed a little lighter on the lakes we frequent, but the drop off wasn't precipitous.

I am not challenging the premise. There is no question that boating is, for the vast majority, a discretionary income pursuit. Also no question that the economy last year took a beating and discretionary income had to be crippled across the board. Someone I consider a friend actually lost their boat...something I had never even heard of before last year. Just observing that this area, for whatever reason, may be feeling the effects in different ways. It is also possible that my observations were too narrow.
Click to expand...

Ditto !
Many of us were too timid to hit the lake every weekend the last part of the summer not seeing any improvements in the local economy. Those weekends were spent following up with customers and trying to fight for new ones. Even after 9/11 and everyone stood still for a while it lightened up making '09 one of the worst years since the early 90's for my little remodeling business. Its been a dogfight for evey job for me and my guys for the last 5 months.

PS Congrats on the new boat Jedi! Now how will I find you on the lake??:huh:
 
When I was in the boat buying market a couple of years ago I spoke with some brokers that said they were shipping 50% of their sales overseas. Apparently, it is cheaper to buy a used boat here and pay to ship, than it is to buy there.
 
I was out of boating for many years from the very early nineties until a couple of years ago.
I noticed several things as soon as I got back in to it.
First was how many fewer boats were on the water around here on the weekends. It's still crazy sometimes, but years ago you almost couldn't move. Summer weekdays on the water are also much lighter than they were years ago.
The next thing I noticed were how many fewer marinas and boatyards there were around. I knew that over the years several marinas had sold off their waterfront property to developers who built houses or condos on the property, but even a lot of the smaller places were gone too. Property values really soared and it turned out that selling the land off was a lot more profitable than running a yard or marina. Yet, although there were less slips available for rent, it wasn't any harder to find a place. I imagine that had land values remained stable enough for those old marinas and boatyards to stay in business that they would really be fighting for business.
The third thing that I noticed was how much cleaner the water was. I think that has more to do with the stricter rules about what you can and can't do, but I think the lower amount of boat traffic has probably contributed to it too.
 
The marinas in Grand Haven appear to be full. Prices for storage have not changed much in years. Mostly the boats are moved into slips in the spring and into storage in the fall. It costs about as much to store in the summer as to slip so people seem to move them from one location in the marina to another. There are definitely fewer people cruising. We can run for hours on Lake Michigan and not see any boats other than ships.
 
IMHO - JediJD hit the nail on the head. The discretionary funds are just not there any more for a major part of the people. Everybody took a hit one way or another. I talk with people all the time and what I keep hearing is they are just hanging on keeping the doors open. These are the people they used to buy second/vacation homes.
 
The Marinas up my way have had things their way for years. Now that times are hard for many hard working boating folks and the money is tight these Marinas that have been raping us for winter storage all these years still don't seem to get it. They are not the only show in town. Many of us have opted to store on land at our homes or another location. In our case we installed a 20,000 lbs. lift at our pier. It was quite an expense, but based on hauling, washing, storage fees and painting it should pay for itself in about 5 years. And the good part is that the price will never go up each year and we won't have some Marina operator acting like he is doing us a favor by taking a lot of our hard earned cash and allowing us the PRIVILEGE of wintering in his yard. As a business person I believe everyone has a right to make a profit. Just let the margin of that profit fit the economic situation at hand.
That's just my opinion
George







 
They must all have come up here.My city,Red wing,MN.,had built a new winter storage area next to the old one,it is huge,and now the old and new are filled.
 
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