Looking at used boats on Facebook Marketplace - Saw a Bryant boat pop up (1 Viewer)

[RCon]

Idly browsing used boats today on Facebook Marketplace. Not seriously in the market right now, as we intend to squeeze every bit of life out of the current boat and she's not done yet.

Anyway, I see a lot of Sea Rays, Mastercrafts, Rinkers, etc., but I actually came across a Bryant boat today. It's a good looking vessel for sure. Unfortunately, this particular boat is not destined for me, as it's bigger than the 21' limit at my lake (I'm an hour or so away from where the boat is now).

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[eoMMan]

No wood!

 

[Joe Bryant]

Nice! That was a fun part of my life.

I miss the people a great deal. Running a manufacturing plant with 80 or so people in rural East Tennessee was never boring. We could have made a sit com series some days. I love the blue collar salt of the earth folks and their complexities. So I miss that a ton.

But I don't miss the boat business. It's a challenge.

 

[eoMMan]

Nice! That was a fun part of my life.

I miss the people a great deal. Running a manufacturing plant with 80 or so people in rural East Tennessee was never boring. We could have made a sit com series some days. I love the blue collar salt of the earth folks and their complexities. So I miss that a ton.

But I don't miss the boat business. It's a challenge.

Several years ago when I worked in public accounting, I was part of an audit team that was working on a boat company that had different brands/styles. One company of theres made sailboats, one made yachts that were roughly 30 to 50 long, etc etc. It was really cool to see all that goes into making boats. This was all before 2009 and I think it all went under after 2009. I’m sure dropping a couple hundred thousand on a boat wasn’t on the mind of many people in 2009.

 

[RCon]

I’m sure dropping a couple hundred thousand on a boat wasn’t on the mind of many people in 2009.

The marina near me recently got a dealer contract for Malibu boats. They have a couple parked out front as display models. The fanciest one, admittedly a very nice 21' ski/wakesurf boat, has a sticker price of $215K.

Wakesurfing is very popular where I am these days. It does look pretty fun, but it would probably take more modifications to our boat to make that happen than the boat is worth.

 

[Joe Bryant]

I’m sure dropping a couple hundred thousand on a boat wasn’t on the mind of many people in 2009.

The marina near me recently got a dealer contract for Malibu boats. They have a couple parked out front as display models. The fanciest one, admittedly a very nice 21' ski/wakesurf boat, has a sticker price of $215K.

Wakesurfing is very popular where I am these days. It does look pretty fun, but it would probably take more modifications to our boat to make that happen than the boat is worth.

It's kind of ridiculous. We started to see some of that before I sold the company about 10 years ago. That much money for a 21 foot boat just seems wild. But I assume there's a market for it.

 

[RCon]

It's kind of ridiculous. We started to see some of that before I sold the company about 10 years ago. That much money for a 21 foot boat just seems wild. But I assume there's a market for it.

Must be, right? I looked it up online and the sticker price for the cheapest Malibu boat is $125K.

Hard for me to gauge what's actually in the water, as my long-distance vision is mediocre at best and I usually can't tell the difference between a $10K 20-year old used boat and a $100K+ newer boat. I'd bet Candlewood Lake, where the Bryant boat in the OP is docked, has tons of the super expensive boats. It's the "premiere" lake in CT and is surrounded by lakefront houses in the multiple millions.

 

[Ron Swanson]

Yeah, boat prices are nuts a the moment but a bit off their peak. I'm in center console country and live very close to where some top of the line boats are made (Boston Whaler, Edgewater, Everglades, Solace, etc.). 22' cc or bay boat is 75-100k easy right now. We have neighbors with 2-3 million Freeman, Yellowfin, HCB, etc. Granted these are 40+ foot very nice boats but still...

But when the markets crash they are the first to tumble with the RV guys and pool builders. Very boom or bust.

 

[MTskibum]

I am wanting to upsize boats, but will continue to save.

I will buy something 20+ years old that needs 20k+ work for 30k, I hope....

Boat prices need to fall a bit for that to happen, been waiting a few years at this point.

 

[Joe Bryant]

Very boom or bust.

Preach.

2008 saw sales drop 40% from the previous year. Lots of other folks had trouble too but that's a tough road to navigate.