Yeargin's leadership

[V8 Killer]

Having said that, in my perception, right or wrong, it seemed to me that when Correct Craft was still mainly controlled by one family there seems to be more availability on parts, upholstery, and many of the other things needed to keep an older boat running, and looking good. Now I know it is obviously more profitable for a boat company to sell a new boat rather than maintain an inventory of parts for 10 to 20 year or more old models.

I think it goes deeper than this. First let me state I don't disagree with you, but there is also a reality to the situation.
In the automotive industry, an automobile manufacturer is required by law to provide all the OEM parts for a vehicle for at least 10 years. I'm not clear on what the penalty is if they don't comply, and obviously if a manufacturer goes bankrupt then the law is irrelevant. But otherwise, if Chevy, Toyota, etc. release a car in the USA part of its certification process to make it DOT approved / street legal is the agreement to provide parts for a minimum of 10 years. (I've heard it used to be 20 years but that was changed a long time ago if true.)

The boat industry has no such legal requirement, so it comes down to economics and suppliers. All major automotive companies are multi-billion dollar international conglomerates. They have parts made by thousands of suppliers, and in many cases backup suppliers. If one supplier goes out of business, they have the money and ability to replace the OEM part through their channels. They have huge contracts in place that guarantees them pretty much whatever they want. They are big enough to tell the suppliers what they will and will not do, how high to jump and where to land.

The boat industry is much smaller and does not have the supply chain in near the same capacity. CC and most other boat manufacturers are private companies with very limited resources (compared to public automotive giants at least). Also, CC and others change suppliers often. Reasons include the original supplier going out of business, QC issues, delivery/delay issues, higher cost, etc. When they change suppliers then they (CC) no longer have access to a lot of the rather custom parts that went into making your boat. So fast forward a few years away from production and its a fair guess CC isn't using several of the same suppliers they were when your boat was produced. CC stocked extra parts when they made your boat, but again being a private company with finite resources they could only stock so much.

I'm sure CC doesn't want any of their clients in a position to not be able to maintain their boat using OE parts, but the reality of the situation prevents them from being able to take care of every person and every boat for 10+ years. For that matter, even our own government requires only 10 years from the automotive industry. The #1 vehicle my company sells to was discontinued in 1998 in the USA and 2001 in Japan. Many of the parts for this car are no longer available, but many are. I don't even get a heads up when something is being discontinued. I just go to order it and 0 are available in the USA with 0 incoming...great. The solution - aftermarket.

If you want/need a replacement part for your older boat that bad, you can have it made. Like anything else in business, its all about the money. Look at all the classic cars (and older). They consist of mainly non-OEM parts. The aftermarket makes quality replica parts so people can maintain their older cars. The boat industry is smaller so there are less companies doing this, and the parts likely will cost more since demand is lower. But it is possible.

Cheers,

Dusty