Sea Ray Boat Company For Sale

[JieemQ]

Thought I would share this article about Sea Ray Boats going up for sale since it gives some insight into the boat building industry. Of note:

The general public has always had a misconception of how many new boats are actually sold in the U.S. In 2000, there were 342,000 new boats sold in the U.S. – outboard boats of all kinds, inboard ski/wake boats, inboard cruisers, and sterndrive boats. Today, new boat sales, in the same categories, total less than half that number.

[Infinity]

I saw that posted on the Mastercraft forum a day or 2 ago, very interesting read. Gotta wonder how this will effect things in next year or 2, tho I doubt tow boats will be effected yet.... I do worry that in a couple years things could turn down with the economy since history tends to repeat itself over and over. My guess is that over next 2 years stocks will rise and ultimately there will be a "melt-up" since the world banks are pouring trillions into the market right now ("melt-up" like the 1920's and mid-80's) and then once everyone is all in and no-one left to buy, another crash, which will effect everything. Who knows tho, stocks are a hard game to play without getting burned. Sorry, got off topic there big time, lol

[GMLIII]

I thought the Sea Ray was such a great brand. Hard to believe the brand is being sold off.

[sixcampbells]

Hard to believe. My first two boats were Searay. Hope the brand stays alive.


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[GMLIII]

Hard to believe. My first two boats were Searay. Hope the brand stays alive.


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I guess it will end up like Chris Craft , being bought and sold countless times before it utimately goes down the tubes

[Nautiquehunter]

They sell 1/2 the number of boats for 4 times the price ? How much could you buy a 210 for in 2000 compared to now.

[Infinity]

I owned a couple Sea Ray I/O boats and loved them. Great quality and reliability, zero issues on either. These surf boats blow them away tho on so many levels. Shocked me to see the difference in sales with Sea Ray, I had no clue it was like that, course I am sure they tried to keep people from easily finding out

[Tallredrider]

Random thoughts for discussion:

Today less than half of the number of boats sold in 2000 are being sold. It seems like the lakes are getting more crowded, so I don't feel like it is a shrinking hobby. Could it be that boats are lasting longer? I would be interested in what actual boat registrations have been.

Sea Ray sold 2700 units...Isn't that more than any inboard manufacturer? That shows how small our inboard market really is.

[GMLIII]

You do make a valid point. Hard to believe total new boat sales are less than half vs year 2000 when the waterways seems to be getting more crowded each and every year

[JieemQ]

I owned a couple Sea Ray I/O boats and loved them. Great quality and reliability, zero issues on either. These surf boats blow them away tho on so many levels. Shocked me to see the difference in sales with Sea Ray, I had no clue it was like that, course I am sure they tried to keep people from easily finding out

Full disclosure, I worked for them for a little bit and the recession hit them really hard. Everyone there said the build quality went to the crapper. If you look at the weight of a midsize SeaRay (35'+) compared to their competitors, it's going to be significantly higher due to the guys running the chop gun. Others have started vacuum sealing to control weight and tolerances. SeaRay doesn't then compensates by using bigger engines to get the same performance as their competitors, thus causing the end user more money.

[srock]

Full disclosure, I worked for them for a little bit and the recession hit them really hard. Everyone there said the build quality went to the crapper. If you look at the weight of a midsize SeaRay (35'+) compared to their competitors, it's going to be significantly higher due to the guys running the chop gun. Others have started vacuum sealing to control weight and tolerances. SeaRay doesn't then compensates by using bigger engines to get the same performance as their competitors, thus causing the end user more money.

We can always beat a Sea Ray to the inlet but they always beat us to the fuel dock. Now I know why.

[DW SD]

I thought the Sea Ray was such a great brand. Hard to believe the brand is being sold off.

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[btouchstone01]

I take exception with GMLIII's comment about Chris Craft. The did go down the tubes bit were eventually brought back to life in 2000 by a great group of investors. They now enjoy a status as one of the best boat builders in the U.S. I own both a Nautique and and a Chris Craft. Both are the very best for their respective uses.

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[72Miles]

Those sales #'s are shocking! I'm gonna reconsider my plan to sell everything I have and start a boat manufacturer.

[JieemQ]

Following up on the original post....Brunswick decided not to sale Sea Ray because of the low ball offers and are cutting its portfolio.