First for a comment on my dealership when in business. I stocked the entire Hunter line and Precison line. Included I stocked every Catalina up thru the 38 as well as a couple of other lines. My inventory of new sailboats at the time was the largest display of new boats in the country if not worldwide until I started to wind down and retire. Even sold Beneteau but when going to North Carolina I was not permitted to be a dealer anymore as the Charleston SC dealer representing NC had no dealerships in NC but that changed quickly.
Speaking with other former dealers and manufacturers, sailing in smaller sailboats has waned in recent years and with new trailerables costing over $50 K, that is a lot for any middleclass family as their 401K and other financials have gone down with a very shrunken middle class in the country in the past 10 years. Who knows what the future will hold as the economy starts to pick up with tax cuts for the manufacturers with increase in pay and jobs coming back.
As for the 260, if you ever splashed one, the deck and hull would have to be changed out so not to infringe on rights and call it something else. The cost of planning, designing and building new molds is expensive as it would take about 200 boats to sell to make it work for any new model but for a splashed hull that is changed, the numbers needed to break even would be a lot lower. However, I do not have the funds and with age, I do not have the desire to do that.
Speaking with other former dealers and manufacturers, sailing in smaller sailboats has waned in recent years and with new trailerables costing over $50 K, that is a lot for any middleclass family as their 401K and other financials have gone down with a very shrunken middle class in the country in the past 10 years. Who knows what the future will hold as the economy starts to pick up with tax cuts for the manufacturers with increase in pay and jobs coming back.
As for the 260, if you ever splashed one, the deck and hull would have to be changed out so not to infringe on rights and call it something else. The cost of planning, designing and building new molds is expensive as it would take about 200 boats to sell to make it work for any new model but for a splashed hull that is changed, the numbers needed to break even would be a lot lower. However, I do not have the funds and with age, I do not have the desire to do that.