Second Quarter 2010 Reports Show Boat Sales Continue Slow Improvement

When looking at the Sold Boats Report from Yacht World (the country's most shopped internet
site) sales continue a slow improvement. In looking at the past five years the best years
were definitely 2005-2007. Sales went down considerably in 2008 but started a slow rebound in
2009. The first quarter of 2010 reflected double digit growth but that has slowed in the
second quarter with the economy seeming to stall again.

Currently the average time it took to sell a boat according to the Sold Boats report on Yacht
World was 300 days. This probably reflects the fact that there are a lot of unsold new boats
still on the market. It is not uncommon to see boats 2 to 3 years old that are still listed
as new units. The best deals on the market continue to be "pre-owned" boats that are 10 years
or less old. One other interesting note while sailboats seem to take as long as power boats
to sell their valuation seems to be creeping back up while power boat values continue to show
downward movement.

Marinas and other boating related businesses in Florida's Panhandle area are reporting greatly depressed sales. This is very frustrating for many business owners in that area as the effect of the oil spill has thus far been minimal.
What is even more frustrating is the fact that it has depressed the boating industry in many other areas of Florida where there has been absolutely no sign of oil. Not a single tar ball related to the oil spill has washed ashore outside of the Panhandle area. The vast majority of Coastal Florida remains oil free. However many businesses throughout Florida have reported cancellations or changes in plans related to boating activities. This is really a shame and can only be blamed on the uncertainty and lack of clarity about the quality of the water brought on by an overactive news media.
On the bright side for many years the planet has some how found a way to withstand and even bounce back from much worst oil spills. For example in 1991 Iraqi forces purposely spilled over 500 million gallons of oil in order to slow the American invasion. The slick was four inches thick and covered 4000 square miles of ocean. Today with virtually no help from man the area is recovering with sand beaches being the area that have best recovered. Imagine how much quicker the area could have recovered if helped by man. Similar stories like an oil well explosion in Mexico in 1980 in which over 100 million gallons of oil was spilled and went on for a full year. In 1994 over 80 million gallons were spilled in Russia in a leak that lasted for eight months before it was finally noticed and repaired. In 1979 90 million gallons spilled after an oil tanker collision during a tropical storm in Trinidad and Tobago. The list goes on and on. Somehow Mother Earth has managed to find a way to deal with these disasters. Instead of pointing fingers of blame it is time for us to all band together and give Mother Earth a helping hand to clean up this latest spill.
In the meanwhile come on in…the water’s fine in Florida. Have you noticed on many of the maps predicting where the spill will go that the West Coast of Florida and Tampa Bay remain completely untouched? While no one knows for sure what will happen in the days to come we at Whiteaker Yacht Sales remain very hopeful that not just the area where we are located here in Tampa Bay will be preserved but the vast majority of Florida waters will retain their beauty. Beginning early this year we have noticed an increase in boat sales and they have somehow remained steady throughout the oil spill media frenzy. If your dream is to own a boat, you'll find some outstanding deals right now in Florida so don’t postpone that dream. The "Coast is Clear" - Jump In!
Debbie Whiteaker