Message From The Editor
PERSONAL TASTES AND CREATIVE EXPRESSION
I was struck by the very interesting parallel between the designs of all the new power boats I was seeing at the Miami International Boat Show two weeks ago, and the vast array of new vehicles at the Toronto International Auto Show I attended just 48 hours after my return home. The new drivers of design in the boat industry are the outboard motors. With a wide array of horsepower choices, outboards seem to be able to power just about anything if you're willing to rack up enough of them on the transom!
Center consoles with Quad 400Rs were not uncommon at the Miami show and twin 200 or 300 hp outboard's are starting to look like the norm. One of the Innovation Award Winners in Miami was the new Sea Ray SLX 400 that has the drop down side for swimming and watersports. They call it their ingenious fold-down patio wing, and Sea Ray describes the boat (yacht?) as featuring a robust cabin, amenity-rich cockpit, and that the SLX 400 OB is the consummate entertainer and a superior all-around performer. At 39'6" in overall length on a 12'1" beam, it's a big boat but it's still a high-performing runabout that has the features to overnight onboard.
Borrowing from the automotive industry, more and more of the boat manufacturers seem to be talking about their "sport-utility vessels" and I see this as a great direction for the industry. Particularly with larger boat like SLX 400, there's room to carry other water toys and even stand up paddle boards, performance sufficient for towed sports like wake surfing or wake boarding, and you can certainly take a huge gang of family and friends wherever you go. This really is a sport utility vessel.
Sport-utility vehicles seemed to absolutely dominate the Auto Show, particularly in the sizes and price ranges that can work for the average buyer. Where we are seeing a lot of creative design expression in the boat business though, I was overwhelmed by the lack of design innovation in the auto industry. Every one of these little sport-utility vehicles seem so similar that I was never sure whose booth I was standing in. You had to read the badge on the car to know what brand it was.
What looks to me like a lack of innovation and differentiation in the auto industry didn't seem to slow the crowds down. One look at any street will tell you that the sport-utility vehicle has taken over the auto industry. If cars continue to be more and more "poured from the same blender" will this fate hit the boat business?
I don't think so - at least not for quite a while. Boats can be a much wider range of sizes and prices, and it seems to me that our opportunity for design innovation and self-expression for our buyers, will be much greater than they're going to get from the auto industry. For now, the future in boating looks bright to me.
Andy Adams, Editor
aadams@kerrwil.com
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Feature
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THE BOATING STOCK MARKET
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Calendar
Check out all of the upcoming events in your Boating Industry
Edmonton Boat & Sportsmen's Show
March 15-18, 2018
Edmonton, AB
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Moncton Boat Show
March 23-25, 2018
Moncton, NB
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Kawartha Sportsman Show
April 6 -8, 2018
Lindsay, ON
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