reported sailboat manufacturing plant closures??

Bosman · Mar 23, 2016

Jackdaw said:
When my parents bought their sailboat in the 70's (28 foot Ericson) they re-arranged their entire life priorities to make it happen. We ATE differently to accelerate gathering the down payment. Very few young families would do that now. Way too much other things to distract and spend money on.

I needed partial loan to purchase my S27 back in 2005, the needed budget was found by one simple change in my life - finally got an excellent motivation to quit smoking. In the end, it was a double-sided win for me: the boat and much healthier lifestyle.

Kings Gambit · Mar 23, 2016

Jackdaw said:
This is the truth of the situation.. For the most part the relative cost of new boats has actually gotten better. What HAS changed is a depression in true middle-class incomes, and a change in priorities.

When my parents bought their sailboat in the 70's (28 foot Ericson) they re-arranged their entire life priorities to make it happen. We ATE differently to accelerate gathering the down payment. Very few young families would do that now. Way too much other things to distract and spend money on.

When I heard a lot people say that they can't afford it, it often means that don't want it bad enough. No problem with that, but let's call it what it (often) is.

I can hardly imagine young parents today telling even their adolescent kids that they cannot have that $$ i-phone w/the $$ per month support plan b/c daddy wants to buy a new sailboat in a couple of years and join a yacht club

Hey, I still own the one new car I ever bought which was in 1987. I'm certainly the only guy I know who owns a sailboat newer than his car! (Although, I 'm sure there must be others.)

Although, we have to admit that the exceedingly low interest rates and generally low gasoline prices and low inflation of the past two decades has compensated immensely the lack of income growth over that same period. Obviously, money you do not spend there could be diverted toward some kind of hard-asset purchase.

kito · Mar 23, 2016

The deal is, young couples now days need 2 incomes so they can afford paying for child care and that 5K square foot house that they really don't need. They have to hire a maid to come in and clean the darn thing too. The priority today is getting the biggest house 2 incomes can afford and then let Dad buy his 30 year old sailboat.

Kings Gambit · Mar 23, 2016

kito said:
The deal is, young couples now days need 2 incomes so they can afford paying for child care and that 5K square foot house that they really don't need. They have to hire a maid to come in and clean the darn thing too. The priority today is getting the biggest house 2 incomes can afford and then let Dad buy his 30 year old sailboat.

Yeah, and many of those dads are now evidently living on their 30 year old sailboats.

gettinthere · Mar 23, 2016

Besides having the income, there are other factors at play.

As the market shrinks, economy of scale disappears.

EPA and OSHA and healthcare, etc etc have driven up the cost to build. Especially dealing with the solvents.

All the gadgets run the price up. Who sells a simple boat anymore? Especially over 30 ft?

Shrinking dock space and storage and increases in maintenence drive up ownership cost

Scott T-Bird · Mar 23, 2016

Jackdaw said:
Very few young families would do that now. Way too much other things to distract and spend money on.

When I heard a lot people say that they can't afford it, it often means that don't want it bad enough. No problem with that, but let's call it what it (often) is.

I'm often amazed at the number of young middle-class families that take a 7-day vacation to Disney World EVERY YEAR for spring break or summer vacation. It seems they can't get enough of the place. They spend about $1,000 per day, not including air fare. The same people would not be able to describe a sailboat.
When my kids were really young, we happened to take a trip to Florida to see my mom one year. We spent one day at Disney World. As far as I'm concerned (and basically as far as my kids are concerned) it was a "been there, done that" event.

Kings Gambit · Mar 23, 2016

Scott T-Bird said:
I'm often amazed at the number of young middle-class families that take a 7-day vacation to Disney World EVERY YEAR for spring break or summer vacation. It seems they can't get enough of the place. They spend about $1,000 per day, not including air fare. The same people would not be able to describe a sailboat.
When my kids were really young, we happened to take a trip to Florida to see my mom one year. We spent one day at Disney World. As far as I'm concerned (and basically as far as my kids are concerned) it was a "been there, done that" event.

Yeah-- people who support a huge yearly expense to be able to sail out on the ocean and anchor in a spot with one or two other boats probably would not find it fun to stand in line for 45-60 min with hundreds of parents and their kids for a 2-5 min thrill ride and pay big bucks to do so. I lived in St. Pete for 11 years and basically saw the development of Disney World. Friends who visited and wished to go there went w/o us. Same for Key West. However, I was willing to take them to the space center and the National Seashore if they didn't care to spend the weekend on the boat with us!

Brian S · Mar 23, 2016

Jackdaw said:
OK I need another boat like I need another hole in my head, but if I DID.... I'd be on my way with a $8K check to buy this beauty. It's a baby BlueJ. The same hull as the new First 20 with a backstayed rig.

http://eastnc.craigslist.org/boa/5472903796.html

Damn your eyes, Jackdaw! If I had a truck and no car payment, I'd take vacation days and start driving!

Meriachee · Mar 23, 2016

Brian S said:
Damn your eyes, Jackdaw! If I had a truck and no car payment, I'd take vacation days and start driving

Tempting, but that's about 47,000 Cdn this week.

Jackdaw · Mar 23, 2016

BigEasy said:
Interesting comment that someone posted earlier about the Chinese entering the market. If the demand is there, internationally, I wouldn't be surprised to see them get into the boat manufacturing business. The certainly have the smarts, technology, and workforce to clone popular sailboat designs. They could dominate the business if so inclined.

Already happening. Fareast 28R. Totally modern sportboat at about 1/2 the price of a Farr 28 or a C&C 30. They have sold over 200 of them in the last 18 months, and it is the latest ISAF certified One Design. My new winter ride.

Jackdaw · Mar 23, 2016

Brian S said:
Damn your eyes, Jackdaw! If I had a truck and no car payment, I'd take vacation days and start driving!

All in a days work...... ;^)

Gunni · Mar 24, 2016

A number of builders were having their boats built in China until the Chinese yards raised their prices...and the trade moved to Thailand and Vietnam. Lot of man-hours in building a boat. Hard work.

Phil Herring · Mar 24, 2016

Gunni said:
A number of builders were having their boats built in China until the Chinese yards raised their prices...and the trade moved to Thailand and Vietnam. Lot of man-hours in building a boat. Hard work.

It's also an awkward sized item to ship. I'll bet the one shown above slides right into a container.

Jackdaw · Mar 24, 2016

Phil Herring said:
It's also an awkward sized item to ship. I'll bet the one shown above slides right into a container.

Indeed, but takes some clever packing to get a boat with 9 feet of beam into a container that is 7'8" wide inside!

The common practice is to put the boat on an angled packing sled, and install the stanchions on arrival. Boats of this type are designed from the ground up to fit into containers; its a primary design criteria. Video showing it..

The moral of the story??

If you are designing and building a boat that could possibly fit into a container, you have to expect competition to arrive in one.

jsalley · Mar 24, 2016

Jackdaw said:
Indeed, but takes some clever packing to get a boat with 9 feet of beam into a container that is 7'8" wide inside! The common practice is to put the boat on an angled packing sled, and install the stanchions on arrival. Boats of this type are designed from the ground up to fit into containers; its a primary design criteria. Video showing it.. YouTube Video

There's a series of photos on Catalina's Facebook pages showing a new 275 being loaded into a container for shipment to Australia. Same idea as the Fareast in the video - the entire hull is on an angled cradle.

Meriachee · Mar 24, 2016

We have a number of boats on the lake that exhibit the sailing characteristics of a floating container.

Piotr · Mar 30, 2016

gentlemen, please visit IP web site. I do not remember when it was updated, but it states that they are reorganizing their production line after merger with Seaward and still buiild boats on order, so maybe the story of their demise is premature...

ifmdalvey · Mar 31, 2016

The doors are locked, the phones are not being answered, Island Packet as we know it no longer exists. There are reported to be on going discussions with a possible buyer, this has been on going for nearly 3 weeks with no announcement from the management. It does not look good for IP and Seaward is the innocent bystander.

Jackdaw · Mar 31, 2016

I had heard that workers are back at the facility finishing boats in process, and could in theory continue on if new Hake, BlueJacket or IP orders came in. So breathing but on life support.

In many ways they are a lot like Sabre; decent boats without a market. Only dff is the Sabre had a line of motorboat to more than pick up the slack.

reported sailboat manufacturing plant closures??

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