Help Wanted
The takeaway from the American Boating Congress, my first official appearance as editor of Soundings Trade Only, is that we’re facing some of the most urgent challenges our industry has seen.
Letters from the Editor
Good Times, Changing times
I entered the industry through a side door — with a fishing pole in hand.
Tech shortage spans digital and analog worlds
The marine industry continues to struggle with finding qualified technicians. Older techs are retiring, and it’s been an ongoing challenge to find and train younger workers.
Survival at sea and in business
Less than a week before the Miami boat shows, I found myself pulling on a survival suit and jumping off the open transom of a boat and into 36-degree ocean water.
Industry backbone: lifelong boaters
I wrote a column several years ago about a successful self-made businessman named Samuel Zemurray, known as “Sam the Banana Man.”
Outlook for 2018: continued growth
As we put another year in our wake and study the horizon, conditions look favorable for making continued headway. Our annual forecast starts on Page 14 and contains prognostications for the year ahead from 25 industry leaders.
Zen and the art of Zurn Yacht Design
To my humble eye, the best boats across generations share four or five attributes. They’re handsome, reliable, efficient and seaworthy. And they also are so striking as to make their
A new way of boating?
Who foresaw the big surge in outboard-powered boats when the first generation of 4-strokes was initially introduced?
Record storms, unparalleled heroism
Hurricanes Irma and Harvey spun their way into the books well before the final toll of the destruction had been tallied.
Growing the Pie: Innovation, Education, Experience
IBEX is shaping up to be one strong show. Sales figures, consumer confidence and other indicators leading into the three-day show Sept. 19-21 are all positive. Space has been sold out for some time. There will be more than 100 new exhibitors in Tampa, and the waiting list is 75 companies and counting.
ICAST spools up for Orlando show
Sportfishing interests from around the world will converge in Orlando, Fla., July 11-14 for the International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades show, widely known as ICAST. If your business has any connection to the hook, line and sinker set, this is the show to attend.
The hidden costs of boat ownership
We all agree the industry needs to increase the number of first-time boat buyers to ensure healthy long-term growth. That’s going to require a bit of a course correction from our current trajectory.
Boats, horses and doubling down on innovation
The late Coast Guard captain and navigation expert Bill Brogdon used to say that if you want to stay dry, you should buy a horse, not a boat.
Making hay (while the sun shines) and keeping a weather eye
When the subject is the economy and business trends, I gravitate to numbers, percentages and the plethora of analysis over what they mean and where we’re likely headed.
Wires and pliers vs. the robots
I’ve been reading a lot recently about automation, creative destruction, artificial intelligence, globalization, reshoring, job loss and the like. So are you and me and my brother-in-law the boatwright going to be replaced before too long by robots? I wouldn’t lose sleep over it.
A champion of waterfront eccentrics
The industry lost one of its most authentic voices and ardent practitioners late last year with the death of Jack Sherwood.
Forecast for 2017: Steady as she goes
Prediction time, once more. Barring an unexpected economic jolt or a black swan event, most signs point to continued growth in our industry in 2017.
Fostering diversity? ‘That’s our job’
With millennials marshaling on the horizon, everyone, it seems, has an eye on younger buyers. But here’s the thing: Younger, by definition, will also mean more diverse.
‘That’s a lot of boats’
Could we be in the midst of the new “good old days” without fully recognizing them? Perhaps. Time will tell, but you could certainly make a case for it.
The peril of ‘feature talk’
As we move into the heart of boat show season, much of the focus is on new boats and the latest technology and features that builders have packed on board. So it seems counterintuitive to suggest that builders and dealers not concentrate their marketing efforts on the latest and greatest improvements in propulsion, performance, layouts and the like.
So what exactly does innovation look like?
The post-recession mantra for success in new-boat sales has gone something like this: People want new, and they want innovation.
The fishing industry casts a wide net
Boating and fishing draw participants with the same strong magnet. Both activities promise fun, relaxation, family time, the great outdoors, adventure and so on.
Retention is tied to time on the water
Boats don’t like to sit for extended periods of time on the hard or in their slips. Things deteriorate faster during prolonged idleness — systems and parts stiffen, freeze, gum up and so on. Boats like to be underway.