Might be a new outboard manufacturer around the corner

**ADDvanced** · 06-16-2021, 10:38 PM

Originally Posted by Bodhi

Make it BIGGER, make it HUGE, make it weigh 1200lbs......these companies are out their freakin minds. All these huge motors are great if I owned a 57' center.
The only motor announcement that really grabbed my attention was CRT, then I heard a price. I'll stick to buying parts and old 2 strokes until this administration gets their "wet dream" of $7gal

Dude that is all that sells. There is no market for single engine outboard powered high perf stuff anymore. It does not sell.

It also got insanely expensive to the point where most young people today cannot afford cool boats anymore, and I don't know who to blame for that.

My sleekcraft aristocrat in 1979, was $3400, dealer cost, for an outboard model, not rigged. Rigged with a mercruiser 260, it was $8500.

Now, if I go to an inflation adjustment calculator, the costs change to $13k, outboard, or 32k, completely rigged with V8, sterndrive, nice interior, etc. I can't find any badass 20' tunnel hull v8 boats for sale today, brand new, for 30k. Can you?

It isn't the engine manufacturers, because it if was, I should still be able to find 18-20' hulls for $13k, brand new, out the door, full interior, ready to be rigged for an OB. Affordable performance boats do not exist anymore, partially because the middle class is getting squeezed, poverty is growing, and income inequality is growing. On top of that, the average age of a boat purchaser is also skyrocketing, and has been for quite some time.

With younger generations saddled with enourmous student loan debt (hey that's me! $650/month every month since 2010 yayyyy), the absolutely skyrocketing price of houses in the past 10 years, and stagnant wages, it results in basically only retired boomers having money, and no matter what the age group, most people in GENERAL are lame, and want something comfortable and quiet. The marine industry in general is just focusing on giant luxury performance, because nobody younger can afford anything cool anymore. They've been priced out so they just buy old cool pieces of **** and slowly rebuild them over a few months and get frustrated because tehy can't find coosa locally... oh wait that's me again.

Speak of wet dreams, you sure have a boner for turning everything into "hur de der it's biden's fault". Performance boats were not affordable to most people for the past few decades, bro. Income inequality is growing, average age increasing, and the net result is most of any of hte fast boats made today are aimed at people with 50+ year old spines and tiny bladders :P

**powerabout** · 06-17-2021, 07:42 AM

who to blame....
Nixon getting off the gold standard...eventually the result is middle class stands still.
Printing money has caused wealth to become detached from profit, which is what the employees got paid from.

**ADDvanced** · 06-17-2021, 10:45 AM

Probably. That and the 1% ****ing over the working class for short term profits. But yeah... the market builds what sells, and younger people who want faster exciting stuff don't have any money. So everything is catered to old people.

**Forkin' Crazy** · 06-17-2021, 11:10 AM

So everything is catered to old people.

You really have a chip on your shoulder. How old are these people? Some of the center consoles are north of $500,000.

You complain about cost, but don't understand inflation. With your man in charge, expect it to get much worse!

Check out all these old guys out... Oh.... wait..............

No single boats? Oh.... wait...............

**ADDvanced** · 06-17-2021, 11:37 AM

How old?

Sauce: https://www.tradeonlytoday.com/indus...uyer-age-drops

The pandemic caused a massive dip in average age, which is a promising sign, but other than that it's been above 50 for a while now. I'm not trying to be ageist, I am just stating facts man. You can post videos of random single engine high perf boats, and that's awesome, I love them, but they are not selling like other types of boats.

I see the sales numbers of most of the industry on a quarterly basis, man. The market caters to what sells.

That said.... I really wish a startup would take some old molds of SSTs and Daytonas and stuff and make them available for $13k, not rigged. Could you imagine?!