Boat dealers see good signs in early season

By David Cederstrom, Chronicle Staff Writer

Local boat dealers were mostly upbeat about the coming season when contacted by The Chronicle in advance of the 12th annual Great Upstate Boat Show this weekend — Friday, March 31, through Sunday, April 2 — at the Adirondack Sports Complex (The Dome) off Sherman Avenue in Queensbury.

“With the weather ups and downs we are starting off strong,” said Kristen DePace at Chic’s Marina. “Boat sales around the country seem to be on the high side and we are looking forward to a good season going forward.”

She said, “Everything seems to be selling well across the board. A lot more boats are being sold with trailers so trailer sales are up. People are more interested in using their boats on multiple lakes around the area instead of just Lake George partly due to the high costs and low availability of dockspace on Lake George.”

Drew Casabonne of Adirondack Marine said, “We had a good solid winter and things are picking up, so we’re looking forward to a good spring and summer season.” He said wake surfing has been a trend for the last five or six years, and “it just continues to grow.”

Mike Niemczura at Boats by George said business is “very good….There’s a trend towards the new ‘surf series’ boats” for wake surfing, and also towards “triple-pontoon luxury boats.”

Nick Barber at Pilot Knob Marina said, “The season seems to be starting off pretty good….There just seems to be more activity than usual. We’re looking forward to a good show at The Dome.”

Thalia Chase at Castaway Marina said, “It’s been a fantastic winter so far, leading from the New York City Boat Show until now. Used product is going very quickly….We’re seeing more entry-level [sales], which is really, really promising.”

She said, “Our area is very steady with the bowriders and the smaller cruisers,” and the Mastercraft NXT20 wake surfing boat has been “extremely popular this winter.”

Ms. Chase said the one potential problem she sees is getting boats from the manufacturers in a timely manner. She recommended that people consider buying the boats that are in stock to be sure of having the boat for the season.

Michelle Palandrani at Snug Harbor Marina terms business “awesome. The pontoon boats are really what people are interested in. We can’t keep ’em in stock….Even as far as rental boats, that’s what people are looking at.”

Rentals are a growing part of the business, she said. “As far as the rentals, we do see a younger generation coming up to rent. A lot of it’s for camping on the islands.”

She said boat sales have been more to local families and local property owners.

Peter Brown at Smooth Water Sports that business is going “very good. We’re a ski and wakeboard dealer….Skiing and wake surfing is still leading the charge.”

Joel Holden, executive director of the Eastern New York Marine Trades Association, which puts on the boat show, said outboard powered boats and aluminum/pontoon boats continue to be a sales trend according to the 2016 registration data.

Lynn at Shoreline Boat Sales said they’re seeing the usual demand for bowriders.

Ms. DePace said new technology on outboards makes the motors quieter and more fuel efficient.

Mr. Barber said Chaparral was primarily a sterndrive company, but “has been quite successful” getting into the outboard market.

Pete Fish at Fish Brothers Marine Service said restoration work on old wooden boats keeps them going, but otherwise business for them is “pretty much the same,” which is to say slow.

“We’re kind of a specialty niche business,” building classic-styled wooden boats, Mr. Fish said. “It’s been slow for the past eight years….We built one boat in the last two years. We used to do six to eight a year.”

Copyright © 2017 Lone Oak Publishing Co., Inc. All Rights Reserved.