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Old 12-26-2015, 09:06 AM   #93
devorenm
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City: Toledo
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 86
Quote:
Originally Posted by BandB View Post
I don't think the industry has. That's why there are so many Sea Rays, Chaparrals, Four Winns, Scouts, Everglades, Whalers. Those are the boats that they can build for the weekend family cruiser. That cruiser doesn't want a trawler to start with as they don't have the time for the lack of speed. Sea Ray 260 Sundancer $75k-100k. Sea Ray 280 Sundancer $110k-140k. Sea Ray 310 Sundancer $150k-175k. That's exactly who those boats target. Now, they're still out of the range of a large part of the young couples starting families so they get a 21' runabout for the price of a car.

Trawlers were never the starter boat for young people. Here are all the boats I owned before 2012 and my move to Florida. 17' Sea Ray Bowrider. Comparable boat, say an 18' Chaparral today is $23k. 22' Sea Ray Pachanga, $40k boat today. 24' Searay Bowrider, $50-60k today. 26' Cobalt $75k today. 30' Cobalt $175k today.

Glastron has a 26' Cruiser you can buy for $60k or a 29' Cruiser you can buy for $75k. Those are the starter kits today, the Bayliner's. Larson has a 27' Mid Cabin for $85k-90k. They have a 29' for $100k and a 31' for $140k.

I think those here on this forum don't really see the entire market sometimes. It's like Yacht owners who see nothing under $10 million. Trawler owners see the trawler type market. It was never the boat for the average young family. Yes, I know people who have always had Grand Banks, bought new, from the day their oldest daughter was 3. But they were the exception. He owned a large accounting practice. His wife was a lawyer. In the last 25 years they've owned 5 Grand Banks. They feel helpless now as they would normally trade in a year or two for a new Grand Banks, and GB as they've known it, will be no more by then.
I tend to agree with this - and here in the Midwest Sea Ray is a high end (expensive) boat - I see a lot of people on Larsons, Bayliners, 4 Winds, etc, these things sit at the slip or on a trailer for 4-5 months a year then go to dry storage and last decades. A few years back I saw a 26 footer larson twin gas i/os and all the comforts for around 100k - now that isn't in my wheelhouse at the moment but I do know some people my age (mid-late 20s) that could swing a nice down payment and the payments on that thing - it isn't much more than a couple of nice Lexuses.
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