"US power boat unit sales lowest in more than 40 years"

Re: \"US power boat unit sales lowest in more than 40 years\"

wait till next year and you see it hit the uk industry
 
Re: \"US power boat unit sales lowest in more than 40 years\"

Yeah all looking a bit rough over there. Bloomberg posted this article this week:

By Brian K. Sullivan
Aug. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Durand Blane measures the rising cost
of filling her husband's 75-foot, white motor yacht by what the
money would buy at the mall.
``It's like pumping Chanel bags into a boat hull,'' said
Blane from the well-scrubbed deck of the Durand-Marie docked at
the West Wind Marina in Newport, Rhode Island. ``Every time we
fill up, it's like two Chanel bags, minus the wallet.''
While it costs Durand and her venture-capitalist husband,
Chris, $10,800 to fill the Durand-Marie since the cost of marine
diesel doubled to $5.40 a gallon from $2.61 a year ago, fewer
boat owners can afford the rising tab. Even in Newport, a city of
24,400 known for oceanfront mansions and a biennial sailing race
to Bermuda, high fuel prices are keeping boaters at the pier.
Business at the West Wind Marina, 61 miles (98 kilometers)
south of Boston, is down about 30 percent from last year, says
dock master Cathie Thurston.
Owners of craft 45 feet or less in length ``are totally
affected,'' said Thurston, 58, whose marina can accommodate as
many as 75 vessels. ``They're not here. Most are just able to
keep up with the payments for the boat.''
Sales of watercraft have fallen 20 percent since the
beginning of 2008 after plunging to a 40-year low in 2007,
Brunswick Corp. spokesman Dan Kubera said.
``By any measure, the U.S. marine industry is in an
unprecedented downturn,'' said Kubera, whose Lake Forest,
Illinois-based company makes Sea Ray yachts.

`Prolonged Slowdown'

A cooling economy, higher fuel prices and the housing slump
have accelerated a ``prolonged slowdown'' in the boat industry
that began in 2005, Kubera said. ``We're not assuming these
economic pressures and a lot of the things that are biting at
consumers' wallets are going to abate any time soon.''
Brunswick has fallen 24 percent in New York Stock Exchange
trading this year and plans to close boat plants and cut as many
as 2,700 jobs to reverse two years of falling profit. Standard &
Poor's reduced the company's long-term corporate-debt rating to
non-investment grade July 8, citing falling boat demand.
``Wall Street and water don't mix,'' said Mike Joyce, 65,
chief executive officer of closely held Hargrave Custom Yachts in
Fort Lauderdale, Florida. ``The reality is the boating business
is cyclical.''

Drive-In Visitors

At the Newport Harbor Hotel & Marina, a half-mile north of
the West Wind Marina, more guests are driving up instead of
sailing in, said dock master Mark Holden.
Boaters who do show up eat breakfast and lunch on the water
instead of spending money in restaurants, Holden said. Some are
also taking shorter cruises to scrimp on fuel, said Mike
Keyworth, 58, general manager at Brewer Cove Haven Marina in
Barrington, Rhode Island, 17 miles north of Newport along
Narragansett Bay.
Instead of cruising to the Massachusetts island resorts of
Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket or across Long Island Sound to
New York, boaters are exploring the nearby bay, he said. Some
sailors keep their craft docked to entertain families, he said.
Some boaters are losing their vessels to lenders, said Ray
Bethel, president of Certified Sales Inc. in Warwick, Rhode
Island, which handles craft reclaimed by creditors.
``The repossessions are starting to pile up,'' Bethel said.
Shoppers hunting for bargains aren't appearing, as they did in
past economic declines, he said.

No Buyers

``This has got a different feel,'' Bethel said. ``The old
money is not coming out and buying stuff. The old money always
used to come out in times like this.''
While owners of smaller craft are limiting cruises or
staying at the dock, sales of boats of 100 feet and longer
crafted by Hargrave Custom Yachts remain strong, Joyce said.
Hargrave builds six to 10 yachts a year, costing $5 million
to $15 million apiece, for clients with a net worth of $50
million to $300 million, he said. They're over 60, ``chained to a
desk on Wall Street or Los Angeles'' and ``tend to go ahead with
their decision,'' he said.
Once luxury yachts hit the water, fuel costs aren't a
concern, said Chris Blane, the Durand-Marie's owner.
Those with large craft may have to spend an extra $100,000 a
year to fill their tanks, and a 100-foot yacht may need a crew of
six, with the captain making about $100,000 a year, he said.
``One hundred thousand a year extra for fuel isn't going to
slow them down,'' said Blane, of Vero Beach, Florida. ``The
middle-American guy is hit harder. It's the smaller boats that
belong to the hard-working, good old American guy.''
Meanwhile, people-powered craft such as canoes and kayaks
are enjoying a resurgence, said Al Johnson, 64, a Coast Guard
recreational-boating specialist in Boston.
``I see a difference in the water,'' said Michael
Scicutella, 47, as he winched his 22-foot motor boat up the ramp
at Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park in Oyster Bay, New York,
after a sunny Sunday morning fishing with his son. The fuel cost
him $120. ``There are half the number of people out there. I
still see a lot of big boats. The upper class isn't feeling it
yet.''By Brian K. Sullivan
 
Re: \"US power boat unit sales lowest in more than 40 years\"

It already has!! Boat sales are well down right across the country.
 
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