Markets & Regions
SKI-WAKE BOATS | US
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THE GROWING POPULARITY OF WAKE SURFING CONTINUES TO DRIVE
SALES IN THE LUCRATIVE WATERSPORTS TOW BOAT MARKET
WORDS: CRAIG RITCHIE
The surf set
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W
hile much of the activity in the US
boatbuilding industry has focused on
outboard power, manufacturers dealing
with inboard and sterndrive engines have also been
riding a wave. In this case, it’s a wave that’s normally
only 10ft behind the transom. Driven by the soaring
popularity of wake surfing, manufacturers of
watersport tow boats have been enjoying sustained
year-over-year sales growth of approximately 7% for
each of the past five years, according to Statistical
Surveys Inc (SSI).
Wake surfing differs from wake boarding in
that the rider trails behind a boat and rides its wake
without being directly pulled by the boat. Although
a tow rope is normally used to pull the rider up onto
the wake, wake surfers toss the rope back into the
boat once they’re comfortable, and ride the steep face
below the wave’s peak – sort of like surfing in the
ocean, but on a wake that can theoretically last for as
long as the boat has fuel.
Unlike water skiing or wake boarding where
the rider is pulled on a rope at some distance
behind a boat that’s driving
at comparatively high speed,
wake surfing takes place right
behind the transom, where the
surfer can still participate in
onboard conversations while
the boat moves along at a more
pedestrian 9 to 10 mph. At those
speeds, falls are far more gentle,
allowing ageing baby boomers
to wake surf every day without
feeling the stiffness and soreness
that often follows a traditional
ride on the wakeboard.
THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME
“Wake surfing is immensely popular, but at the same
time it’s just starting to take off,” says Malibu Boats
CEO Jack Springer. “There are so many people who
still don’t know what surfing is, and it’s pretty rare that
someone doesn’t stop us on the water and ask what
SMastercrat CEO
Terry McNew was
thrilled to see Volvo
Penta’s Forward
Drive system come
to marketwe’re doing behind the boat. There’s a huge market
there, and we’re only scratching the surface.”
Tow boat sales figures for US boatbuilders have
shown year-over-year unit increases averaging about
12% over each of the past five years,
according to data from the National
Marine Manufacturers Association
(NMMA). “The trough for tow boats
didn’t hit till 2011, later than it did for
everyone else,” says Springer. “Then,
as things began to slow in the US,
the Canadian dollar shot up and gave
customers there greater buying power.
For a couple of years Canadians were
buying every toy they could get their
hands on, and that helped keep the
tap f lowing. It prolonged the f low of
product, and kept it from falling off a
cliff. So it’s still in a recovery mode, and that recovery
has been slow and steady, so I’m convinced there are a
few years left in it.”
The appeal of wake surfing is that it’s an activity
which spans generations, and that near-universal
allure directly drives tow boat sales. Although the
buyers still tend to be baby boomers, surfing appealsTMalibu’s 24 MXZ WakesetterWake surfing
is immensely
popular, but at the same
time it’s just starting to
take off. There are so many
people who still
don’t know what
surfing is