Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/459238
January 2015 | Boating Industry | 37 www.BoatingIndustry.com /// Market Trends /// lot of our energy is spent more on how we utilize the sterndrive configuration." Dorton agrees. While he believes Volvo Penta may have an advantage with watersports customers, he would not list either engine manu- facturer as surpassing the other. "They're so evenly matched right now that I wouldn't say I would rather put in a Volvo than a Mercury," said Dorton. "We really cater to the dealer on their personal ideas and preferences [of engines]." Lambert doesn't expect new technologies from Mercury and Volvo Penta will drive con- sumers back to sterndrives. The performance improvements with both manufacturers provide better engines but are not "game-changing im- provements," according to Lambert, who called it an "evolution not a revolution." "The consumers we're going after are not gear heads," said Lambert. "I really don't think people care. They just want something that gets them from point A to point B and delivers the experience that they want to have." OEM concerns lie mainly with horsepower ratios, dependability, a narrowing in complexity and innovation in the segment. Wachs says Nautic Global Group would like to see more horsepower in smaller footprints, which helps builders in terms of design. The horsepower coming out of small displacement automotive engines is not enough for the large displacement marine application OEMs need. "Increased horsepower and increased per- formance in a smaller package is a great goal for all builders because that allows us to do great things in the interior of the boats that's not [an] area we have to dedicate to that big V8 engine," said Wachs. One point worth considering is the growing trend toward larger sterndrive sales 25 feet and up. With a 250 hp engine, Nautic can build a 29 or 30-foot cruiser with twin engines in the back. "The more flexibility you would have in [the horsepower ratio], the more creative we can be in different boats. If you're limited to basic horse- power sizes … there's only so big a boat you can build on something like that," said Wachs. Lambert would disagree with this senti- ment. Between the three or four engine brands Rec Boat Holdings uses, Lambert says the company offers 2,200 different engine models with differences in horsepower, riser, types of drives and so on. "The complexity we manage is crazy, so I'd certainly like them to narrow it down to as few configurations as possible," said Lambert. "The volume in our segment of the industry no longer justifies the complexity that we've brought into it." The biggest priority for Bryant Boats is that the engine can back up the company's reputation for dependability, Dorton said. Because Bryan Boats crafts a hull around the outdrive and the engine, one simple modification affects so many different pieces to the boat's construction and consistency with specs year-to-year. "We customize our whole design to the motor [and] to the outdrive," said Dorton. "A large part of that is having that outdrive placement in a strategic place. It's a big deal to us if Mercury or Volvo was to change the outdrive. We'd have to completely reconsider our hull design." Ultimately, what Dorton wants is a greater partnership between boat and engine manufac- turers to build products that cater to the new millennial and the late baby boomer buyers, par- ticularly a craft that is both watersports-friendly and a good cruiser with ingress/egress for the older generations. Lambert repeated this sentiment, saying he would like to see engine manufacturers focus on products that provide similar features to alterna- tive options – pontoons on one side, ski boats on another. He highlights that those vessels do one thing extremely well but have a lot of drawbacks. How can sterndrives provide these services with their own configuration without compromising the existing incentives to purchasing a stern- drive? Answering this question will help consum- ers migrate back to the segment. "Innovation has lacked in the segment and so we have not really energized the consumer," Lambert said. "We need to create designs and stylings that are exciting and appealing … and we have to come up with technical solutions that will allow us to offer the activities that the younger crowds are looking for." It will take a lot of movement from both stern- drive boat and engine manufacturers and the ball is in their court to collaborate and carry the stern- drive market into the future, Dorton said. "It's going to take new ideas, product and marketing to get there," said Dorton, "but you really just have to focus on the buyer." "We need to create designs and stylings that are exciting and appealing … and we have to come up with technical solutions that will allow us to offer the activities that the younger crowds are looking for." — Roch Lambert, president of Rec Boat Holdings Bryant Boats custom- izes its hull design to the motor and entire outdrive of the engine.