Newport Boat Show

[Nick14]

I went to the Newport Boat Show yesterday just for fun (live so close by and have been going for years, somehow would feel left out if I didn't stop by). Heard there's a new owner of the show and this was their debut. FWIW I think they did a very good job. The show was bigger, with more boats, and better organized, than in recent years.

What struck me most strongly was a general impression of how expensive new boats have become. A new American Tug 39, with a three year wait for delivery, is now about $1 million.

Outboard power is all the rage with seemingly most mid-sized boats up to about 40-ish feet. I thought outboard power would make a boat less expensive than diesels, but no. A Nimbus C11 (33-ish ft) day boat, nice, well-built, looks like fun, fast, capable, but rudimentary all fiberglass and plastic cabin and basic accommodations, with options was $770,000 . A True North 39 outboard downeast style cruiser with triple outboards was a cool $1.1 million ! A similar outboard powered North Coast 41, with four 300 hp outboards (!) was also a staggering $1.1 million ! The smaller True North 34 outboard (twin engines) downeast style, nice boat, good looking, great for short trips though with a microscopically tiny 'wet head' I could barely fit in, was $700,000 . This is for boats with little real wood inside, mostly just trim, and primarily some kind of composite materials.

The show was well-attended, crowded for a first day. The prices didn't seem to be scaring most people away. I guess my wallet has been left behind in the new world order of boat prices (or my brain is still stuck in the prices of the 1970's).

 

[kthoennes]

Thanks very much for this post. I appreciate the recap. We go to the show almost every year (for the food as well as the show -- steamers and stuffed clams and RI chowder at Anthony's!), but we missed it this year. Just too much going on, couldn't make it work. I've noticed the same thing though, even last year, with all those outboards lined up like chiclets. My father in Florida sees the same thing. If they were cheaper and easier to maintain that would be understandable, but the price of each one of those things just knocks me over. And I had the same thought last year too -- I know there are lots of rich people on earth, and my family is certainly comfortable, we're not sweating the groceries, even if eggs have tripled lately. But still, how many high income people can there be out there? Enough to fund all the overhead and R&D and production costs of all those high-six, seven-, eight-figure boats and marine products? Apparently so.

I'm doing better in life than I ever expected, extravagantly blessed, but I'm reminded of that verse when Jesus says, "...the poor you will always have with you." When I go to that boat show (or worse, shows like Palm Beach) I think, yes, and the rich will always be with us too. I walk around wondering, where does all this money come from, how many people can write checks like that? How many of those boats can they actually sell? Oh sure, you have outrageous richness like the America's Cup where they fly carbon fiber parts to exotic parts of the world on chartered Gulfstreams, but is the wealth really distributed broadly enough to float everything at the Newport Boat Show long term?

Have a Dark & Stormy at the Black Pearl for me.

 

[Datenight]

I went today and thought the same as you Nick. Plenty of people working the ticket booths and happy to answer any question. Once inside was more interested in the booths and displays. Did not inquire about prices but was struck by the extremes outboards have gone to. Started looking for boats with only one. Very few and far between. Got me wondering how the next generation of boaters would break into the pastime.

Even my boat which was ordered before COVID would probably be more than I would want to spend now. However I do attend the show every year and always enjoy it.

Rob

 

[Nick14]

Thanks very much for this post. I appreciate the recap. We go to the show almost every year (for the food as well as the show -- steamers and stuffed clams and RI chowder at Anthony's!), but we missed it this year. Just too much going on, couldn't make it work. I've noticed the same thing though, even last year, with all those outboards lined up like chiclets. My father in Florida sees the same thing. If they were cheaper and easier to maintain that would be understandable, but the price of each one of those things just knocks me over. And I had the same thought last year too -- I know there are lots of rich people on earth, and my family is certainly comfortable, we're not sweating the groceries, even if eggs have tripled lately. But still, how many high income people can there be out there? Enough to fund all the overhead and R&D and production costs of all those high-six, seven-, eight-figure boats and marine products? Apparently so.

I'm doing better in life than I ever expected, extravagantly blessed, but I'm reminded of that verse when Jesus says, "...the poor you will always have with you." When I go to that boat show (or worse, shows like Palm Beach) I think, yes, and the rich will always be with us too. I walk around wondering, where does all this money come from, how many people can write checks like that? How many of those boats can they actually sell? Oh sure, you have outrageous richness like the America's Cup where they fly carbon fiber parts to exotic parts of the world on chartered Gulfstreams, but is the wealth really distributed broadly enough to float everything at the Newport Boat Show long term?

Have a Dark & Stormy at the Black Pearl for me.

Thank you very much Karl .

I'm lucky to live close by Newport, and can enjoy the local fermented (or distilled) drinks anytime. It's hard to resist going to the show when it's so close and I've been going for years.

I actually bought a boat at the Newport Boat Show way back in 2001 (a 34 ft American Tug). Had my first scallop chowder (at the Black Pearl) back then. Kept that boat on Narragansett Bay for a while. Those experiences were instrumental in our moving to this area to retire. Ah, nostalgia...

You're right about all the outboards. Row after row of the docks were all outboard motors (mostly white, just like chiclets). They were clearly the majority. Inboards have become the minority now in most new boats up to around 40-ish ft. The change over the past few years has been amazing.

I see the appeal of an outboard. Engine access is so easy compared to getting on your hands and knees and crawling in a 3 ft high engine room (which I can't do anymore thanks to osteoarthritis and a spinal nerve entrapment). A friend with an outboard Rosborough just stands on the transom platform to do whatever he wants on the engine. Unlimited headroom.

Maintenance and repair costs are also a fraction of a diesel inboard. What I can't get over are the prices new. Over $700,000 for a 33-ish ft boat with a small, basic cabin and simple accommodations, or $1.1 million for a medium size cabin cruiser, are just breathtaking to me (and not in a good way) .

 

[twistedtree]

I’m not convinced that outboard maintenance and repair is easier. In my experience hanging over the back of a mid size outboard trying to do the most basic checks without falling in the water, I’d say maintenance is considerably harder. Earlier if you haul the boat, but significantly harder in the water.

 

[Snapdragon III]

My theory is that outboards are way better than inboard/outboards as you don't have to put a new $20K lower leg on them seemingly every other year. True inboards with shafts are better for maintenance and repair.

 

[Cargile]

I will pass that along to my 51 year old Volvo Penta AQ 270. Thanks.