International Boat Industry - June-July 2018

30 JUNE–JULY 2018 | International Boat Industry http://www.ibi-plus.com

Markets & Regions

SALTWATER FISHING | US

W

hile freshwater fishing boats and pontoons

lead the US market by virtue of their

overall volumes, saltwater fishing boats

have also experienced steady

growth over the past several years.

“We’ve seen year-over-year growth

in the eight to nine percent range

for this category over a period of

several years,” says National Marine

Manufacturer Association (NMMA)

president Thom Dammrich. “Last

year the category was up 4% in

terms of units, but up double-digits

in terms of dollars.”

Part of the reason for that surge

in dollars lies in the simple fact that

the fastest growth in the saltwater fishing segment

has been occurring among the largest and most

expensive boats, centre consoles and dual consoles

over 35ft with three to five outboards of 300hp or

more. “The smaller boats, that is boats which are

SALTWATER FISHING BOATS REMAIN A HOT CATEGORY FOR US BOATBUILDERS,

WITH LUXURIOUS, FAMILY-FRIENDLY MODELS DRIVING YEAR-OVER-YEAR UNIT

GROWTH IN THE HIGH SINGLE-DIGITS AND DOUBLE-DIGIT GAINS IN DOLLARS

WORDS: CRAIG RITCHIE

Hooked on luxury

less than 23ft in length, are showing year-over-year

growth in the low single digit range,” says Brunswick

Boat Group president Huw Bower. “But sales of boats

that are above 23ft in length are growing much faster,

at a rate that’s in the low double-digits. On a unit

basis, the market has recovered to probably around

55% of pre-downturn volumes, but in terms of dollars

I would say we now exceed the pre-recession numbers.

That is entirely linked to the growth of larger boats

using outboard power, and the widespread adoption

of innovative technologies like proper helm solutions

in terms of piloting.”

ENERGY AND INNOVATION

The caveat, he says, is that the largest, most advanced

boats represent only a small proportion of the overall

market. “You go down to Miami and see these 30ft,

40ft and 50ft boats with multiple engines being

sold, but the truth is it’s a very limited market,” says

Bower. “Boatbuilders are bringing out exciting new

products in that segment, and consumer attention is

naturally migrating there because of the energy and the

innovation that’s present. But if you step back and look

at the saltwater fishing market as a whole, you find

boats over 33ft in length only represent about 5% of

the unit volumes. The total market

in the 11ft-50ft segment is between

32,000 and 33,000 units. From

33ft-50ft is about 1,500 units, so

that’s about 5%.”

While it may be a smaller

slice of the overall saltwater

sportfishing pie, Bower notes

that large outboard-powered

centre consoles over 40ft in

length and outboards of 300hp

or more didn’t even exist 10 years

ago. Exactly how large this sub-

segment will grow remains to be seen. “When you’ve

got OEM energy and innovation, large horsepower

engine options and proper helm solutions, these

boats become more accessible to a broader market

and they attract new buyers,” says Bower. “I was at

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SBrunswick Boat
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SStriper’s centre
console boats are
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devoted angler. This
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The fastest

growth in the

saltwater fishing segment

has been occuring among

the largest and most

expensive boats