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Author Topic:   EVERGLADES Boat Product Line

frontier posted 08-07-2015 10:16 AM ET (US)
The Bob Dougherty designed classic Boston Whaler boats that we know and love were mostly in the 9-foot through 22-foot range. The current Everglades Boats by Dougherty are 23-foot through 45-foot. I wonder why no small boats in the Everglades line?

Peter posted 08-07-2015 10:35 AM ET (US)
Little or no profit margin.
jimh posted 08-07-2015 12:20 PM ET (US)
Yes, imagine how many 13-foot open skiff boats, just the boat and without any rigging or outboard engine profits, would have to be manufactured, shipped, and sold to bring as much profit as one $500,000 monster center console boat built-to-order as a semi-custom boat and sold fully rigged with engines, electronics, and all sorts of options like powered retracting canvas, electrically lowered windows, and so on. And, in today's world, it is apparently easier to find one buyer for a $500,000 boat than it is to find 500 buyers for a 13-foot boat.
frontier posted 08-07-2015 03:01 PM ET (US)
But people move up. Show quality in the small entry level stuff, and buyers may be sold on a product line for life. Buyers of a small Toyota Corolla may be a future buyer of a Toyota owned Lexus.
msirof2001 posted 08-07-2015 04:13 PM ET (US)
I think hard-core Whaler aficionados are aware of Dougherty's past experience and value. The goodwill stemming from that sits with Whaler's reputation. People associate Whaler's name with quality, unsinkability. Every other boat maker has to prove themselves. Whether they are better than Whaler or worse, they have to deal with Whaler's reputation. For Everglades, it would be the same. For the general public to have a general recognition that "the guy who made Whalers great is now with Everglades" you would have to do so much marketing, it would be cost prohibitive. You would have to factor that into pricing. It will already be the most expensive because of quality. For such a small boat, people may not care as much. Not sure how they would sell zillions of them. They are too small of a company to fight against a marketing machine with a ton of resources (Brunswick). For 20-40 foot center consoles, it is easier to explain to potential buyers this is the brains behind the good Whalers.
george nagy posted 08-08-2015 08:05 AM ET (US)
In today's economy there are fewer people moving up--they start up. There are many contributing factors, but the effects are obvious. Look around and you will see an awful lot of giant luxury sport utilities, enormous single family homes--those often not the main residences--and the size of boats has been super sized right along with the rest of the stuff. I have known two types of boater in my area: those who grew up with little Whaler, Wahoo, and Mako boats, and those who didn't grow up on the water in small boats but have bloated financially in the new economy. All of them have not purchases a new boat under 28-feet. There seems to be very little to no interest in small boats anymore.
Jefecinco posted 08-08-2015 10:09 AM ET (US)
I've been moving down, up, and down.
My first change was from a 24-foot SeaRay Sundancer I owned for 21 years to a Dauntless 16. The main reason for the change was our move from the Washington, D.C. area to the Mobile, Alabama area. Mobile offers a lot of boating space but is not well suited to powerboat cruising. Of course the Dauntless proved to be a bit small so the next move was to a 190 Montauk. A few years later we bought a Sport 13 primarily for use in the back waters of the Alabama coast and Little Lagoon in Gulf Shores. We now own two boats. As I age and find the Montauk more of a challenge to use and maintain it will be sold. Hopefully we'll keep and use the Sport 13 until I'm in the ground.
Butch

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Author	Topic: EVERGLADES Boat Product Line
frontier	posted 08-07-2015 10:16 AM ET (US) The Bob Dougherty designed classic Boston Whaler boats that we know and love were mostly in the 9-foot through 22-foot range. The current Everglades Boats by Dougherty are 23-foot through 45-foot. I wonder why no small boats in the Everglades line?
Peter	posted 08-07-2015 10:35 AM ET (US) Little or no profit margin.
jimh	posted 08-07-2015 12:20 PM ET (US) Yes, imagine how many 13-foot open skiff boats, just the boat and without any rigging or outboard engine profits, would have to be manufactured, shipped, and sold to bring as much profit as one $500,000 monster center console boat built-to-order as a semi-custom boat and sold fully rigged with engines, electronics, and all sorts of options like powered retracting canvas, electrically lowered windows, and so on. And, in today's world, it is apparently easier to find one buyer for a $500,000 boat than it is to find 500 buyers for a 13-foot boat.
frontier	posted 08-07-2015 03:01 PM ET (US) But people move up. Show quality in the small entry level stuff, and buyers may be sold on a product line for life. Buyers of a small Toyota Corolla may be a future buyer of a Toyota owned Lexus.
msirof2001	posted 08-07-2015 04:13 PM ET (US) I think hard-core Whaler aficionados are aware of Dougherty's past experience and value. The goodwill stemming from that sits with Whaler's reputation. People associate Whaler's name with quality, unsinkability. Every other boat maker has to prove themselves. Whether they are better than Whaler or worse, they have to deal with Whaler's reputation. For Everglades, it would be the same. For the general public to have a general recognition that "the guy who made Whalers great is now with Everglades" you would have to do so much marketing, it would be cost prohibitive. You would have to factor that into pricing. It will already be the most expensive because of quality. For such a small boat, people may not care as much. Not sure how they would sell zillions of them. They are too small of a company to fight against a marketing machine with a ton of resources (Brunswick). For 20-40 foot center consoles, it is easier to explain to potential buyers this is the brains behind the good Whalers.
george nagy	posted 08-08-2015 08:05 AM ET (US) In today's economy there are fewer people moving up--they start up. There are many contributing factors, but the effects are obvious. Look around and you will see an awful lot of giant luxury sport utilities, enormous single family homes--those often not the main residences--and the size of boats has been super sized right along with the rest of the stuff. I have known two types of boater in my area: those who grew up with little Whaler, Wahoo, and Mako boats, and those who didn't grow up on the water in small boats but have bloated financially in the new economy. All of them have not purchases a new boat under 28-feet. There seems to be very little to no interest in small boats anymore.
Jefecinco	posted 08-08-2015 10:09 AM ET (US) I've been moving down, up, and down. My first change was from a 24-foot SeaRay Sundancer I owned for 21 years to a Dauntless 16. The main reason for the change was our move from the Washington, D.C. area to the Mobile, Alabama area. Mobile offers a lot of boating space but is not well suited to powerboat cruising. Of course the Dauntless proved to be a bit small so the next move was to a 190 Montauk. A few years later we bought a Sport 13 primarily for use in the back waters of the Alabama coast and Little Lagoon in Gulf Shores. We now own two boats. As I age and find the Montauk more of a challenge to use and maintain it will be sold. Hopefully we'll keep and use the Sport 13 until I'm in the ground. Butch