Affordability a Major Issue in Boat Markets
July 31, 2026
Across multiple segments, boat buyers are signaling a desire for lower-cost options.
Across multiple segments, boat buyers are signaling a desire for lower-cost options.
An industry financier sees consumer demand linked to numerous questions about boat usage and costs.
“Marine continues to shrink in capacity and inventory, and continues to align closer to market demand,” says Northpoint Commercial Finance’s Russell Baqir.
The U.S. recreational boating industry achieved moderate gains in April.
Last year the recreational boating industry was celebrating its best March results since 2008 — sales gains of 21 percent in the main powerboat segments and 20 percent industrywide.
Driven by the three boat types that have been the industry’s strongest sellers since the last recession ended, recreational boatbuilders and dealers began 2017 with high single-digit January gains.
Lifted by Florida and Texas, the nation’s top two states for sales, the recreational boating industry achieved moderate growth in November that raised the year’s percentage sales gains to levels more in line with forecasts.
The industry recorded the highest sales for that quarter since 2008, just before the Great Recession.
The recreational marine industry’s 2016 story remains a page turner and it’s getting better.
Boat sales growth slowed sharply in the second quarter as strong June numbers were diluted by weak results in April and May.
Across multiple segments, boat buyers are signaling a desire for lower-cost options.
An industry financier sees consumer demand linked to numerous questions about boat usage and costs.
“Marine continues to shrink in capacity and inventory, and continues to align closer to market demand,” says Northpoint Commercial Finance’s Russell Baqir.
The U.S. recreational boating industry achieved moderate gains in April.
Last year the recreational boating industry was celebrating its best March results since 2008 — sales gains of 21 percent in the main powerboat segments and 20 percent industrywide.
Driven by the three boat types that have been the industry’s strongest sellers since the last recession ended, recreational boatbuilders and dealers began 2017 with high single-digit January gains.
Lifted by Florida and Texas, the nation’s top two states for sales, the recreational boating industry achieved moderate growth in November that raised the year’s percentage sales gains to levels more in line with forecasts.
The industry recorded the highest sales for that quarter since 2008, just before the Great Recession.
The recreational marine industry’s 2016 story remains a page turner and it’s getting better.
Boat sales growth slowed sharply in the second quarter as strong June numbers were diluted by weak results in April and May.
