Behind the Buoy

Richard Schwartz Publisher Emeritus
Michael G. Sciulla Editor & Publisher



January 2008

Now that the holiday gift-giving season is over, it's time to take stock of what you got and begin to think about your nautical needs for the coming year. Behind the scenes, the marine industry is taking stock, too, in the face of declining boat sales and usage.

It's no secret that recreational boat unit sales peaked in 1989, that $4-per-gallon fuel prices are keeping a lot more boats at the dock and in the backyard and that the rising demand for waterfront property has diminished access to some of our waterways.

All of these factors plus a host of other causes, including the explosive growth in the hours we all spend with our digital devices, personal computers and the Internet-have combined to reduce the amount of free time many have to recreate on a boat.

Unlike the proverbial ostrich, the marine industry has not buried its head in the sand. Starting about 10 years ago, the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) launched an effort to grow boating by convincing engine manufacturers to contribute to a fund to promote boating to a wider audience. That's a step in the right direction.

More recently, realizing that prospective boat buyers wanted greater product quality assurance, the NMMA has sought to raise the bar on boatbuilders by requiring that all NMMA members build their boats to a much more comprehensive standard than required by federal regulations. For a full comparison, see the list on page 1.

But one industry leader, West Marine founder Randy Repass, believes that the industry needs to make a greater effort to take the hassles out of boating and make it more fun for those of us who already have the boating bug.

In a mid-November speech before the Marine Equipment Trade Show in Amsterdam, Repass called on the industry to build better-quality products. He also called for more product innovation, saying that "navigation and onboard entertainment systems would make boating more attractive to time-starved, fuel-conscious consumers."

Repass's remarks echo a "white paper" written by engineer and research consultant Gary Polson nearly 10 years ago. In "Product Innovation: The Key to Growth in the Boating Industry," Polson argued that the boating industry has matured, is now in a recession and that the best way for it to grow is through the introduction of innovative new products. His entire article at www.rbbi.com/white/growth/growth.htm#intro is worth reading.

Polson points to the development of SUVs which helped spur the automobile industry during the late 1990s; the electronics industry which has mushroomed thanks to all kinds of digital devices and flat screen TVs; the shoe industry which has ridden the wave of athletic shoes for years; "Cosmic Bowling" which has given the bowling industry a boost just as oversized tennis rackets and golf clubs have breathed new life into tennis and golf.

One could argue that the last great innovation in recreational boating was the development of the "jet-ski" which morphed into the three-seat personal watercraft in the 1990s and led to the sale of 200,000 of these watercraft at their peak of popularity.

In short, innovative products become successful in large part because they solve problems. Two of the biggest problems facing recreational boating today are the high cost of fuel and the limited amount of time that people have to devote to any one form of recreation.

While it is true that today's four-stroke engines are considerably more fuel efficient than the two-strokes of old, this innovation has not reversed the industry's fortunes. It just takes too many years to amortize the higher cost of these engines.

Something must be done not only to reduce the cost of propelling a boat, but also of the boat itself, if the industry ever expects to grow boating. An excellent editorial by Roger Jones in the January 2008 issue of Professional BoatBuilder magazine (www.proboat.com) on the importance of existing boaters and used boats should be required reading for industry leaders.

Likewise, the amount of time it takes to maintain a boat in relation to the amount of time it is actually used is a fact of life that cannot be ignored. How long can a boat sit in a slip unused before its owners decide to do something else? Isn't it time for all segments of the marine industry to embrace fractional ownership or some form of time-sharing to make it much easier for more Americans to enjoy the pleasures of boating and our waterways?

As the New Year begins we think it's time for the marine industry to take a serious look at the future. No one wants to see recreational boating revert to those days of yesteryear when only the few could enjoy what recreational boating has to offer and the rule of thumb was that if you had to ask how much it cost, it wasn't for you.

© Copyright BoatUS Magazine