New Slalom Tugs at the Show

We went to the Boston boat show last Saturday..  No slalom boats.  They had a Paragon that was on sale for $380k.  My son spoke with a loan guy about buying it.  $80k down and $2100/month for 20 years.  I saw a nice center console for $210k.  Sign said 10% down and $1200/month.  Did not say how many years.  If we have a serious downturn, there's going to be a lot of used boats on the market.  Don't know when that might happen.  High interest rates don't seem to be impacting anything much around here. 

Hansel wrote: There is another hypothesis I favor, that cuts against some of the stuff I said earlier. It can be summed up in a phrase many of us have probably heard or said ourselves, "They ain't making any more shoreline." Of course, this isn't strictly true since new dams do generate a LOT more shoreline. But my guess is that most places that could have a large dam with a lake behind them already do. So we can safely assume that there is a relatively fixed supply of this part of the equation. On the other hand, we are making more people. A LOT more people. Just since I was born (closing in on 40) there are 100 MILLION more people in the US; a 40% increase from ~235M to ~331M. On top of that, wage gains have been highly unequal since the 80s meaning that while the lower 80% or so of the population have about the same wealth (adjusted for inflation) the top 20% have reaped nearly all the gains in economic growth. So we've got a LOT more people a good portion of which have a LOT more money all clamoring for other things like waterfront property they "ain't making more of"; neighborhoods, ski slopes, prestigious colleges, etc. I think the "law" of supply and demand accounts for much/most of the inflation in the cost of those goods and services I mentioned, along with many many others. Since we've already crossed well into the $125k+ for a ski tug range now, I'd say under "Business As Usual" (e.g., no major and prolonged economic crash) we've got no more than 10 years before that number doubles to $250k (~7%+ price change per year, which seems conservative). And under BAU the top model wakeboard boats should hit $1M no later than ~2045, though my guess would be something more like 15 years from now.

Coming from someone who makes decent money, I would never be able to afford these prices nor would I want to spend that kind of money on a boat. More power to those who can afford them. My guess is I’m not the demographic these manufactures are after. It’s like someone said earlier they are marketing to the customers that want the newest and shiniest and the price isn’t much of a concern. I look at the new touch screen dashes and all the electronics and I just see something that would have to be repaired at the dealer adding to the cost of ownership diminishing the appeal to me. I have 3 young boys and wanted to introduce them to water sports so I picked up a 1980 Ski Nautique, have about $11,000 into it now and it will serve our purpose perfectly for a long time to come. This boat being less than 19’6” means it fits into my garage, also reducing the cost of ownerhsip as I don’t have to pay for indoor storage which in my area is at least $250/month. I guess I’m just grateful that CC made these boats so well that they are still a viable option 43 years later. I’m also thankful for this community of CC owners and fans as you guys are a large part(in my eyes) why a lot of these boats are still on the water. I know I came back here time and again for information, tips, reference etc. while I was working on my boat. Water sports shouldn’t be for the super rich and it doesn’t have to be if you’re willing to do the work and rehab these quality old boats. But I know that’s not for everyone as well…😕

Last year, my wife (a.k.a. the Supreme Commander) gave me the approval to order a new Ski Nautique 200 from the factory.  I thought about it for less than 1 second.  No.

Jonny Quest wrote: Last year, my wife (a.k.a. the Supreme Commander) gave me the approval to order a new Ski Nautique 200 from the factory.  I thought about it for less than 1 second.  No. Did I want it?  Sure.  Did I need it?  No.  Would I ski better behind it as compared to my 2001 SNOB with TSC1 hull?  Doubtful.  Would it enhance my on-the-water enjoyment?  Yes.  But, not $100,000+ worth of extra enjoyment. I'll be keeping "Miss March" for years to come.   Now the concept of a warmed-up & stroked SBF making 400 ponies may get my attention... JQ

I was at the Rancho Cordova CA Nautique Dealer last week.  They had 5 Paragon's on the lot.  This was just days after the Sacramento Boat show so maybe they were only there for the show.  Very large beautiful boat.   I was pulling my buddy's Cobalt 273 and parked right next to the Paragon.   The 27' Cobalt looked small next to it.  They have a massive indoor storage facility at this dealership and my buddy is storing his boat there.

I will try to do that.   Bob is a great guy, helped me a ton when we were rookie Nautique owners back in 1982, we did some skiing and bare footing back then.   Before we both had children.