Peter Mellon: Our sense of the Wooden boat market overall is that we are very encouraged by the influx of first time buyers. They all seem to share one thing in common which is a connection in their past to a wooden boat. Whether it was a family member who owned a wooden boat, a neighbor on a lake who took a young child out for a ride or just the allure and beauty of seeing a wooden boat glide effortlessly across a body of water.
All of our buyers at some point in the buying process will regale us with a story like this which are all eerily reminiscent. These people all have been deeply affected by an experience with a wooden boat and it has made a deep and profound impression upon them. As such they present themselves looking to buy a boat in an effort to reconnect to this early experience and to capture something from their past.
Lou Rauh: The demographics of our business is predominately men having been born prior to 1960. These are the people who not only have some disposable income, but also remember the antique/classic boats from their childhood. They remember their next door neighbor’s father who had one of these beautiful boats. We are seeing some of the younger folks being interested and purchasing some of the early fiberglass boats.
The antique/classic boat hobby very much copies the antique/classic car hobby in who is purchasing, and what they are purchasing. In my opinion, there are two general classifications of antique/classic boat owners:
1. Collectors – These folks are similar to classic car collectors, generally men who are not impacted by the slowdown in the economy.
2. Users – These folks generally have only one boat and they use it. They are generally much more impacted by the current economy.
We think that the first group will start being more active as the stock market stops its slide, and begins to show some growth. In some cases, some of these people are buying “investment quality” boats in place of CDs that are only paying 2.5%. The “users group” is definitely being reticent about buying boats. Our customers are usually cash buyers.
Capt. Jim Shotwell: While initially we thought the largest part of our market would be families with children, it turned out to be professionals and retirees with the baby-boomers just starting to pick up momentum.
F. Todd Warner: We have observed that our customers tend to become able to buy their boats right around the age of 50, and tend to sell them around the age of 80. As baby-boomers age, there are fewer and fewer people who remember the boats when they were new, but thanks to the active vintage boat community, there are plenty of opportunities for younger people to “get hooked.”
Jay Leno has commented that there will always be people interested in the best technology and style of each era, regardless of their personal interaction with the cars when new. We feel this is true with boats, as well, and we see it among our customers. We feel the value proposition in all classic boats from $15,000 to $5 million is better than ever.
For the first time boater, the cost of entry is reasonable and, maintained properly, a vintage boat will hold its value over time. If you invest in a classic and maintain it, you are, in fact, protecting yourself from depreciation downside. Moreover, the care and nurturing of a classic boat counters the trend of disposability in our society. We embrace this philosophy.
Chris Schmaltz: We are happy to see some shifting to a younger owner demographic. Of course there has been some influence because of a rise in popularity in the early production fiberglass boats, as the people who were influenced by these boats in their youth are now able to pursue these as collectibles. There also seems to be a movement in the presentation and awareness in the materials, clubs, and related venues, to a younger, more informed market base.
There are now web searchable databases for information, parts, owner groups, blogs, all things that will propel the hobby forward for the next generation. These things did not exist as little as five years ago. Look at this publication as a prime example. We feel as this exposure continues to increase and grow, it will have a positive effect in the industry.
All of our buyers at some point in the buying process will regale us with a story like this which are all eerily reminiscent. These people all have been deeply affected by an experience with a wooden boat and it has made a deep and profound impression upon them. As such they present themselves looking to buy a boat in an effort to reconnect to this early experience and to capture something from their past.
Lou Rauh: The demographics of our business is predominately men having been born prior to 1960. These are the people who not only have some disposable income, but also remember the antique/classic boats from their childhood. They remember their next door neighbor’s father who had one of these beautiful boats. We are seeing some of the younger folks being interested and purchasing some of the early fiberglass boats.
The antique/classic boat hobby very much copies the antique/classic car hobby in who is purchasing, and what they are purchasing. In my opinion, there are two general classifications of antique/classic boat owners:
1. Collectors – These folks are similar to classic car collectors, generally men who are not impacted by the slowdown in the economy.
2. Users – These folks generally have only one boat and they use it. They are generally much more impacted by the current economy.
We think that the first group will start being more active as the stock market stops its slide, and begins to show some growth. In some cases, some of these people are buying “investment quality” boats in place of CDs that are only paying 2.5%. The “users group” is definitely being reticent about buying boats. Our customers are usually cash buyers.
Capt. Jim Shotwell: While initially we thought the largest part of our market would be families with children, it turned out to be professionals and retirees with the baby-boomers just starting to pick up momentum.
F. Todd Warner: We have observed that our customers tend to become able to buy their boats right around the age of 50, and tend to sell them around the age of 80. As baby-boomers age, there are fewer and fewer people who remember the boats when they were new, but thanks to the active vintage boat community, there are plenty of opportunities for younger people to “get hooked.”
Jay Leno has commented that there will always be people interested in the best technology and style of each era, regardless of their personal interaction with the cars when new. We feel this is true with boats, as well, and we see it among our customers. We feel the value proposition in all classic boats from $15,000 to $5 million is better than ever.
For the first time boater, the cost of entry is reasonable and, maintained properly, a vintage boat will hold its value over time. If you invest in a classic and maintain it, you are, in fact, protecting yourself from depreciation downside. Moreover, the care and nurturing of a classic boat counters the trend of disposability in our society. We embrace this philosophy.
Chris Schmaltz: We are happy to see some shifting to a younger owner demographic. Of course there has been some influence because of a rise in popularity in the early production fiberglass boats, as the people who were influenced by these boats in their youth are now able to pursue these as collectibles. There also seems to be a movement in the presentation and awareness in the materials, clubs, and related venues, to a younger, more informed market base.
There are now web searchable databases for information, parts, owner groups, blogs, all things that will propel the hobby forward for the next generation. These things did not exist as little as five years ago. Look at this publication as a prime example. We feel as this exposure continues to increase and grow, it will have a positive effect in the industry.
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