Luxury back in play in boat purchases

A 90-degree afternoon coupled with time for family and friends this past Wednesday was an ideal occasion to use the Cobalt Runabout, which the White family bought last year.

The all-white powerboat with a metallic black streak can blast music through rear speakers to the water for swimmers, cut down clutter through built-in coolers and storage under the white cushioned seats, and zoom fast enough for tubing or water skiing.

'We love it,” said owner Cristyn White of North Liberty, who took her daughter and a friend for a spin around Coralville Lake. 'We are here three or four times a week, easily.”

A stable financial situation and lower gas prices helped make boat ownership an attractive choice for the White family.

They aren't alone. Industry reports and state licensing data suggest buyers are spending more on life's luxuries, such as boating.

Boat registrations, which operate on a three-year cycle in Iowa, are well below the 2009 peak of 247,190, which was the last year of the 2007-09 cycle. But they are rebounding, according to data from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Registrations fell nearly 7 percent from 2009 to 230,155 by 2012, which was the end of the next cycle, according to the data. But the current cycle shows signs of recovery.

Between 2013 and 2014 - the first and second year of the current cycle - registrations climbed 10 percent, which is the biggest one-year uptick since the Iowa DNR established the three-year cycle in 2007. If the pace continues, registrations would exceed 2012 figures and end a few thousand shy of 2009.

'I would say we are going to pass our 2012 numbers,” said Susan Stocker, Iowa DNR boating law administrator and education coordinator.

'After the recession hit, 2009 was the last time we really had our high numbers. Those were the highest in 10 years. It's taken us almost six years to recover.”

Iowa State University economist Dave Swenson said incomes have started to creep up, energy prices have been substantially below averages for the past few years, consumer confidence is mostly up and inflation still is very low.

'Consumers have been suspected of, for lack of a better term, hoarding their energy savings over the past nine months or so,” Swenson said. 'So if household balance sheets are looking better now, one would expect an uptick in some discretionary big-ticket purchases.”

‘We All took a vote'

At the gas pump at Coralville Lake Marina, Roxanne Rogers, who owns the marina with her husband, Dan, refueled a rental pontoon for a church group from Mount Zion Baptist of Cedar Rapids on Wednesday. The $3.60-per-gallon cost of gas is about a dollar less than a year ago, or $30 or $40 less to fill a tank, Rogers said.

It's a cost savings whether you rent or own.

'We all took a vote and wanted to try something different to attract the kids of today,” said Deacon Michael Lewis, who captained the boat with around 10 children and another adult.

National trade groups forecast modest growth in sales for new boats, as well as other luxury items such as recreational vehicles and some higher-end motorcycles and automobiles.

For powerboats in particular, the Chicago-based National Marine Manufacturers Association projects 5 percent growth this year.

In Iowa, many choose the used market rather than new. Eric Kool of Ankeny, who also boats on Coralville Lake with his wife and children, said he is making an offer on a used 2001 deck boat, which is a hybrid between a speedboat and pontoon, after owning a 1970 Starcraft.

'We can't get the bigger house in a wooded area, so we thought, ‘What else can we do to increase those good family experiences?' ” he said.

Dan Rogers said rentals, used boats and new and used pontoons have been very strong. The four rental pontoons will book out every weekend this summer, and the roughly 375 slips are full with a growing waiting list, he said. The sales of more expensive new fiberglass speedboats have lagged behind, the Rogerses said.

But the temperamental weather that began the warm season could help explain a slow start to the year for the fiberglass boat sales, Roxanne Rogers said.

It's a similar case at Oak Hill Marina in Okoboji, which may be Iowa's best-known aquatic destination.

'Business is steady, but the weather hasn't turned for us,” said Tim Sather, co-owner of the marina. 'There hasn't been a ton of great boating days, but I think we'll still have a strong market this year.”

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