While the marinas hit choppy waters during the recession as disposable income dried up, boat sales saw a 10 percent rebound in 2012, the industry’s first sign of recovery, according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association. That was followed by an 8 percent increase in 2013. And the National Marine Manufacturers Association anticipates another 5 to 7 percent increase in new powerboat retail sales this year.
“Certainly there’s some pent up demand,” says Bruce Wright, general manager of Irwin Marine in Laconia, Alton and Litchfield. “People were more cautious with their discretionary spending but are feeling more comfortable with that. And you know some of our diehard boaters are finding that some of their boats are getting older and need to be replaced and updated.”
Marine owners and managers say the uptick is accompanied by a change in boater preferences, specifically more interest in pontoons—larger slower boats that can hold more people. Marines have also diversified to add boat rentals, used boat sales and valet service to prepare a boat for the summer season. Some have also been adding staff to meet the increased demand for services, including more boat storage and more slips being rented for the season.
Riding High
Winnisquam Marine in Belmont just hired two sales staff, two maintenance staff and are building a second showroom and expanding into the vacant fire house next door to create extra workshop space. And it is not alone in its success.
“As sales increase, service increases; most marinas are hiring additional people to handle the additional load,” says Ryan Crawford, president of the NH Marine Trades Association and also vice president of Winnisquam Marine. “I know that other marinas are trying to find help, I know things are up for them, and I know most of them are feeling up right now because cash flow is coming and that they’re feeling good about their business.” Business is up 50 percent from the recession.
Wright of Irwin Marine agrees. “We’re seeing a strong and steady improvement,” he says of pontoon and cruiser sales. “We out achieved the marketplace last year. So our sales were up about 20 percent last year.”
Still, it’s a different business than in the past. “It’s still not like it was in the old days, everything has tightened up, margins are lower. But for everyone that’s still here, they are feeling pretty good. It’s just a different way of doing business now,” Crawford says. He says a few small marinas have gone out of business, but the big ones are still around.
At Hampton River Marina in Hampton Beach, all 144 slips are rented for the season, something Manager Oscar Boreth says was not the case in previous years. “Boaters in the past four or five years have been accustomed to having their choice of slips everywhere on the Seacoast. That’s no longer the case anymore,” says Boreth. The marina also has a rack/valet system for 40 boats, which is also filled. “I assume this is a sign the economy is improving.” Boreth says boaters were choosing dry storage in recent years, which is cheaper than having it in a slip. “This is certainly an expensive sport,” he says.
His marina also rents space to Hampton Harbor Boatworks, which offers maintenance and repair and recently added boat sales.
A Slower Ride
Both Wright and Crawford say their customers and their preferences have changed. Crawford says that means both a change in business—fewer powerboat sales and more pontoon boat sales—and diversification to additional services. “Most marinas that never carried pontoon boats before are now carrying pontoon lines,” Crawford says. “I tell people it’s like a living room on the water. It’s very social, it holds more people. They don’t care about maybe going as fast, granted some of them do go very fast … generally speaking it’s a fairly well-priced, high-value boat that you can bring some friends and family out on. There’s room and it’s comfortable. People just want to go out and relax.” Prices vary, but powerboats generally average about $50,000 while pontoon boats average $30,000.
Wright had actually stopped carrying pontoon boats and is now reentering that market. Pontoon boats now account for 12 percent of his business. “As things started to open up, we saw that as an evolving sector with opportunities in it, so we entered and we aligned with a good brand. And we have been very successful.”
Crawford adds that since people still don’t have as much disposable income, the money they do have, they want to spread that out as much as they can.
“So when they look at that money and they think, I can go to Disney for a week or I can go on vacation for a week, or I can buy a boat and I can use that all summer long, people are going to gravitate towards boats, at least the families I see coming through are,” Crawford says.
Wright says he’s also seen his cruiser business pick up. “The cruiser market may be related to a population shift to who’s buying,” Wright says. “And that’s typically a boat that’s in the 24- to 37-foot range, that has live aboard capabilities. People like to spend weekends and their vacation time on the boat.”
Marinas have also been diversifying to build business. Wright added rentals in the last few years, while others added dry storage or new boat sales offerings. Still other marinas, including Wright’s, started offering valet services, which is where a boat is stored and then taken out of storage and launched for the owner’s use.
“I think a lot of it is marinas have spread out more in terms of what they offer,” Crawford says. “A lot of marinas that didn’t have rental boats now have rental boats. You look at just the different services that are offered: valet and slips and types of boats that you sell, a lot of businesses are trying to diversify their offerings so that you can get a little bit from everything. You just try to balance everything out.”
Current Issue - May 2024