Mobile Boat Show Musings

A conversation among Whalers
Masbama
Posts: 355
Joined: Thu Oct 15, 2015 8:33 pm
Location: Mobile, Al

Mobile Boat Show Musings

Postby Masbama » Sun Feb 10, 2019 6:32 pm

Made my annual trip to the Mobile Boat Show. A few observations:

Big is in. Most of the manufacturers brought their big boats, 25 to 40-feet long or longer, and there were a lot of them. One had five 400-HP Mercury engines on the transom, and it was a center console.

Boats are expensive. These boats, even from manufacturers I’ve never heard of, cost a lot more than most automobiles. It seems some people don’t mind a fifteen-year note.

People are buying, not looking. The place was packed. Every dealer I spoke with said they were selling a bunch of boats. The Whaler dealer I spoke with said they sold sixteen boats in less than a day and a half.

Boston Whaler has a strong lineup. They had both Supersports, the 170 (my favorite) and 190 Montauk and some larger boats. My focus is on the 20-foot-and-under Whaler so I asked the dealer if they are still making the 170 Dauntless. He said all he knows is that they sold their last one last year and do not plan on bringing any more in because the 170 Montauk is such a complete boat now that it’s bigger and has a lower price point than the Dauntless.

Outboard engines are getting bigger. the Yamaha 425-HP is huge. They also now offer Yamaha in black. Suzuki had a bigger presence than it did at previous shows. I did not see one Evinrude E-TEC.

jimh
Posts: 11670
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
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Re: Mobile Boat Show Musings

Postby jimh » Wed Feb 13, 2019 10:51 am

Thanks for the boat show report. That SUZUKI engines had a notable presence is interesting. They have not made inroads in the Great Lakes from what I see on transoms on the water. But I have always thought SUZUKI was an innovative brand and represented very good value.

I have not been to a boat show in many years. The last time I went to the Detroit Boat Show most of the boats on display were of no interest to me: pontoon boats, bass boats, aluminum multi-species boats, or $500,000 yachts.

At today's prices, even a 17-foot Montauk is getting expensive. I remember when the new 2002 170 MONTAUK was introduced at $17,665. Now that was 17 years ago, but even for that time the 170 MONTAUK was very good value and a boat many people could afford.

frontier
Posts: 203
Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2016 8:26 pm

Re: Mobile Boat Show Musings

Postby frontier » Wed Feb 13, 2019 4:19 pm

At Raleigh NC Boat Show last week : 2019 Boston Whaler 130 Super Sport - Boat Show price $19,424.00.