Boating Industry

November 2016

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42 | Boating Industry | November 2016 www.BoatingIndustry.com /// Market Trends /// increase for the Charlotte/Gastonia, N.C. BTA, while sales increases among the remaining 17 BTAs averaged 20.09 percent. "The ski and wake performance sport boat category has been stronger than any other cat- egory in the fi berglass powerboat market for the last couple of years," said MasterCraft CEO Terry McNew. "It's had a lot of success attracting buy- ers from other segments, people who previously might have bought outboards or sterndrives. That's been driven by the rapid innovation and the technology in this segment relative to the broader boat industry. There are still a lot of people coming into the ski and wake market, and they want a bit of a hybrid experience – the boat is important to them, and so is what they do behind it. Manufacturers in this segment have addressed that in a number of ways, by utilization of wave-shaping technologies and other exciting features that make the boat easy to operate, giv- ing a buyer essentially one-touch operation. You don't see that on other types of boats." Wakesurfi ng is driving the market If any one element has clearly benefi tted the tow boat segment, it is the continued growth in the popularity of wakesurfi ng. It's an activity that appeals to boaters of all ages – aging boomers appreciate it being far lower impact than wake- boarding, while millennials enjoy being closer to the boat and being able to still talk with friends and family aboard the boat when they're out back in the wake. The proximity is even more important in our social media-driven world, where being close enough for good cell phone photos counts more than anyone will admit. "Surfi ng is still growing in a huge way," said Malibu CEO Jack Springer. "Quite honestly, I think that's an activity that's just getting started, there are still a huge number of people who haven't come into it. Wakesurfi ng is driving the growth of tow boats, no question about it. Our segment has done a good job of communicating the enjoyment of that premium boating experi- ence, while keeping it accessible. We have our Malibu premium brand, along with our Axis value brand that provides a lower point of entry, TOP 20 BTAS SKI/WAKE BOATS 12MR 6/2016 2016 Growth % 12 Months Rolling Total 10.94% Dallas-Fort Worth, TX 34.52% Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN 24.90% Salt Lake City-Ogden, UT 3.13% Seattle-Tacoma, WA 26.13% Detroit, MI 20.00% Houston, TX 8.08% Austin, TX 25.59% Charlotte-Gastonia, NC 47.00% Atlanta, GA -2.33% Portland, OR 35.83% Los Angeles, CA 10.71% Orlando, FL 20.80% Denver, CO 41.17% San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA -4.05% Spokane, WA 9.56% Phoenix, AZ 2.45% Birmingham, AL -3.17% Nashville, TN 1.90% Boise-Nampa, ID 16.47% San Antonio, TX 2.29% Source: Statistical Surveys, Inc. "[Surf] boats represent about n - t hd of our production, and we're forecasting it to be almost half of our production as we move forward." — Paxson St. Clair, Cobalt /// Market Trends ///

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