PHOTO COURTESY GARMINAs recent years go, 2024 didn’t come with the stress levels of 2020, but it also wasn’t what a lot of people in the boating industry had hoped it would be. Inflation and interest rates remained too high for many consumers’ comfort. Powerful storms again battered prime boating locations. Mudslinging in the nation’s politics reached levels previously reserved for factory-scale pigpens.
All of it combined for a slump in boat sales, layoffs and company struggles. The hope heading into 2025 is that we’ll start to see far more good news — which, if you missed it, also happened in the past year. Here’s a look at some of the biggest news from the past 12 months.
Economic Challenges
A Gallup poll released about a month before the November election found that voters’ concerns about the economy were the highest they’ve been since October 2008 and the Great Recession. Americans feeling the pinch in their pocketbooks ranked the economy as most important among 22 issues —
more important than democracy, terrorism, immigration, health care and abortion.
Wells Fargo reported that two-thirds of Americans cut back on spending, still able to pay their bills but with little left for “extras.” Given that boats are often considered one of those extras, the industry saw depressed new-boat sales — at the same time the post-pandemic bubble appeared to burst, socking the used-boat market, too.
Historically, about four in 10 first-time buyers sell their boats and leave the marketplace within five years; 2024 was year four since the pandemic began. Data from Boats Group — which owns YachtWorld, Boats.com, Boat Trader and other platforms — showed a 40% year-over-year spike in preowned boats hitting the market when they were just a year old. The combined result was a wave of slumping revenues and layoffs.
As just a few examples, Twin Vee PowerCats reported a 47% decrease in second-quarter, year-over-year sales, with declining consumer demand leading to what the company called “right-size” labor-force moves. Johnson Outdoors cited lower consumer demand for outdoor recreation products when it reported an 8% decline in third-quarter net sales. OneWater Marine’s third-quarter report was a year-over-year decrease of 8.7%; same-store sales were down 8%, new-boat revenue decreased 10.4%, and preowned-boat income declined 4.1%.
At Brunswick Corp., Mercury Marine announced a layoff of nearly 300 people at its headquarters in Fond du Lac, Wis., with additional adjustments to operations in Wisconsin; St. Cloud, Fla.; and Juarez, Mexico — all because of softening consumer demand and reductions in production at numerous boatbuilders, the company stated.
Vision Marine put out a call for additional funding to continue operations at its E-Motion powertrain business. Taiga, a Canadian manufacturer of electric personal watercraft, similarly announced a need for additional financing.
Nimbus Group shuttered two factories in Finland due to decreased demand. Bass Pro Shops cited a “very challenging” economic environment and “slowing consumer demand” when it reduced its aluminum-boat workforce by approximately 10%.
The “current economic environment is very challenging for many sectors of the economy, including automotive, powersports and agriculture,” Bass Pro Shops stated in a press release. “Inflationary pressures coupled with a dramatic increase in interest rates are contributing to a downturn in the economy, creating stiff headwinds in the recreational boating industry.”
Refit and Repair
Some companies leaned into the economic challenges by offering new services for the refit and repair of boats and engines — along with new options for the tradespeople who do that type of work. Northern Marine opened a refit division for boats in the 50- to 80-foot range, offering structural repairs, systems upgrades, repowers and more at its headquarters in Anacortes, Wash.
PHOTO COURTESY NORTHERN MARINEIn Italy, Apreamare’s team had a similar idea, opening a refit center to service Apreamare models. Rolls-Royce Power Systems opened a remanufacturing and overhaul center at its MTU campus in Aiken, S.C., bringing formerly outsourced workshop and warehouse operations in-house and expanding them to provide remanufacturing and overhaul of MTU Series 2000, 4000 and Detroit Diesel 2-cycle engines and components, plus internal and external rework services.
West Marine placed a new focus on the Pro segment of its business with the launch of the first West Marine Pro brick-and-mortar store south of Chicago. The location targets professionals who want things like bulk parts with same-day delivery to refit and repair yards. “The company is shifting to be Pro-led,” CEO Chuck Rubin told Soundings Trade Only. “Think about it like a Home Depot. We’re not getting rid of the consumer whatsoever, but as boats get more complicated, we do believe there’s a shift among customers from do-it-yourself to do-it-for-me. The Pro customer needs to have greater focus from West Marine than we have provided in the past.”
Future Bets
A highly visible sign of good news for the industry came from Suntex, which announced the reopening of the famed Las Olas Marina in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Construction took two years, making Las Olas one of the biggest marinas in the country for megayachts and superyachts — and a prime location for the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show.
There also were brand expansions. Korea-based Avikus opened a U.S. headquarters at Lauderdale Marine Center in Fort Lauderdale, serving as the North America hub for NeuBoat autonomous navigation solutions. Italian builder Cantiere del Pardo also opened an office in Fort Lauderdale, to represent the Pardo, VanDutch and Grand Soleil brands.
In Greece, RIB builder Technohull expanded a production facility that it opened in 2021, bringing the campus to a total of 70 acres, with covered manufacturing that now spans more than 270,000 square feet. U.S.-based Roswell Marine opened a factory-direct distribution center in the Netherlands and established a Roswell Europe division. Crest Marine, a subsidiary of MasterCraft Boat Holdings, announced the high-end Balise Pontoon Boats brand with plans for two models: the Horizon and Helix, both available in 24- and 26-foot versions.
Island Global Yachting announced that it is developing IGY Savannah Harbor Marina in Georgia, in partnership with Savannah Harbor Partners. The new facility is expected to be completed in spring 2025 with 100 slips and more than 1,000 linear feet for superyachts. Farther north, One River Development, a company started by SureShade founders Dana and Ron Russikoff, acquired 6 acres on the Delaware River waterfront in northeast Philadelphia to develop a full-service marina and entertainment complex. Completion of the first phase is expected by spring of 2026.
Media and Events
Informa Markets made several moves, including its South Florida Ventures division acquiring the Newport International Boat Show. The purchase added to the roster of boat shows that South Florida Ventures owns or produces, including the Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, St. Petersburg and Suncoast (Sarasota) shows. Andrew Doole, president of U.S. boat shows for South Florida Ventures, says plans are to physically grow the Newport show, add a brokerage section, and bring general operations like ticketing into alignment with other shows.
Metstrade organizer RAI Amsterdam acquired The Superyacht Forum conference that has been held in Amsterdam for more than 30 years. Superyacht Group chairman Martin Redmayne was expected to serve as a consultant going forward.
PHOTO COURTESY INFORMAIn the marine-media segment, Informa purchased Boat International Media, whose brands include Boat International, International Boating Industry and Dockwalk. Boat International Media also owns the data provider Boat Pro and organizes such events as the World Superyacht Awards and the Superyacht Design Festival. Blue Communications acquired the U.K.-based Saltwater Stone public-relations agency, moving Blue into the recreational and superyacht sectors. Saltwater clients include Peters and May, Kongsberg Maritime and ACR.
Government Action
In Washington, D.C., wrangling continued over the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s plans to impose speed restrictions along the Eastern Seaboard in an effort to protect the North Atlantic right whale. The U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources advanced a bill — with strong support from the National Marine Manufacturers Association — that would establish a grant program prioritizing technology to protect whales.
“This legislation represents a critical step forward in preventing NOAA’s flawed vessel-speed rule from going into effect, and identifies bipartisan, viable alternatives to solve a complex conservation issue,” says NMMA president and CEO Frank Hugelmeyer. “We urge Congress to move this bill through the legislative process to protect U.S. boaters, American jobs and marine life.”
In addition, NOAA Fisheries provided $6 million in Inflation Reduction Act funding to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to support development of technologies that minimize vessel strikes with whales. “The recreational boating industry has long been urging NOAA to accelerate the analysis of currently available technologies as an alternative and measurable approach to reducing vessel-strike risk for recreational boats, and we’re glad to see NOAA finally making use of Inflation Reduction Act funding toward this effort,” Hugelmeyer said.
Also in Washington, NMMA called on the Biden administration to reinstate expired exclusions and to reopen the exclusion process for products from China impacted by Section 301 tariffs, which involve more than 300 components, materials and parts used in marine manufacturing. To help industry stakeholders keep track of those and other issues, the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas launched a legislative tracker for state and federal legislation. “We’re thrilled to be able to give MRAA members a clearer view into the day-to-day work that MRAA’s advocacy team does to support our members and the industry overall,” director of government relations Mike Sayre stated in a press release.
Courtroom Battles
Another business battlefield emerged this year after a federal jury held the National Association of Realtors, along with two brokerage firms, liable for $1.8 billion in damages for conspiring to keep commissions artificially high. Following that verdict, a similar lawsuit was filed in the marine industry.
Ya Mon Expeditions alleged that a boat-sale listing agreement included a
non-negotiable 10% commission. The lawsuit contended that the buyer’s broker and the seller’s broker were both with the same company, resulting in the 10% commission being pocketed by a single firm. “But for the conspiracy among the defendants, YME would not have been forced to pay an inflated broker commission.”
The upshot, boat brokers said, is that brokers will likely need to pitch buyers on the value of their services going forward. In the real-estate market, there was talk of changing regulations to let buyers roll a broker’s commission into the mortgage terms.
Also in the courts, Malibu Boats was served with a lawsuit from dealer Tommy’s Boats, which alleged that Malibu and then-CEO Jack Springer “engaged in an elaborate scheme to overmanufacture and pump nearly $100 million of its highest-priced, highest-margin, slow-moving inventory” into 15 Tommy’s dealerships “to artificially inflate Malibu’s sales performance, artificially claim increased market share in the industry, and artificially inflate its stock value during an obvious downturn in the recreational powerboat industry.”
Malibu entered into a settlement agreement with the Chapter 11 trustee for Tommy’s later in the year, with news reports that Malibu agreed to pay $3.5 million in cash to the debtors’ estate. “The company has strategically reduced production in fiscal year 2024 to normalize channel inventory and plans to introduce new models across all brands in fiscal year 2025,” according to Investing.com.
NOAA PHOTOMonster Storms
Historically powerful, brutally destructive storms continued to hammer some of the most popular U.S. boating locations, not only causing widespread damage to boats and facilities, but also raising fears about continuing challenges for marine-related insurance.
On Sept. 26, Hurricane Helene became the strongest hurricane on record to strike Florida’s Big Bend, the deadliest hurricane of the Atlantic season since Maria in 2017, and the deadliest U.S. mainland strike since Katrina in 2005. It made landfall with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph and created states of emergency across Florida and Georgia. Flooding was catastrophic in North Carolina and as far north as Virginia. Nearly 230 people were reported missing or dead.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said damages from Helene could reach a record $53 billion in that state alone. Some marina owners faced with rebuilding costs said that even with insurance coverage for some of the damage, interest rates on small-business loans made them hesitant to borrow.
“We lost several of our slip customers’ boats, and they all basically detached and started flowing down the river,” Dan Kelly, owner of Lake Hickory Pub and Marina, told a Fox News affiliate in North Carolina. “It’s in the process of rebuilding the docks, getting those docks set in place, going back, and making sure we can hopefully recapture the slip customers that we had before.”
People were still trying to clean up debris from Hurricane Helene when Hurricane Milton made landfall on Florida’s west coast less than two weeks later — the strongest tropical cyclone in the world for the entire year. More than 40 people were reported missing or dead, with damage estimates greater than $85 billion. About 6 million Floridians were ordered to evacuate, in one of the largest such orders since Hurricane Irma in 2017. More than 3 million people were without power.
As of late October, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was still determining how many boats were wrecked overall, and where they ultimately landed. The agency announced that 17 additional officers, along with three derelict vessel specialists, had been dispatched across the state.
“When hurricanes Helene and Milton swept the state, wind and storm surges displaced hundreds of vessels,” the agency stated in a press release. “Some were pushed ashore, some damaged in marinas and private docks, others relocated but still afloat, and some partially or fully sunken.” The agency was asking for the public’s help in reporting derelict vessels, since some owners still had no idea where their own boats were.
Environmental Efforts
With researchers continuing to say climate change is making storms more powerful, the marine industry pushed forward with efforts to decarbonize and invest in eco-friendly technologies. Generally speaking, industry leaders are following research by the International Council of Marine Industry Associations that says there’s not going to be a one-size-fits-all solution, and companies should pursue multiple pathways to decarbonization.
One of those paths is sustainable fuels, where NMMA made a big leap with a pilot program. The association partnered with Suzuki Marine, Hyperfuels and LyondellBasell to give boaters access to sustainable fuel at St. Andrews Marina in Panama City, Fla. The fuel can be used with existing engines and reduces carbon emissions by up to 30% without modifications to boats. The program also marks the first marina in Florida to offer a high-performance, ethanol-free, sustainable marine fuel.
“These sustainable marine fuels have been optimized specifically for use in recreational boats, which provide many benefits to the boating consumer, such as higher performance, higher octane, more stable storage without phase separation, and reduced carbon emissions,” Jeff Wasil, senior director of environmental, health and safety compliance for the NMMA, stated in a press release.
Yamaha took a big leap with a prototype for the first hydrogen-powered outboard for recreational boats. Hydrogen has more energy density than batteries and gasoline, and produces 142 megajoules of energy per kilogram compared with 1.8 per kilogram in a lithium battery. The challenge is storing and delivering the hydrogen.
VOLVO PENTA IMAGEYamaha worked with Roush on a fuel system for an engine that looks like the Yamaha XTO 450, then installed the prototype on a modified Regulator 26XO center console that carries three tanks. Each tank holds the hydrogen equivalent of 25 gallons of gasoline, but the tanks are built differently than typical fuel tanks. They are Type-4 pressure vessels, made of carbon fiber with an inner liner to store hydrogen at a measurement equivalent to 10,000 PSI. “In the future, as we design boats, if this proves what we think it will, it could be very possible that we are designing hulls around these hydrogen fuel tanks,” said Joan Maxwell, president of Regulator Marine.
Yet more eco-friendly news came from Swedish electric-boat builder X-Shore, which signed a deal for its largest order to date: 32 boats that will be headed to M Yachts showrooms in Germany, Austria and Switzerland by the end of 2025. Volvo Penta announced a diesel-electric hybrid propulsion system that pairs D13 IPS systems with a 160-kW electric motor and optimized batteries. Depending on the drive mode, the system automatically controls which power source — electric, diesel or both — propels the boat. Delivery of the package is scheduled for the end of 2025.
Also looking ahead, Mack Boring & Parts Co. named Christopher Ponnwitz chief commercial officer of its newly formed Mack Sustainable Energy division. He’s being tasked with expanding the electric marine market, particularly with the ePropulsion product line. Temo, the French manufacturer of electric outboards for sailboats and dinghies, created Temo USA in Portland, Maine, to expand into the North American market.
Tech Advancements
Garmin dominated technology news early this year with the introduction of the flagship GPSMap 9000 multifunction displays. These are the marine industry’s first 4K displays, with faster processors, higher-resolution and sizes from 19 to 27 inches. The size and screen resolution mean boaters can split the display into multiple areas, each showing different information. For example, with a 24-inch display, a boater might see a chart view, radar scope, sonar and gauges, each in its own quadrant.
Also in the technology department, Starlink became the fastest-growing service in the history of KVH, which has been in business since 1982. The satellite communications technology carries a comparatively affordable price. “I think that Starlink has democratized satellite communications for boaters,” Chris Watson, KVH’s vice president of marketing and communications, told Soundings Trade Only.
To quantify the pace of Starlink sales, Watson says that in the 2000s, KVH launched its own VSAT service with the KVH TracPhone. At the peak, there were about 7,200 subscribers built up steadily over years. By comparison, KVH became a Starlink airtime reseller at the end of 2023, and it took just six months to activate more than 1,000 terminals, adding KVH’s own data plans and customer support to Starlink’s existing features.
Still more forward-thinking technology is in the works with companies such as Lookout, which combines data from charts, AIS, radar targets and online sources into a 3D, augmented-reality view. Lookout also uses data from NMEA-compatible sensors and integrates with multifunction displays from Garmin, Furuno, Raymarine and Simrad, as well as smartphones.
“We believe that information should be painted directly on the world,” Lookout CEO David Rose told Soundings Trade Only. “Rather than holding up a phone, you will see information like a hologram, or the names of things, or how to get around a city or a hospital. Apple calls this spatial computing.” The Lookout team says its goal is to make this kind of information as typical on boats as backup cameras are on autos.
Mergers and Acquisitions
There was a fair bit of activity in the mergers-and-acquisitions space. One big mover was Italian megayacht builder Sanlorenzo, which purchased 60% of Finnish sailboat builder Nautor Swan, with plans to complete the full acquisition by the end of April 2028. Production is expected to remain in Finland. Sanlorenzo also acquired a 95% share of Simpson Marine, which has represented Sanlorenzo in Asia since 2015 and is a leading yacht sales and service company throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
U.S.-based Outer Reef Yachts announced a strategic merger with Lynx Yachts to form a Netherlands division, followed quickly by the announcement of a steel-hull Outer Reef Yachts Adventure 780 that’s already under construction, with plans to launch in February 2025. Iconic builder Huckins Yachts also announced new ownership — New England’s Bristol Marine — with that deal expected to close around press time for this issue of Soundings Trade Only.
In the sportfishing segment, Release Boatworks acquired Florida-based custom builder Gamefisherman. New Jersey-based Release will continue to offer semicustom fishing boats, with the two brands sharing the same naval architect, Erwin Gerards.
Sailors learned that North Technology Group acquired Doyle Sails and Quantum Sails, with plans to operate each company independently, retaining their brand identities and competing for market share. North Technology Group, founded in 1957, also includes North Sails and Southern Spars.
Twin Disc acquired Katsa, a Finnish manufacturer of power transmission and gearbox components, in an all-cash transaction valued at $23 million. The idea is to broaden Twin Disc’s global reach while adding products in the industrial, marine and hybrid/electrification space. Also notable was the merger between Twin Vee PowerCats and electric-boat manufacturer Forza X1. The plan was to make Forza a wholly owned subsidiary of Twin Vee, creating new efficiencies and driving down costs.
