2025 Boat Shows…

The show I attended was loaded with expensive boats, few if any mid to low range boats. The boat dealers I know and spoke to have been experiencing a slowdown in sales the past two years and the people looking seriously at buying a boat were few and far between, in a nutshell attendance was down. One long time marine salesman told me it is hard to make a living in an industry he has loved so much. A glimmer of hope is sales and show attendance are a bit better this year but not by much.

I went in January to the Mpls Boat Show. I usually go every year.

I didn’t really notice more or less expensive fishing boats from previous years. But what I did notice was just less fishing boats on the floor, overall. There has definitely been an increased popularity in higher end recreational boats, like wake boats.

Pontoons have also gained floor space in popularity. The days of putzing around on a pontoon with a 60 hp motor are seemingly over. They’re all bigger and more powerful now.

Hard for some to spend on a boat what their parents paid for a house. Dealers will figure it out or go out of business. You need to have 3 levels of pricing to be successful. Entry level, mid level and then high end.

The boat market is nuts. I mean even a boat over ten years old listed here is almost at the MSRP they paid for it back then. I can understand why people opt for trackers and nitros. Those nitro z7s look pretty reasonable after you take a walk through a boat show.