tommymonza

Yea too many years trying to hide under a little 2 by 3 Bimini doing parasailing down here in SW Florida has burned me out on the sun.

Went out sailing off Fort Myers on my buddies 44 foot cat yesterday. Very nice with 220 sq feet of shade from the hardtop.

If you were in the sun more than a few minutes yesterday you felt like you were going to burst into flames.

Dean Ferry

Ours are supposedly good to 55-60 mph which is the speed I run them at max. And in my old age, I could really give 2 rat's a$$es what other think of me or ours boats.... And to the Op topic, I guess we are the exception to the rule, I'm looking at buying another boat, BIG V.....

SB

Looking at 3rd pic, How long is your dock ? A few miles ? LOL.

Dean Ferry

LOL, no that is 1 of the ramps Mystic uses to water test new boats, I just went that day and took the Talon so Scott S. could take some pics.

johnmiffco

nothing stays the same forever,,,,,
times change and so does the society to go with
I love speed boats,,,i have built and raced boats since 1979
o/b drags,blown hydro,formula tunnels and offshore
I quit in 2010 the formula boats as from 2006 till then the decline in boat count fell to 1/3
from 30+ boats on starting dock to luckily have over 10
and seasoned drivers were main 1s leaving as sponsors dried up from the crunch
the middle class boater that was buying the 24-36' boats have too much debt to keep em or buy new
few said the used boat market is holding in these offshore speed boats
I don't see that,,,,,,,in 24 -36 range used thay are listed on swap shop for 15-60 and not sold
for boats that cost 75-200k+ new
a 69 camero new was under 3,000 and cannot touch 1 for less than 10,000 for rough
and 20,000 for restored
these fully restored boats with 50+ in them to restore are not selling above restore cost
not including the original boat worth used before restore
some people are listing them so high no 1 will buy as thinking of 10yr ago prices
1s selling are going very low
a 30' velocity very nice condition with twins and bravos sold in 2 days at 10,0000
2 others of same boats been listed for a yr at 24 and 28 are not sold
a few 42 fountains for 45-75k for 42' boats and not sold
there is a lot of very high priced over 10yr old boats
and a lot of them priced low enough to sale
very sad,,,,,,but new generation does not go outside,,,,
even doctors telling them to stay out of sun for skin cancer
again very sad to see the decline,,but its in all motor sports
1 still drag race and fields are dead for count to make classes
I have my little offshore boat that I restored and guarantee wont get 1/3 what was put in it
want to do another resto while we still have gas,epa not hit with powerboat emmisioms hard yet,,
and body stil can take the pounding from air time I love so much in the rough

rvtransport

I do think power boaters have had there hay day but I do not think it is dead. Here in WI in early 2000s we would have over 100 power boats turn out for poker runs. In past 10 years there would be lucky to see 25 boats but things are changing. Last weekend we where boat number 50 in Oshkosh Poker run and water ways are full of boats again! I Have a friend who is one of the bigger dealers in our area and he can not keep clean power boats in stock. He also sells a ton of jet boats to new gen boaters and do believe some will want to move up like all of us have done. Fountain, Donzi, Baja are building boats for real again and from Sunsations report they can not keep up with orders of CC's. It does not matter to me if your running a CC or Jet boat or SS style boat things are getting better. I am in my early 40s and have a group of friends all in same age that are excited to buy some new or newer performance boats in upcoming year or years. I love performance boating and think there always will be that group that will survive. Maybe not as big as it was in past but it is recovering IMO!

1 MAIDEN AMERICA

Maybe they need to start building quad 400HP turbo 4 banger Honda powered boats with recliner bolsters and neon green props

Wasted Income

They would try to stance the outboards and camber the fugg out of them.

Belleair302

Re shade on go fast here in Florida....tim people started buying UV rated clothes. Loads of fashion brands make reasonably priced shirts and trousers that are 100 UV blocking so no worries about skin cancers or burning. Just wear a decent hat and sunblock on your face and you will be cool, healthy and skin cancer free.

Pete35Fountain

I'm just stepping into this performance boat realm. A new boat is well beyond what I think is a reasonable expenditure regardless of how thick the roll of petty cash sitting in someone's pocket. 150K to in excess of a million is just senseless, unless you are earning an income from the investment. I found what I consider a reasonable deal on a sound hull and rigging last fall. Documentation says it's a 1990 10 Meter Fountain but with the deck of a lightening. 8K got me the hull and rigging on a trailer...I had to power it and add drives. Cosmetically the boat looked less than stellar and a number of updates needed to be done. So, a pair of custom built 502's, into completely rebuilt XR's, full Autometer oversized gauges, a complete paint job and new covers...I'm out the door with a season's worth of warrantee at under 60K. I'll never see the 60K back out of the boat...not a 1990 non step, non staggered with old gen cabin. But the decision were made with that in mind. I'm a little older, this satisfies my need to be on the water with the option of loafing along or getting up to dance with the Baja down the road. I'll be the guy in the poker run [U]style[U] boat watching the poker run. I'll have 1 more boat in this life...a Ranger 31 CB tug, when I'm 65 and 10 knots on the Erie Canal to the intercoastal at the beginning of Sept, to FLA is my speed.
As to the market itself...I look at my kids and what lays ahead for them...600K to 1 million in mortgages in my area for a small house on little land...rising costs of living...here in Ontario just the cost electricity is outrageous...they would barely be able to afford to operate dads old boat let alone buy a newer used model or new. maybe a PWC...but then that makes them lemmings following a crowd...and they weren't raised to be followers.
Just an opinion from a simple man. Enjoy the day and be safe on the water.