What Design Characteristics Make For A Boat That Sells Well

[peter radclyffe]

and who would buy it

[sailboy3]

Youth.

Oh, wait, design characteristics.

[perldog007]

Thorne has the basic formula worked out upstairs, its the UNB ( universal newbie boat ) it sleeps six, can circumnavigate, and car top, sail, oar and motor auxillary. Gimbaled stove. Spacious head and stand up shower, plenty of bookshelf space.... Before I built my first pond punt I went to the lakes, rivers, and bay looking for working boats and asked the operators what made a good boat in their trade ( clammers, crab haulers, etc, etc) I got as many answers as skippers. Suspect the same would happen if I got my old job at the Yacht Club in Lewes back and polled the patrons.

[Woxbox]

Used cruising cats are selling at remarkably good prices. Couples who have just retired and want to cruise go for them -- they've got the cash and they want the comfort.

If you're assuming something that could be built in a garage, maybe a pretty kayak?

[Ian McColgin]

Talk about a question in search of a point . . .

There are so many different places to have a boat, so many reasons, and so many types. This question as phrased is about as rational as what sort of person makes a beloved and how many would love him or her.

Rather than ask really pointless questions, try starting with contemplating boats and waters that you know and ponder a type existing that could be done better or less expensivly or something. Ponder what would be a neat sort of boating that's just not happening there but really should be. Then make that.

G'luck

[Canoeyawl]

Does sells well mean "sells a lot of that model" or does it mean "sells for a higher price than the others"?

[Cuyahoga Chuck]

How come all you boatbuilding weenies wanna post here? This is "The Bilge"! We deal with BIG topics like 'did silvio Berlesconni (sic) shack up with a 17 year old Arab beauty?" "Will the Cammora get more seats in the parliament? and take over Cita del Vaticano?" And like that.

[L.W. Baxter]

Careful now, gents. Consider who started the thread and where he posted it.

They just might be rhetorical questions, in other words.

My answers are "wall to wall carpeting", and "advertising executives".

[Breakaway]

1.Lots of drinkholders.
2.Porta potty ( see number 1)
3.Girls in bikinis

In essence, incorporate charachteristics that exude the perceived lifestyle to the uninformed.

[S B]

There is only "1" design characteristic that makes a boat, or any other object, sell well."Make it cheap".

[Bob (oh, THAT Bob)]

Oysh. Good selling cars, and other things, do not necessarily mean excellence. Witness the....oh crap...my mind fails me...what's that ugly 26 foot water-ballasted sailboat with the fake ports that has a 50 outboard and can tow water skiers? Yeah, they sell like hotcakes.

Edit: MacGregor 26M?

And Bayliners, boy do they sell. Big (thin) boat with a big motor, at a low price. Wiki says they are the "world's largest manufacturer of recreational boats."

[Curtism]

An old boat builder I worked for years ago held a strong belief that husbands are generally an easy sell. His theory was that you offer something durable looking, simple to handle and use, aesthetically pleasing with lots of traditional styling to appeal to peoples nostalgic longings, and the boat almost sells itself. To the man that is.

If you can sell it to the wife, either by convincing her it's something she would get a lot of enjoyment from or, providing the hubby with lots of selling points that make it easier for him to make a case to her, you'll sell more boats.

I know that's a very generic answer, to a somewhat vague question, but it worked well for him and is an important consideration while your conceptualizing a new design. Maybe you could narrow your question a bit further and ask what it is about a boat that appeals to women? It's a question that most men are ill equipped to answer, or so I think.