Magazine names top sailboats for 2012
Posted on 09 December 2011
Cruising World magazine announced the winners of its 19th annual Boat of the Year awards.
Topping this year’s list of winners in the sailboat industry were the Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 379 and the Leopard 44. The Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 379 won the Domestic Boat of the Year award, and the Leopard 44 was named Import Boat of the Year.
In addition to claiming the Domestic Boat of the Year award, the Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 379, built for U.S. and Canadian markets, also was named Best Midsize Cruiser, 36 to 40 feet. The Leopard 44 cruising catamaran was named Import Boat of the Year as well as Best Multihull.
Other winners include:
• Best Compact Cruiser, 30 to 35 feet: Hunter e33
• Best Midsize Cruiser, 40 to 45 feet: Tartan 4000
• Best Full-Size Cruiser, 45 feet and above: Passport Vista 545 CC
I here your pain, Rob, but it comes from the hip rather than the heart; namely, the wallet.
One of the hard facts is that there is not enough profit in boats under $75,000 in the limited number of possible sales. Builders of small power boats have the volume to buy materials and components cheaply enough to make a living. A sailboat is an entirely different matter; two thirds of the production cost are in components that a manufacturer has to buy from someone else, in small numbers. No one makes masts and hulls, winches and rigging, sails and engines all in one shop. So the few small cruising sailboats that are available are made by a very few hifgh volume producers who can achieve production economies in bulk purchasing. One mast out of a carload order may cost $650. One mast at a time will cost more than twice that FOB. Go figure.
What you are asking for is a revolution in boating, possibly driven by egregeously high gas prices, that would draw new purchasers to sail. But there is a fundamental road block to that dream: only a handful of us are enamored of going slow. Most buyers want to step out of their airconditioned cars into a very car-like vessel. Turn the switch, step on the gas, go somewhere.
I find it amusing that a “compact cruiser” is defined as “30-35′ long”, to me that would be a mid-size cruiser. I grew up cruising on a 21′ sailboat, maybe not much better than camping in a tent (although, unlike tent camping, the cabin of our boat never collapsed!) but still it was affordable and FUN!! We wonder why sailing only represents a small part of the boating sales each year, yet look at the average size of new sailboats. The industry has turned it’s back on the entry-level sailboats (16-25′) that used to be available for families who were just starting out in boating, now newbies are lead to believe that they can’t be comfortable on anything smaller than 35′…… and even that would be a “compact?” cruiser?? The sailing industry needs to wake up and go back to selling smaller sailboats to get people started, a 15-25K purchase price is a lot easier to get started with than the almost 100K prices of what is typically the smallest boat from a manufacturer. Yes, I know…. you have to build and sell a lot more 21′ boats to equal the profit of one 40′ boat……. but Frank Butler (Catalina) and Warren Luhrs (Hunter) have been around a long time selling small boats that introduce people to sailing, many of whom might later buy the 35-40′ boats that bring hte better profits! George O’Day started out selling Day Sailers, later added trailerable cruisers, and eventually larger (27-40′) cruising boats….. He introduced a lot of new sailers to the sport, and how did he do it?? By selling affordable boats, boats that could be kept on a trailer in the owner’s yard, didn’t require a huge crew to sail, and kept their resale value easily to allow a good trade-in value when the new sailer was ready to move up. PEARSON Yachts had their “small boat” division, they built a lot of boats with few frills, but it introduced new sailers to the “PEARSON” name and probably led to eventual sales of the larger, fancier boats.
Sales of sailboats represent a very small part of the total number of new boats sold each year, as I say… one reason seems to be the lack of “entry-level” boats, powerboat sales are doing better……..but look at how many powerboats are offered in that 16-25′ range! Those are the entry-level boats! Gas prices have risen over the past 5 years, a trend that would seem to favor sailboat sales (it did in the late 1970′s to early 1980′s), but since the sailboat industry has ignored the enty-level family……sales have not increased. Go to a typical boat show, count the number of sailboats under 25′ that could be called “family” boats, then count how many powerboats fit that catagory……..and yet we wonder why people are buying fuel hungry powerboats?? Wind is free…… but it should not be interpreted that one needs a boat at least 35′ long to make use of it!
Add your comment
<!–
If you would like to use this article on your website, please contact us.
–>
Similar news:
RSS
Facebook
Google+
Twitter
