Category Archives: Boat Insurance

U.S. Boat Sales Float Back to the Top, Expected to Surge through 2018

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
U.S. Boat Sales Float Back to the Top, Expected to Surge through 2018
Critical selling season for uniquely American-made industry kicks off in January with boat shows around the U.S., bringing best deals of the year for buyers
CHICAGO – January 4, 2017 – The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), 

U.S. Recreational Boating by the Numbers
·         Annual U.S. sales of boats, marine products and services totaled $36 billion in 2015 and are expected to climb three percent in 2016 to $37 billion.
  • Annual U.S. retail sales of NEW boats, marine engines and marine accessories totaled $17.4 billion in 2015 and are expected to grow to $19.1 billion in 2016.
  • There were approximately 238,000 NEW power boats sold in 2015. The NMMA expects this number to grow to more than 250,000 in 2016.
  • The recreational boating industry in the U.S. has an annual economic impact of more than $121.5 billion (includes direct, indirect and induced spending), supporting 650,000 direct and indirect American jobs and nearly 35,000 small businesses.
  • Leading the nation in sales of new powerboat, engine, trailer and accessories in 2015 were the following states:
1.       Florida: $2.6 billion, up 11.4 percent from 2014
2.       Texas: $1.4 billion, up 8.2 percent from 2014
3.       Michigan: $842.5 million, up 10.5 percent from 2014
4.       Minnesota: $661.5 million, up 10 percent from 2014
5.       New York: $643.3 million, up 7.6 percent from 2014
6.       North Carolina: $634.6 million, up 9.4 percent from 2014
7.       Wisconsin: $616.5 million, up 10 percent from 2014
8.       California: $576.3 million, up 5.4 percent from 2014
9.       Louisiana: $528.1 million, down 0.3 percent from 2014
10.   Alabama: $512.3 million, up 11.9 percent from 2014
  • It’s not just new boats Americans are buying; there were an estimated 958,000 pre-owned boats (powerboats, personal watercraft, and sailboats) sold in 2015, an increase of 1.9 percent.
  • There were an estimated 12.1 million registered/documented boats in the U.S. in 2015.
  • Ninety-five percent of boats on the water (powerboats, personal watercraft, and sailboats) in the U.S. are small in size at less than 26 feet in length—boats that can be trailered by a vehicle to local waterways.
  • Boating is predominantly “middle-class” with 72 percent of boat owners having a household income of less than $100,000.
  • 95 percent of all Americans live within an hour’s drive of a navigable body of water

Need an easy winter project for your two toon Pontoon?

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Don’t buy a new pontoon, just add a Pontoon Wholesalers Poly 3rdTube Kit 

The installation only takes a few basic tools and a little manual labor to complete.  

Guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when Mike at Pontoon Wholesalers said it would only take about four hours for the job. 

I had my doubts, but in reality it can be installed in a remarkable short amount of time. We planned on a weekend so we would have time to make mistakes and capture the fun and excitement on video, which we did. 

See the video at https://youtu.be/1eGq68LkPI0.  


Also read about the full install on Pontoon and Deckboat’s website.
Pontoon Wholesalers website is www.pontoonwholesalers.com/. 
Check it out. Mike and Troy at Pontoon Wholesalers put together a great package. They are also great people to work with.  It is a good product, easy to install and makes the boat handle very nice adding stability and comfort. And almost looks factory. Now I want a bigger Mercury outboard!