The financial meltdown over here has many people in the trade believing that the recreational marine industry is fundamentally doomed. The bad news diet of brand and job eliminations over the past few months had created a negative mindset. When Key Bank announced at the end of September that they were following Wachovia and others by pulling out of recreational marine lending the despair deepened. The Wall Street crisis at the beginning of October was the last straw for some. It was good therefore to find that positive attitudes were reappearing at the Annapolis Sailboat Show which just ended.
The realization had begun to sink in that there were banks that were still making boat loans to credit worthy individuals. Yes these individuals have to make a down payment of 15% to 20% on the boat of their choice, have a good debt to equity ratio, good credit score history together with some liquidity. In short they have to show the banks they could afford the boat – what a concept! There was a pervasive attitude throughout the show there would never be a better opportunity to make a deal and deals were made, boats big and small were sold.
Perhaps the best example of the positive attitude was that of Stanton Murray, owner of Murray Yacht Sales, a major Beneteau and J Boat dealer. He said that shortly before the show when his sales team started telling him that prospects were pulling back from their purchase “I called every one of them myself. I pointed out to them that the reason that caused them to want to buy the boat in the first place were the benefits it would bring to their lives as a whole, not the fact that could afford it. Those reasons still exist.”
Posted by: James
Categories:
Marine Industry