FOX VALLEY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The weather is getting nicer as summer quickly approaches.
And now, with more and more COVID restrictions being lifted, people are eager to get out on the water, but that may not be on a boat.
“I’ve been in this business 20 years, and I’ve never seen the boat market, in the last 18 months, do what it’s doing,” said Bret Uptagraft, sales manager of SkipperBud’s in Oshkosh.
That sentiment is being felt across the industry.
“This is new to us,” Quinn Nofzinger, sales manager at Appleton’s Sport-O-Motive said.
“Our first boat – the 35-foot sailboat – sold out in two weeks!” said Bill Wons of SailTime Door County.
Don’t let the empty showroom at Sport-O-Motive fool you. It means business is good. Too good.
The problem? The pandemic created a backlog of boat orders, because of the high-demand, slowing down the supply chain and, in turn, making it difficult for manufacturers to keep up.
“What they are doing is really focusing on boats that people have already ordered and paid for, so they’re doing a good job of getting that inventory out to the dealers but, as far as getting inventory in the showrooms for people to just pick out a boat that day, they’re struggling keeping up with that demand,” Nofzinger said. I
The open water. The sun glistening on your skin, while making fun, new memories with those closest to you.
“I don’t think you’ll find a better well-suited activity,” Uptagraft said. “At the end of the day, it’s about coming together, as a group of people and Americans, and just going on and enjoying life again.”
Could make anyone want to invest in a boat. But you’ll have to wait in line, a long line.
From March 2020 to March 2021, pontoon boat sales were up more than 75%. Now, for tow boats, that number was up by nearly 90%.
“Just for those segments, alone, and boat registrations are through the roof!” said Uptagraft. “It’s never been higher.”
“It’s been a crazy year, we sold a lot of boats,” Uptagraft said. “Right now, we do not have a boat in stock, which is unheard of. Normally, it takes us throughout the summer to sell out of our complete inventory for the season.”
However you choose to get out on the water this summer, if your heart’s set on doing that on a boat, a piece of advice.
“If you find one that’s available, grab it!” said Norfzinger. “Used, new, anything…get your hands on it.”
SkipperBud’s in Oshkosh says it’s getting new inventory in every week.
At Sport-O-Motive, orders can still be placed. Managers there say, the sooner you place an order, the more likely you are to get that new boat out, by the end of the summer.
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