www.iFourWinns.com

Industry news - Not Four Winns related, but kind of interesting all the same:
http://www.boattest.com/view-news/5617_sea-ray-boat-company-for-sale

Cap'n - any insight/comments?

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2002 Funship 214
VP 5.7 GX Si
2003 Tahoe

Yeah, we got the letter from SR purchasing yesterday and sent throughout our company.
Good news for us, the project we are working on for the L550 is nearly complete, and Sea Ray says
to carry on , business as usual. So for the short term we are happy.

This news is not real surprising to many in the industry. The boattest article sums up most things well.
SR has kind of priced themselves out of the big boat market with the L series. Beautiful boats, but the market
is saturated with euro boats of the same type, and that segment is down about 70% from early 2,000's sales numbers.

Add in the steep decline in sterndrive powered fiberglass boat sales (Sea Ray's former bread and butter) and that leaves them with
boats that are not high volume sellers, overpriced compared to competing brands, and a product mix that does not reflect
current buyers' trends. Whomever buys them, will need to cut the fat, dump many of their models and concentrate on what
is selling in today's market if they want to remain profitable, and in business for the future. Sea Ray has lost a huge market share
in sterndrive runabouts to other builders. As of now, Chaparral has the market lead in this category, and other builders are filling in
which puts Sea Ray farther down the list, sales wise.
So they will have to shift their focus to more outboard powered boats, and keep their pricing closer to the competitors to be a player again.

It will be good to watch who does buy the company/brand, and what they do with it going forward.

Here are some more details FWIW.
https://www.tradeonlytoday.com/manufact ... ter-120617

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

People just don't have the disposable income like they used to thanks to a community organizer who gave us an anemic economy and doubled our health care cost. I know no politics but if anyone wants to refute that claim, go for it. The improving economy was just too late for Sea Ray.

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Current Boat: 2000 Four Winns 298 Vista
Previous Boat: 2000 Carver 406MY

Forcing the I/O's to have catalytic converters has driven up their prices, and ironically pushed buyers and manufacturers to shift to outboards, which do not have catalytic converters (for now) and many add 2-cycle oil to their pollution.

Personally, I kind of like having a 350 Chevy tucked away in my 24' boat.

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"Knot Easy" 2000 Horizon 240 Volvo 5.7GS /SX
tow: 2017 Honda PILOT EXL-AWD
prev. boats:
'87 Chaparral 198CXL 4.3 OMC Cobra
'69 Jetstar 16ft Ski Boat, 115hp Yamaha
'68 Aluminum Jon Boat, 3hp Sears
'64 Water Wings

Yea, cause Bush left the country in 2008 in wonderful shape... lmfao

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Current:
2000 Sea Ray 380 Sundancer "still Livin the Dream"

Past
2002 268 Vista 5.7 GXI "Livin' the Dream"
1996 Rinker 192 Captiva. "The Simple Life"
1999 Yamaha XLL 1200 Waverunner.
1976 Mercury Marquis tri hull 120 hp

For both of you:
Here is a better place to put your political rants: http://rantrampage.com/showcategory-72.html
Now let's talk about boats/boating!

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"Knot Easy" 2000 Horizon 240 Volvo 5.7GS /SX
tow: 2017 Honda PILOT EXL-AWD
prev. boats:
'87 Chaparral 198CXL 4.3 OMC Cobra
'69 Jetstar 16ft Ski Boat, 115hp Yamaha
'68 Aluminum Jon Boat, 3hp Sears
'64 Water Wings

I agree.....i also like having the Chevy old school muscle with a rumble instead of the outboard. Yea, winterizing and access socks but I don't have the constant motor jiggle of the OB.

Glad I got into the FW before converter HP suckingredients motors were required.

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http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o71 ... wqm355.jpg


08' H210SS
VP 5.7Gi

Didn't Four winns go through the same thing with Rec Boat holdings?

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2011 SL242 5.7 VP GXi - 320 HP Dual Prop

In a way its not surprising. I'm surprised that we still have as many different boat builders as we do, given the fact that we only have 2 US owned auto companies! (Chrysler is owned by Fiat at this point). The consolidation seen in the auto industry had to hit the boating industry. A few years back, Bayliner dropped their cruisers, which was surprising to many, but given costs, it's not really surprising.
As far as the drop in sterndrive sales, I think the obvious drawbacks of I/Os are becoming more obvious to people who are learning about the advantages of outboards, which salt water boaters and fishermen have always known. Now that the I/O is not cheaper than the outboard, but the yearly maintenance is both more difficult and expensive, it may be that dealers are presenting this as a better option driving sales that way.
While I too like the old school GM marine engine and being able to fix just about everything that will go wrong myself, has made boating way more affordable. But with I/Os having nearly as much high tech complexity as outboards but with more yearly maintenance, they do not make as much sense to some people. Just the ease of winterizing alone, is a big issue. As we speak it is snowing on the north shore of Long Island and the only boats still in the water out back are outboards....

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

I really don't see anything wrong with sterndrives as long as you boat in freshwater and replace your bellows and gimbals every 5 to 7 years. They are a lot cheaper than outboards and maintenance parts on an IO are dirt cheap.

IMO, the problem with boating in general is how expensive it has become and only the top 10% income earners can afford it. As for Sea Ray, their problem is that only the top 5% can afford one of their cruisers and if you have to rely on the top 5% for anything, you aren't going to make it.

I do believe boating will come back but the economy needs to continue to improve to the point that wages increase substantially and it is too soon for that.

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Current Boat: 2000 Four Winns 298 Vista
Previous Boat: 2000 Carver 406MY

I agree with the cost issue and i have never been in the New Boat Buyer category and will never be, unless i hit the lotto. I like the IOs, which are a pain to access for repairs and winterizing....but at least i have a shot at knowing how to repair them.

I look at the innards of an outboard and just scratch my head...just over my mechanical level i reckon as i have always worked on cars.

I recall the sales pitch when i got my 2008 H210, which i bought in 2010....a big selling point was this was a pre-catalytic converter model which means less headache, less cost, more HP and better fuel consumption. I hear no bragging about having the converters so figure these were valid points, at least in part.

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http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o71 ... wqm355.jpg


08' H210SS
VP 5.7Gi

But there's so many fewer parts to a 2-stroke engine!
Then again, I started my mechanical journey on 2-stroke motorcycles way back in the day... Kawasaki dirt bikes and Yamaha RD's!
Moved into Seadoo's after that before we got the FW.

I'll admit, newer 2-strokes are a lot more complicated than those of old, but the principle is still the same: 1 compression stroke, (bang), 1 exhaust stroke. Rinse/repeat.

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1999 180 Horizon OB Fisherman Pkg
2013 Grand Cherokee 4x4 w/ 5.7 Hemi
San Antonio, TX

Are there any updates on this as to who is buying Sea Ray? I can't find anything online. Its a hard search because "who bought Sea Ray" comes up with Sea Ray boats for sale.

I went through this when I bought my new 2009 Glastron (left over) in 2011. It was after the company purchase but the boat was made prior to the company purchase. It made it VERY difficult to get parts. I hope it will be a little better seeing as it is a much bigger company than Glastron but my warranty claim was hard to pursue back then.
The dealer made good but he said all the parts were discontinued and sold off so he had to search the dealer network to find a part on the shelf. This was only a 2 year old boat.

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--2002 3880 Regal Flybridge | Twin Merc 8.1HO **Seven**
--2003 AB 13 VST Console Inflatable | Tohatsu 40hp TLDI **Phish'n ski**
--310 Mercury Inflatable | 1982 9.9 Johnson

Here is a good article on why millennials aren't buying boats. Basically, they are saddled with student loan debt that increased by 517% over a certain 8 year period, not to mention an anemic economy. Reap what you sow, anyone?

https://www.boatus.com/magazine/2017/oc ... -boats.asp

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Current Boat: 2000 Four Winns 298 Vista
Previous Boat: 2000 Carver 406MY