On Mon, 15 Nov 2004 07:47:33 -0500, Eisboch
wrote:

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On Mon, 15 Nov 2004 06:59:48 -0500, DSK wrote:

~~ snippage ~~


There's a *lot* of boats out there for sale, assuming your wife doesn't
have her heart totally set on this one.


You got that right.

I was down at my marina yesterday morning and the sales guy there was
telling me that he's had more calls in the past month from folks
trying to sell their boats than he's had in twenty years of being in
the business. (month for month that is - it kind of sounded weird).
:)

On Yachtworld.com there are 119 Contenders all over the freakin' place
being sold.

Two years ago, it was less than 20.

I think it has a lot to do with a sluggish economy and general negative
feelings of world events. Uncertainty causes many to pull back into
their shells.

I agree with you. I filled up my Ranger yesterday in preparation for
a bay run later this week and it cost almost double what it did last
year at the same time. At my marina, the ops manager keeps his fuel
at cost for his customers, even so, it would have been exactly double
what I paid last year.

On the brighter side, in the past 60 days or so there has been a major
up tick in boat sales, according to two boat dealers that I know. Prior
to this positive swing, both dealers said they had been through a year
or more of seriously depressed business.

A few of the guys I've talked to have sold boats, but at or slightly
below their cost (including floor planning costs, etc) - no profit.
One guy still has a boat (priced right too - no big time profit) that
was the boat which won the '97 Bassmaster classic - ok, the boat
didn't win it, but you get the idea. The deck lids were autographed
by F.L. Woods, the guy (Hibbdon?) who won it - really loaded with
"stuff" - can't sell it. Tons of people come to look at it, can't
sell it.

My former company (now run by my oldest son) also has been through a 2-3
year struggle with reduced orders for capital equipment. Many requests
for proposals had been received, but very few contracts had been awarded
to any of the competing suppliers. Within the past month however,
equipment orders have risen significantly along with requests to
re-quote equipment requirements that had been put on the back burner for
a year or more.

When I ran the company we virtually had no customers outside of the US.
Now, their growing backlog is split about 50/50 between US companies and
orders from Japan, China and Europe. BTW, this is a very specialized
equipment with maybe 6 major US suppliers and 5 or 6 dominant suppliers
split between Japan and Europe. I suspect the value of the dollar
dropping against the Euro is helping sales to a large degree as well as
a general feeling of growing confidence in the customer base.

I've seen this cycle over and over again in the past 30 years.

At our age we've seen it all more than once. :)

Does that make us sages, wizened old wizards, Elders or just grumpy
old men? :)

Later,

Tom