Statistical Surveys

Showing stubborn resilience, the total recreational powerboat industry finished 2023 with sales 0.7% higher than the previous year. For December, the main powerboat segments had overall sales of 3,789, which came up 5.5% short of 2022’s 4,011. In the year-over-year numbers, there were 155,109 new boats registered in the primary categories in 2023, a 6.2% shortcoming compared with 2022’s 165,320.

Looking at individual categories, three had positive sales numbers in December. Aluminum fishboats were up by 11.6% with 1,083 new units registered in the month, compared with 970 in 2022. That put the year-over-year numbers on the plus side as well, with 38,106 units sold in 2023, a 1.5% boost over 2022’s 37,546. Cruisers measuring 31 to 40 feet were up 4.8%, which means one more boat was sold in December 2023 than in 2022, 22 versus 21. Ski/wake returned to positive numbers with 230 registered in December, a 4.1% increase over 2022’s 221. Aluminum boats smaller than 16 feet also fared well, with 211 new units in December, an 11.6% jump over the previous year’s 189.

“I think overall trends are OK,” says Eric Wold, a senior analyst with B Riley Securities. “We expected things to be a little soft.”

Wold was referring to data provided by Statistical Surveys, a Michigan-based firm that compiled information from 31 states, representing about 67.18% of the U.S. recreational boating market.

In other main powerboat segments, pontoons saw 713 boats sold in December, an 11.3% drop from the previous year’s 804. Outboard-powered fiberglass boats from 11 to 50 feet were down 12.5% with 1,634 registered in the final month of 2023 compared with 1,867 in December 2022. Semicustom and custom yachts larger than 66 feet were down 22.2% with seven documented in December 2023 versus nine in 2022.

“The entry-level, credit-buyer boats are still tough,” Wold says. “There are buyers for the right price. People can be motivated to buy if the price is right.”

Electric boats took the biggest hit in December with 10 registered, a 64.3% drop from the previous year’s 28. Personal watercraft finished second-worst at 943 new units in December, a 48.5% drop-off from 1,830 in 2022.

Jetboats checked in at 101 new units for December, a 21.1% decrease from 2022’s 128. Sailboats saw 58 units registered for the month, a 9.4% decline from December 2022’s 64.

“We’re still early enough that boating isn’t on people’s minds yet,” Wold says. “I’m hopeful we’ll get positive results from the Miami boat show.”

Looking at overall registration numbers for 2023, there were 6,471 new units. Florida led the way with 2,147, followed by Texas at 650, Louisiana with 354, South Carolina at 346 and North Carolina at 296. 

This article was originally published in the March 2024 issue.