Skipper’s Corner -Why Boat Prices Are Through the Roof

Pricing out a new boat? Suffering from sticker price? Is your dream boat now out of reach and you are now using your neighbors ancient rotted wooden Verity skiff? Join the club! At the last boat show I attended there was a free oxygen booth and attendant medical team for those who felt woozy or fainted after seeing the prices.

There are many causes for these radical rises in boat prices. The average boat cost of $45,000 in 2020 has more than DOUBLED and now registers in a $91,000 with the equal or less accruements. In percentages that’s a 102% rise in four years. I need a whiff of oxygen. When you see the comparison, it hits you as “This can’t be right! It is! This writer is a nut! That is true, but it still doesn’t change the facts. Of course, there are some boatbuilders doing their best to try to keep their boats as reasonable as possible but in most cases it is extremely difficult with marginal success. What is the reason for these extraordinary prices? Let us review what the causes are.

A) Demand – Covid had a major impact on prices. Everything was closed down. People who never had boats before figured this would be a great way to get their families out in the fresh air without exposing themselves to the rampant disease. Inventories of boats began to move quickly. Based on the profit motive, the opportunity to make a score in profit was taken by many boatbuilders. You can’t blame them. Excessive demand always causes prices to rise. Have you bought a nice steak recently, then you understand!

B) Tariffs – Many of the parts accessory that are used in the production of pleasure boats were hit hard by the tariffs, impulsively imposed on goods from many countries that make parts that used to be made in our country. Everything from stainless steel screws, anchors, chain, running lights, etc. took an enormous hit which, regardless of what the President claims, boaters pay for. What he never could grasp was that tariffs would be passed on to the consumer. He should have paid more attention in his economics class in school. Most of our pleasure boats are made of fiber glass and composite materials.
They come from Malaysia, China, and Bahrain. Tariffs and shipping costs have hit the boating industry here also. We no longer all make these products. A great example is the vinyl seats and cushions on boats. It has outpaced inflation in the first four months of this year by an incredible 14-18%! Extrapolate that out for three more quarters and we will have to start covering new boat seats with used burlap potato sacks.

C) Technology – Every year technology for every aspect of our lives is advanced. This includes for boating. GPS, fish finders, radar, high tech engines – all the toys and whistles we want on our boats, have risen sky high to pay for all the R&D required to produce these items.

D) Labor – The labor to physically make these boats depended heavily on the immigrant community. This has been severely restrained of late and substitute labor is much more expensive if it can be obtained at all.
These are just some of the dynamics that are inflating the prices of new boat. There are others like the transport to market, cost of borrowed money by the builder to finance his operation, and since the price of boats has doubled, so have the taxes on that boat. I look at it this way. Without a boat, life is just not worth living! I’ll do anything to keep boating. I recently sold my home, disowned my grandchildren and live under a tarp in a 1975 Boston Whaler in Garbage Cove! I think the Whaler cost $700 in 1975 – great boat. Does anyone have an engine I can buy for $50?
See you at Garbage Cove-Bring food.

Captain Eddy Smith (Retired)