Boat show - Great disappointment

A

Arnold

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Oct 14, 2003
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12330
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I just got back from the boat show at Jack London Square. What a disappointment (at least for me). It was half the size of last year with big and expensive boats such as Carver, Navigator and Ocean Alexander dominating the show on the powerboat side. Of course no Bayliners or Meridians and Marine Max exhibited only two old and used boats. It was depressing talking to the brokers because even if they were smiling and saying that the business is great, it was obvious that not many people are buying nowadays.
Interesting was the new and beautiful and luxurious $1.2M Carver 50 Sport Coupe that, according to the dealer has already several people interested in getting one. Good for them.
Also always of interest was the line of Nordic Tugs with their traditional style.
Anyway there was nothing in my price range.
From the sailboats side, Hunter, Catalina and Beneteau were there in full force and trying to get business out of the high cost of fuel.
It would be interesting to hear other people's comments.
 
Thanks for the update. This is the first show we've missed in about 4 years. After the disappointment of the Spring show we decided not to bother with this one - it was pretty small too, although this one sounds worse. I'm not thinking things will improve for quite a while, but we'll probably still do the Winter show in Pleasanton.
 
I'm on the other coast, and I think that this will become a very popular theme as it pertains to the fall boat shows this year in particular.

The cash squeeze is being felt on all levels of the boat business and not just the brokerage end of it. I give the boat dealers a lot of credit for even putting in an appearance at the boat shows, but it's still pretty bad out there.
 
Our boat show added campers, RV's and such to it. Took away from the boating theme.
There also were no bigger boats brought in. Mostly fishing boats, deck boats and party barges.
 
I plan to attend the Newport (Lido Isle) boat show this weekend here in SoCal. Most everything is out of my price range. Searay usually dominates one entire dock. They bring in some big boats but they require a reservation to board. I'll be curious to see if the number of boats is down.
 
My friend who owns a Rinker dealership was there. Last Saturday he had two different couples come in to further explore purchasing a Rinker from him. Who knows what either will ultimately decide, but at least there is still business to be had out there. nibble, nibble, nibble......
 
As for boat shows, I gave up on Jack London a while back. Virgin America has some special promotional rates to Seattle right now, and I'm flying up this afternoon for a couple nights to visit the Lake Union boat show. I'll try to let folks know what I think.

As for poor boat sales, let's look at the silver lining in this cloud! There are so many boats seeking buyers out there that there should be some tremendous deals! Just about all of us are always looking to upgrade, and this should present some great opportunities! Go for it! (No, I'm not a dealer--I'm just looking at various boat models I haven't been aboard in case I hear about one for sale cheap--and I'm excited about it!)

[Forgive me, Dave, I know you're on the other side of this equation trying to sell your Tolly 44, but at least give me credit for trying to stir up interest and enthusiasm amongst possible buyers....]

BTG
 
BTG,
I know that there are tremendous deals to be made out there but it’s difficult to know what to offer. You don't want to insult the seller but, on the other side, you don't want to leave money on the table.
 
I'd jump at newer larger boat if I didn't have to try to sell mine. I don't want to be a two boat owner and I probably couldn't give it way in this market!
 
No offer should be an insult, just a starting point.

I am going to go by the show sometime in the next few days. I love looking at boats so I am hoping the crowd is light.
 
Went to Jack London Sq today (Sunday) and was very disappointed with the boat show. I guess it's a sign of tough times in the boating industry. They had only a small tent and almost zero vendors. There were some new boats in the water but not much in used boats. I'm starting to shop for a power boat and there wasn't much to look at.
 
We went on Saturday to the show here in SoCal. There were a couple hundred boats. The best deal I saw was for a 2008 Meridian 391SB for $296K. Loaded but has the 8.1 gas motors.
 
I went to Jack London on Sunday also. Got there early and there was really no one there. I just wanted to look at the boats so I enjoyed going through the new ones. There were some really great looking boats there. My son and I were pretty much the only ones on most of the boats we went on. There were a few more people there after around noon but still not too many. It was sad for the dealers not having many prospective buyers there. There were some really nice boats there and we had a good time. I was very disappointed at the number of vendors in the tent area also. I am generally an easy target for many of these vendors. I got out of there only spending $20 for a two year Delta Magazine supscription so it was a cheap day.
 
Oh, of course! I've been reading this for about 3-4 years now. I thought you were talking about something new!
 
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