Boating Industry Future

[Midnightsun]

Not sure where we are going. With the closure of Bayliner which now only produces small boats, Meridian is defunct and the latest news is Sea Ray is making major changes and will now concentrate only on smaller boats. See here. https://www.tradeonlytoday.com/manufact ... ficult-one

Makes one wonder what is in store for Carver which only produces larger boats nowadays. Put is this way, I would not carry to much Carver stock in my portfolio. Sad times for the marine business in general IMHO and just seems to be getting worse as the years go by. Seems like we are going back in time when boats were only for the rich and famous.

[CYO Admin]

IMO, much of the blame should be placed on the shoulders of Brunswicks management team, and it starts at the top. The market has definitely shifted towards small outboard boats, that is clear, but Brunswick has made some horrible decisions when it comes to their motor yacht brands.

Carver is doing what Brunswick should have done with Meridian. Build boats that people want and can afford. Rob Parmentier, the CEO of Carver, came the the Sea Ray boat group and has positioned Carver to be the leader in US made motor yachts. He is one smart cookie.

Several years ago I suggested that Meridian build coupes to compliment the bridge boats (exactly what Carver has done). Meridian management at the time told me that it wasn't going to happen, but they wouldn't tell me why. It turns out that the writing was already on the wall for the Meridian brand but it was all hush hush. They had just become part of the Sea Ray Boat Group and things were changing. They let the best selling bridge boats in the US simply fade away. Their plan was to build bigger, more expensive Sea Ray yachts and they didn't want Meridian eating a piece of it's pie. They thought that they could reinvent and reinvigorate the big boat market and they failed, again.

Brunswick also made a monumental mistake in putting all of their sales eggs in one basket. MarineMax. Some of the larger dealers of SeaRay and other Brunswick brands were able to hold onto their dealership agreements but a most of smaller dealers got the boot. I could go on and on, but I won't.

I'm not saying that I would buy Carver stock. If I was in the market I wouldn't buy stock in any marine related companies. I do think Carver is being positioned to be a leader in the US and that they are being led by very smart and competent people.

[Midnightsun]

Not sure if one can blame Brunswick although I agree they seem to have made some bad choices in the past that did not help the industry as a whole. Buying out everyone over the years and trying to corner the market only to be outdone by the used boat market which IMHO is what hurt them the most and continues to hamper the large boat industry. Anyone with any knowledge of the boating market would be foolish to buy a new large boat but then again some people have money to burn they don't give a hoot right? I saw the invoice for my boat when purchased new, someone dished out $700,000 at the time however the owner was extremely well off so he did not care as he had money to burn so to say. Most of the people that show up with new BIG boats in my area nowadays are hockey players or some other sport celebrity.

PS. Only good stock right now is Canadian Marijuana.

[CYO Admin]

I don't blame them for the demise of the big boat market. I blame them for their lack of dominance in the big boat market, the be demise of their own once successful brands.

Those that get into weed now are the big boat buyers of the future!

[Viper]

In another part of the industry; technicians, at least in our area, things are not looking good. As if the shortage of good techs isn't bad enough as it is due to guys getting out of the trade for several reasons, word now has it that Georgian College which is a major marine teaching hub is seriously considering doing away with the marine curriculum for lack of interest. When that happens, marinas, boaters and the industry up here as whole will be in trouble.

While there are several factors influencing young folks to stay away from the trade such as the predominant seasonal only employment up here, other factors play a large role as well such as working conditions and the seeming lack of respect in general for techs by customers and marina owners. This applies to the automotive industry as well. It's already difficult to find a good tech now and this doesn't make the industry an attractive consideration for younglings thinking about a career path.

Good luck finding a certified fiberglass technician up here that actually understands the science of the trade. Let's face it, it's a messy job which not many young people are willing to make a career of. It used to be an option in the marine curriculum up here but that was the first program to be cut years ago, again for lack of enrollment. I fear the technical side of servicing boats at least in seasonal jurisdictions is a dying trade IMO. I think the ones that can make the biggest difference in turning this trend around are the marina owners. There's much they can do to make the trade more attractive but I just don't see any signs of that happening at this time. Hiring inexperienced staff that know nothing about boats and getting them to diagnose and attempt repairing systems that cost more than my house just floors me but that seems to be the way things are rolling and doesn't help the future of the industry. As a result, when it all goes wrong, customers paint ALL techs with the same brush. It's not looking good at all.

That's MY rant for the day.

[km1125]

I think SeaRay missed the boat (pun intended) by getting TOO big - that is, making very large vessels and trying to compete with custom builds. I think there's a great market for them in the 22-50' range but it seemed like recently they were concentrating on the 40-65' market and putting too much of the company into those builds. I think there is going to be a vacuum in the 40-50' market as that's going to be "too big" for the volume producers to make them 'economical' for folks to buy and that size will be too small for the custom builders to get into.

There's always going to be a market for the smaller outboards, especially as those replace all the I/O's that used to be produced. With the millions of small lakes there will always be manufacturers for such crafts. Those boats are great for fishing or just running around the lake but not as well suited for a family or to stay on all weekend. There's still going to be a need for a 25-40' cabin boats that you can use as your remote get-a-way for a couple or small family. Who is going to build those?

[bud37]

My view on this is quite simple...if there is or was money to be made they would still be doing it. Overhead must be astronomical, and without the profit margin it don't work, no matter how you bend it. People can buy used boats for a fraction of new, but here I sense that much like the early 90's( the only time I ever made money on a boat ) we may see a surge in used prices. One thing is for sure , it will be interesting.........

[km1125]

I agree with Viper's comments on the talent shortage too. However, I think we're seeing that in most industries. Used to be that a company would take a good candidate and train and develop them to what they needed. That person would move up though the company continuing to be groomed for more responsibility and help train the newbies coming in the door.

Nowadays, it seems like companies expect the talent to come on board already trained. "Someone else should do it", "someone else should take the risk", or "we just want a certificate or diploma to see if they're qualified" are what they are really saying and for a bit some tech schools were taking advantage of that need, pumping out certified folks as fast as they could convince folks to pay the $$ the certificate.

Some of it is about loyalty and respect... both from an employees side and from the employers side. Companies too afraid of the 'optics' will rid themselves of an employee in a heartbeat, regardless of how valuable they were at one time. Employees knowing this will trend towards who's waving the $$ to attract talent.

"Everyone is replaceable" and it's showing in many industries, except they can't all really be replaced.

[RGrew176]

This is strictly just my opinion. I think that one of the problems with the boating industry when it comes to new boats is this. The cost of a new boat has far outpaced inflation. New boats in the larger sizes are just to expensive for many especially the middle class to buy.

Bayliner was one brand that a middle class person could afford. There were others too such as Rinker and back in the day even Carver. The only way I could now afford a new boat would be if I came into some money such as winning the lottery.

The higher cost of new has one benefit it may stabilize used boat prices. Our older boats may hold their value if kept in good condition and maintained properly.

[Viper]

Like cars, the prices of boats have gone up for several reasons. Sure the cost of labour and material has a huge impact but a large part of the expense is all the additional toys that go into them. Let's face it, we like the technology and conveniences. Who buys a car now without power windows? What used to be options are now standard equipment that add to the cost. The technology is great but it comes with a high price and is slowly pushing the average person out of the new boat market. Couple that with the high cost of fuel, slip fees, repairs, and seasonal use up here, and it's no wonder sales are down.

Technology allows you to do a lot of things but perhaps it's getting a little out of hand. There's something to be said about simplicity.