Obviously, the dramatic recession and the weather conspired to limit boating nationwide. Sales plummeted this year again, and limited access to loans, adjusting the required loan to value (LTV) turned away bargain shoppers that probably shouldn't have looked in the first place. Our slips were full as usual, but out on the lake it was noticeably quiet all the way through Labor Day weekend, which was pretty good weather-wise. I don't expect the boat industry to come back quickly, as many dealers are build to order operations now, with the floorplan costs so high.
So many boats, and expensive ones at that, were purchased the last few years through home equity LOC's and refi cash-outs. Obviously, I wouldn't plan on that coming back too soon. There were places I could visit this year that are usually crazy in a normal summer. But in June and July, nobody had much desire to do much of anything. The incredible paydown of credit card debt was a clear indication that people were tightening, and understood that further spending could sink them.
It'll be interesting to see what happens next summer, assuming we have one
It won't stay quiet forever, it never does.