Brunswick to sell SeaRay Line

Wonder who will pick them up and if it will result in more power options for buyers of new Sea Ray boats going forward, or if Brunswick will attempt to structure a deal that keeps the Mercury/Mercruiser brands on Sea Ray boats.
 
Makes sense. The margins are in center consoles with outboard power. Cruisers with stern drives is not as profitable, in fact slim. Larger and more powerful outboards is driving the shift.
 
Searay went in such a wrong direction with design. Hopefully new owner invests and rights the ship...

Rob
 
quote:
Originally posted by Robski97

Searay went in such a wrong direction with design. Hopefully new owner invests and rights the ship...

Rob

Click to expand...


I agree!
 
I think they need to get more creative with pricing.
No one wants to pay half a million for a 36’ Boat knowing they will lose $200k in the first 5 years.
You pay too much for the Searay name.
 
I was talking with the editor of Yachting magazine. He was saying the marine industry thinks they are going to have a problem going forward with customers. The millennial generation wants to experience everything but not own anything. They are wondering how to cater to that mentality.
 
I read a few months ago that 'very high end' and 'very low end' new boats were selling well, with middle market boat sales not good in the US market. This trend was putting big pressure on the used boat market with significant depreciation lowering prices significantly across the board - the 50% depreciation number mentioned earler in this thread is very real after just a few years and goes to 75% quickly. The good news is there are some great deals nationwide on very nice used boats.

The bad news is that MANY boats sold at the boat show are sold with 15-20 year financing terms and no money down! So a $100k boat purchased 3 years ago now carries a balance still of $95k with payments monthly of of $965! And the boat is resell-able today for $50k-$70k. Ouch. And this will only get worse by year 5 of ownership.
 
Boats have become way too expensive to buy and to operate. Dockage, insurance, maintenance etc makes it a very expensive to own

When it comes to the mid size boats, which is mostly what sea ray sells, you end up spending half a million dollars for a barely 40 footer which is still no much more comfortable than a camper. Half a million dollars buys you a nice vacation home, or two, which will appreciate and not depreciate. The depreciation costs more than than a couple of really nice vacations in exotic places. It s tough sell. And the buyers who can afford that half a million dollar toy are not going to want to spend a lot of time in a cramped cave.

Then to make things worst for the industry, fiberglass boats last 20, 30 years or more. As a result the inventory of used boats for sale is boating industry worst competitor...
 
I think the future of recreational boating is with clubs like Freedom Boat Club. I know there are pros and cons, and it's not for me yet, but for a lota people, it makes sense.

Roy
 
The Freedom Boat Club (aka SeaRay rent a boat) is going gangbusters on Lake Lanier. My kids up in Baltimore bought into a club as well. What HappyKamper said is spot on.
 
We do a lot of business with Freedom Boat club. There may be regional differences but their most popular boats are center and dual consoles and their boats are in the 22-24' size range.

Def not what SR produces.
 
I know someone who does the Freedom boat thing and have no desire to be on a boat anywhere near where he operates a boat. I think you all are spot on and I hope it weeds out the non boaters so we who enjoying boats for what they are can get back to boating. I agree the new boating trends are mid 20's, outboards, bowriders.
 
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