economy/gasoline fallout...

With the economy and gasoline headed toward $5, it could easily be a very tough few/many years for the boating industry.

Especially these extremely expensive gas hog wake boats. A pretty tough environment for EPIC to launch a company.

We could see a decline in the "bigger is better" philosophy yielding more efficient wake boats like the CC 2001 or CC SAN.

We could also easily see some compression industry wide.

What do you think?

who makes the most fuel efficient boats? something similar to a san 210

Hopefully it will drive the industry to work on efficiency features like active ballast and trim tab systems. Imagine if BU modified the wedge to provide lift on the plane up and down force once at speed, would that reduce running costs?

imagine if someone made a boat with a 2 speed trans?

mb

yeah mb has been making a 2 speed for years.

I think in the next 24 months and at the rate our dollar is falling, you'll be happy and doin mad backrolls at a $5 gallon of gas, because that will be cheap and a far distant memory. Oil is traded on the American dollar, which is falling faster and faster, which means, you'll need more dollars to "equal" that price for the barrel, which means, paying more and more just to be straight. That is why, a $5 gallon of gas will be here and gone very quickly. We'll be paying far more than that...and with smile too.

Supra has the trim plate that works to help with acceleration. It goes all the way down on accel, then resumes its position once you get to ride speed. That along with a two speed could make a smaller motor much more viable. Even a 6 cylinder, maybe??

The Toyota boats where very good on the fuel and how many of those do you still see around? People might be holding on to them right now though because of the gas prices.

If you can't afford the gas you can't afford what ever toy you have.

Cable parks are going to become extremely popular. I wish we had one up here in the NW. Tough part up here is that Land is too expensive and unless it is heated or indoor it is only usable half the year.

I wish i could start a cable park here in nor-cal but dont have the funds or know what people to contact inregards to building one. Im sure insurance on a cable park is MASSIVE

The dollar is up...today.

My local MC dealer is setting records on boat sales, those with money still have money.

I thought rick was being sarcastic or something... Does the two speed make a big difference?

Hey wasn't there a guy on here that said something about his boat running on thank you's?

(Message edited by hawk7 on May 01, 2008)

goride!!! I was jus talkin to my buddy the other about how sick it would be if someone opened one up in nor-cal!! indoor too so you could hit it up during the winter!!

danny i wouldnt want to imagine how big of a warehouse you would need and how short of a run it would be also.

Ive seen a couple spots that would work but being 23 still in college i dont have the funds to start anything.

ya im sure someone will open one some day!! any takers!! haha

i wonder how much fuel u save with the 2 speed?

I think gas is high right now. I don't think it will ever be under 2.75-3.0 ever again. Over 5 we are in ALOT of trouble. The dollar will rebound it just takes time. Hopefully we can bring our debt into perspective and the economy up.

I haven't noticed much change around here. I have seen a lot of go fast boats for sale though. It's all about priorities. Some will put the gas on credit cards and pay for it all winter, some flat out have the money, and some will look for an alternative hobby. For me, it means that I won't be footing the whole bill for me and my friends. In years past, I haven't taken a dollar from anyone who rides with me. Now, I am not going to ask for it, but I won't turn it down either. Anybody that rides with me on a consistant basis, will be required to kick in. The people I ride with are thinking about consolidating into a couple of boats, rather than each of us owning one.

Shawn same here. Camping I use to take care of everything on camping trips. Friends would bring some food and beer and it would all be good. This year is 55 per person for the trip and food is included but they will still need to bring beer. They all understand and that is A O K with me. If it spikes to 6 bucks a gallon or whatever doomsday scenario speculators try to push on us the boat will sit and I will learn to sail LMFAO. As long as i'm out on some sort of water IM stoked. We all need to just scale down a little make the demand for gas less and it will pay off in the long run. The market is up so is the dollar so that should give investors something else to invest in.

Yeah, I'll second that comment about the local MC dealer doing better than ever. I spoke to a friend of mine who's a sales rep here in Charlotte, NC the other day. I halfway expected to hear him talk about the slow-down in sales because of gas prices but he said they've been unloading them like crazy. Ahh well - atleast somebody can afford it .

I cant wait to see less people on the lakes. No more guys in huge boats with two seats that just go fast and nothing else. We are going to see way less recreational people out there. the core riders will always be around. im super broke, but ill never stop riding. ill do what it takes to get out there and shred.