Correct Craft today

In 1989 I bought a Supra Sunsport the list price was $32000 I payed $23000. In 2009 I bought a loaded 08 210 and payed less than $60000.
Looking at the increase in cost of cars,houses,travel and other items I don't think CC is that far out of line. After you get over sticker shock and compare what you get for the money its a better value than a Hummer, Corvette or Jaguar. I know I can keep my CC for the next 10 years and still have a good resale. I have spent 6-10k a year on snow ski trips over the past 10 years with no resale. When you factor in the enjoyment received the cost payed in well worth the price.    

Like some others of you, I'm in business myself (construction oriented) and currently in a "survival" mode.

Thankfully Im NOT in a recreational-driven one. I always thought how cool it would be to work, sell, and play with "toys" all day! Not anymore.

We are slow enough, but at least people do need a place to live ...

How could ANY type of RV manufacturer/dealer even begin to figure out what to make in the last few years? Remember $4 gas last summer? Man, we thought, if gas would drop back under 3 bucks, it would all be good. Well, here we are flirting with $2 fuel - less than a year later...cheap interest rates,and STILL nothing moving... AND yet,most items I buy seem rediculously overpriced.

I do think construction will come back. Im not sure however, who of the "toy" manufacturers will be able to tough it out? I hope CC is one.


"Quality, Price, Service" , You cant have all three...which TWO do you want?

Hollywood wrote: 81nautique wrote: If I owned a dealership right now I would have a few boats, slalom, crossover and a wake boat at every lake, river, pond each weekend and offer free rides, pulls or whatever to every single person dumping another brand of boat in the water. Test drive one of these boats, fell the rails it rides on, feel the power, play with perfect pass and you will hook a lot of people. Eric Koehler at Chicago MasterCraft has basically done this. He's slightly preaching to the choir, irregardlessly though that 197 is screaming all over Lake and McHenry county. Alan, you met him and LaurelLakeSkier on Lake Elizabeth. The water was a mess but he docked right up with a handful of Correct Crafts. It would take me a significant amount of time to count the number of new MCs on just our 3 local lakes. The MCs have taken over the past 3 years.

And didn't he do the same thing for you guys at Quinner's lake the year before, seems to me we should have had a CC out there pulling us around all day but the "go to" guy is a MC dealer???

Just seems too simple to me, get people behind the wheel and let the boat do the talking.

Riley wrote: They haven't been marketed for years in Maine, other than the promo boat at the INT stop.

Exactly my point Bruce, the folks going to the INT tourneys already know all about Nautiques, They're preaching to the choir!!

I still say I'd set up a popup tent at a different boat ramp every weekend and hand out some nice cold bottled water, brochures and sign people up for test drives and pulls. A tank of gas a day and a salesman on commission, that's a heck of a lot cheaper than the cost of a boat show. Sure beats sitting around the showroom waiting for customers to come to you.

backfoot100 wrote: Seems everybody here is concerned that CC isn't targeting the first time boat buyer. I just can't see CC or anybody else in the ski boat industry targeting the first time buyer. I would bet that there are very, very few first time boat buyers that go plunk down 60+K on a new CC.

This statement got me thinking about how I bought my first inboard. I bought a 16' outboard for about $2500 when I was 18. First boat, had lots of fun, bought a beat up Connelly Hook slalom and had a ball. I took a friend of mine out with us one day and he invited my brother and I out to ski with them the following week.

Little did I know we would be on a little pond with a jump, a slalom course and a brand new 1982 mastercraft powerslot. We watched a couple of guys run through the course at 32off and hit the jump a few times, these were regional competitors and very impressive. I got dragged around behind the boat a few times and then was allowed to drive it. I was hooked and bought that exact boat 2 days later. (1982 promo with one summer for $9200, those were the days). Promo programs are great but why are these boats only showing up to pull tournaments and not giving the average Joe a pull or a test drive. I don't feel the promos are reaching far enough and I would look at changing that program to educate a wider audience.

My point is I agree with Eddie, a first time buyer isn't going to buy a Correct Craft or probably any inboard because they're just not aware of what's out there. If I hadn't been introduced to the sport and inboards by a couple of enthusiasts I might still be driving the outboard and scuba diving.

If I owned a dealership right now I would have a few boats, slalom, crossover and a wake boat at every lake, river, pond each weekend and offer free rides, pulls or whatever to every single person dumping another brand of boat in the water. Test drive one of these boats, fell the rails it rides on, feel the power, play with perfect pass and you will hook a lot of people.

I would also promote referals from my current customers, give the best PR people in the world (current owners) a reason to help me sell boats. Have them bring someone in for a test drive and offer $500 worth of service or gear from the pro shop, etc, if the referal buys a boat. This is free advertsing and it only costs you if you sell a boat, no brainer, get out and work your product.

Dropping the price or building an entry level boat is useless if your not getting it in the hands of the prospect, thats an unneccessary expense when they already have what they need. Promote, promote , promote, don't crawl into a shell and be afraid to spend some time out on the water and sell your product, you don't sell boats in the showroom, they sell themselves out on the water.

Every single comment on this thread says it's the best boat built so why change or sacrifice that reputation, if you get the outboard/sterndrive guy behind the wheel of one of these machines he'll get a chubby that won't quit until the boat's sitting in his garage.

Nautiquehunter wrote: With the exception of calling a Bayliner a POS I agree with everything you said Eddie.

Would agree with you. Bayliner, not my favorite brand, and no one's arguing they are high quality boats. Still, I see a lot of older bayliners on the water, and the folks driving them seem to be having fun. I'd much rather see a person or family in a 10K Bayliner they can afford, than in a 70K wakeboard boat they cannot.

BKH

Well said everyone - In the meantime we can help CC by keeping our boats in great shape & making the other brands jealous.

Well whatever they do, hopefully, they'll weather the storm. I'd say right now is a good time to buy a new Nautique. They're going to give a good discount to make the sale and the guys at the factory aren't hurried to put stuff out.

bkhallpass wrote: 220nautique wrote: I was on the internet looking at different cc dealers used boats. I ran across this on the california correct craft website. I thinks it sums up CC's declining sales. I read in a business journal that lots of companies are not doing anything about their declining sales calling it tough times when in fact sales are declining for other reasons. Why would you buy a nautique if a CC dealer is telling you to buy a Centurion? Blowing out Centurions Below Dealer Cost! Posted April 18th, 2008 by manager There has never been a better time to buy a new Centurion. California Correct Craft has 16 remaining 2007 Avalanche�s, Enzo�s, Typhoon�s, Elite�s and Warriors at BELOW DEALER COST. Centurion boats with trailer, cover and everything you�ll need start at $27,900 plus tax and licensing. I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!!! So a Correct Craft dealer sells other brands. Big Deal. Larson Marine and Central Valley are two of the largest CC dealers in the US. Larson sells Calabria and MB Sport, Central Valley sells Sanger. Who cares. California CC sells Centurions. Clearly they have too many in stock and they are blowing them out at allegedly below cost. Again, big deal. How is that an indictment, or even a statement about CC? BKH

Good points Brian,

I have to agree with you. Seems everybody here is concerned that CC isn't targeting the first time boat buyer. I just can't see CC or anybody else in the ski boat industry targeting the first time buyer. I would bet that there are very, very few first time boat buyers that go plunk down 60+K on a new CC. There are probably very, very few first time boat buyers that would spend 30K on a brand new "stripped" version of a CC. The first time boat buyer is gonna buy that POS Bayliner (yes, they are really POS boats). The last boat show that I was at had brand new Bayliners priced at 10K! Brand new! There is nobody in the ski boat industry that can compete with that. CC, Bu, MC, MB, Moomba, Gekko, NOBODY!

The point I'm trying to make is that first time boat buyers will generally not be buying these boats. Even the stripped versions. People like us will get them turned on to these boats and then the boats sell themselves when the time comes. Those are the buyers that CC is targeting. Those are the buyers that MC, Bu and all the other tournamnet ski boat manufacturers are targeting. Dealers selling these other boats are getting the first time buyers in the door to get the business. When the buyer really learns what their families want to get out of a boat is when they'll upgrade. Then they'll remember that dealer and return. Families that have been blessed enough to be raised with these boats already know the value and they don't have to be taught.

It's people like us that help to get the message out to the unknowing or the uneducated. I've helped convert at least a few people to the benefits of owning a high quality inboard. It's converted numerous people into "new" used CC owners. Will that help to sell brand new boats? I know that my experiences didn't do that, but the seed is planted and they can plant the seed in others and sooner or later, a new boat gets sold.

It's ironic that the quality that everybody harps about here is exactly the thing that sells these boats but at the same time the thing that makes them so expensive. High quality parts, high quality materials and a high quality labor force for a high quality company. You can have it all or have none. There is no in between. Face it. You talk about making them cheaper but retaining the quality. That's an oxymoron! You can't do that without compromising the quality and as soon as you compromise quality, the company will get buried by the competition. It's been proven that the stripped version does not sell either otherwise everybody would be selling the stripped version instead of the full optioned model. It's already been stated that very few of us would probably go buy a brand new CC even if the funds were available. We just like the classics, the sound and the coolness of an old boat as well as the quality. How many people are looking for a "cheap" wakeboard boat in a mid 80's 2001? How many would go buy a good used boat before a brand new one? The quality is there but the cost isn't. We know and understand the quality aspect but we also have to understand that we're not the target buyers either. The problem is that most new tournament boat buyers have to be upper income or upper-middle class at the very least.

The tournament ski boat industry is fast becoming the sport of kings. Hell, the skiing industry as a whole is fast becoming the sport of kings. I would love to get a new high end slalom ski but I just can't afford to spend $1000-$1500 for a ski. Are you kiddin' me? A new barefoot rope costs $100 for Christ's sake. A new handle is $75 and sometimes more. $175 for a freakin' rope and handle? What's wrong with that picture? You can get cheaper less quality equipment but it just don't last.

It's no different than the boat that pulls you. You want the best, it'll cost you. You want cheaper, less quality, theres a lot available for that market share. You can't compare apples and oranges or the target audience for each.

Excuse me, I need to go play the lottery. I need a new barefoot suit. Maybe if I hit the big one, I'll buy a new CC that'll match my suit!

220nautique wrote: I was on the internet looking at different cc dealers used boats. I ran across this on the california correct craft website. I thinks it sums up CC's declining sales. I read in a business journal that lots of companies are not doing anything about their declining sales calling it tough times when in fact sales are declining for other reasons. Why would you buy a nautique if a CC dealer is telling you to buy a Centurion? Blowing out Centurions Below Dealer Cost! Posted April 18th, 2008 by manager There has never been a better time to buy a new Centurion. California Correct Craft has 16 remaining 2007 Avalanche�s, Enzo�s, Typhoon�s, Elite�s and Warriors at BELOW DEALER COST. Centurion boats with trailer, cover and everything you�ll need start at $27,900 plus tax and licensing. I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!!!

So a Correct Craft dealer sells other brands. Big Deal. Larson Marine and Central Valley are two of the largest CC dealers in the US. Larson sells Calabria and MB Sport, Central Valley sells Sanger. Who cares.

California CC sells Centurions. Clearly they have too many in stock and they are blowing them out at allegedly below cost. Again, big deal. How is that an indictment, or even a statement about CC?

BKH

   They aren't telling you to buy a Centurion over a CorrectCraft, they are just telling you it's a good time to buy a Centurion. You can't blame the dealer for trying to get himself out of a jam, but this is exactly why manufacturers do not like multi line dealers.   

Conflict of interest.

Personally,I don't think Centurion can be compared on the same level as CC.


   Mike

   

   

Unpleasantly. I had to remove the coaming pads to be able to get to the 20 some odd nuts that attach the seat to the gunnels. The quality of the fiberglass,gel, hardware, upolstery is all top notch, but what got me was the holes they put in the gunnels for the seat and coaming pads were not nice, normal drill holes. They were really crude, like they had been punched through. They were really ugly. All I could think was if I'd known they were going to do it like that, I would have told them not to install them and I would have done the installation. That and there was tons of fiberglass debris everywhere behind the scenes. Seems like they could have had some 16 yo go through the boat with a vacuum before they put it together. For you guys that like to bust the dealer's b*lls at the boat shows, try reaching into the crannies and you'll probably be able to pull outall kinds of stuff.

"they are close enough in qaulity to sway buyers, unless you dig in and see the differences"

That's my impression. There all top quality. There's no noticable difference. You got to work on them and take them apart to see if there are any differences. I took the back seat out of my Sportster a few years ago (3 hour job) and was surprised at what I found. I haven't work on a new CC or MC, so I don't know how they compare.

220
Now that you brought up this point I have to agree with you. I an not a first time buyer
and because of my experience I took time to
thoroughly check out the different boats. Looking back I can definitely see that both MC
and BU market their boats better. I think that
CC knows it has the best boats and assumes that everybody else knows that also. It would be easy to rush into a BU or MC listening to
what the salesman tells you. Because of
the high quality of the boats be happy with the decision and never know what separates CC from the others.