They will be fine. Their target demographic isn't worried about interest rates

Most boat manufacturers will be fine. They made a killing the last few years and will have to operate on some of that money for a while. They will greatly reduce production numbers, personnel, overhead, etc. and just try and hang on until interest rates become more favorable to borrow money, and then wait for the rich dude to come back and buy a new rig in the interim. Don't expect to see great deals on bass boats from dealers. Now, third party finds are a totally different deal. Families still gotta eat and ole' Joe that over-extended himself a few years back will have to pay the price.

Yes and No. I know 2 guys in Ikons right now and I wouldn’t call them ballers in the business world by no sense. Just wanted the newest boat on the market. I punted on that! Lol. I look ahead and buy what I feel I can sell in about 2 years and make most my money back. But at a $130k, I need to see some returns before I dive off in that pool. Lol.
I hope they do ok. Never want to see a company fail. But until Dems get out of office, it’s going to be a struggle for lots of people.

You assume most of those profits didn't immediately go into the pockets of the leadership. Businesses don't typically just sit on large amounts of liquid cash. In our economy, if you aren't growing then you're dying.

Expect to see a number of dealers and a manufacturer or two go out of business when the economy takes a nose dive.

All that “killing made” came at the cost of increased manufacturing. That’s not free. Shrinking after growth hurts and it will hurt boat manufacturers all the same.

Yes, it seems to be, I am noticing full dealer lots and boats for sale in ads for long periods of time. Some of it is the normal slow down this time of year and some is related to high interest rates. We will make it through this cycle at some point and things will be fine in my opinion.

I've ridden through about 4 to 5 of these down turns in my lifetime and every time it has happened we lost a pretty good chunk of the bass boat manufacturers. About the only company that really doesn't seem to get rattled by this is Skeeter or anyone affiliated with Yamaha. I don't know how the Johnny Morris groups will do but the last time this happened he wound up with a lot of the boat manufacturing companies he owns now. It was either go busted or get bought up.

Yes and layoffs are slowly starting. 2024 and/or 2025 will be a tough year for many I fear. If you have cash wait for market correction and then buy new house and toys if you are seeking a “deal”. Both markets are slowing. This will not be a 2008 correction that bounces back….. it’s going to look more like the 1980s most likely. But they can fix things with lower interest rates, lower gas prices and pulling back on all the covid and other government $$$ they were handing out the last few years. The later is what drove inflation…..seems everyone but me got “covid” money. Lol. Buddies say my wife stole it. 😆

Boat values rose through CoVid and now the latest model years prices escalated from inflation. That’s what effected used values and now interest is complicating the used market further, which impacts the new market when those used boats don’t find homes.

Econ 101 is what everyone assumes. Actually it’s back more to a pre-CoVid level and everyone has to adjust.