Revisiting our favorite boating places of all time!
We’ve always had some kind of runabout boat. We’re what you’d consider boating aficionados. Part of the reason is that we’re in a boating part of the country….the Pacific Northwest.
From our house there are dozens of lakes that are within a day’s drive as well as the Puget Sound if we choose to put our boat in the salt.
We also have deeded moorage on Lake Sammamish so it’s easy to park our boat during the summer months, something we’ve done for decades.
The challenge with boats is that they’re like vehicles. Very use specific.
You wouldn’t take a luxury car off-roading.
A wakeboard boat with an outdrive can’t go in the rivers or stump filled reservoirs, lest you tear the outdrive off.
A slow cruiser saves gas but takes forever to get somewhere.
A big boat isn’t trailerable.
A small boat means fewer guests.
And on and on.
So for boating variety, we’ve traded nearly a dozen boats over the years.
Along came Covid-19.
In the summer of 2020, we decided the luxury wakeboard boat should be traded for an aluminum jet boat. We were stir crazy just like everyone else. All of the travel plans and events went out the window so we turned our attention to close-by recreational activities with a desire to get a different type of boat.
First step: sell our current boat.
The interested parties came pouring in. A dealer offered to cash us out sight unseen.
The wakeboard boat was immediately SOLD, with a few backup offers and disappointed parties.
Our target was a trailerable aluminum jet boat to traverse our river infrastructure and other interesting waterways. After quite a few calls and missed opportunities we got aggressive with a new target: a barely used, North River Commander, in Eastern Washington state.
It worked, we locked it up and picked it up.
Talking to the dealer there that represented our consignment boat along with ten other manufacturers, confirmed what we had experienced. The pandemic has caused a run on boats. His said his inventory was less than half of normal, previous years. All sold.
While this dealer was an anecdotal example, the stats confirm the high demand.
The National Marine Manufacturers Association reported that May and June of 2020 had record boat sales, an increase of 30% over the previous year period.
With entertainment outlets like sporting events, theme parks, festivals and vacations cancelled, many people are trying to figure out a safe way to pursue their recreation. Boating fits the bill perfectly for sightseeing, water sports or just getting out of the same four walls.