Is the big SF market dead?

You know, I've been noticing the same thing. I've also noticed that center consoles are getting much bigger...

Several orders for eighty foot plus battle wagons are being completed by the custom builders in Stuart, Fl. Do a little digging on line and you'll find a treasure trove of pre sold new builds however, There are some builders in the states that have built on spec that havent had any luck selling their larger completed product such as Tribute custom yachts and a couple of others.

It seems like age is also a driving factor. In the case of a lot of my friends(and even I'm beginning to reach that point), the age of going sport fishing every weekend is starting to settle down. Most of my friends that own SF's decided they don't want to fish anymore and want to move to a motor yacht or sport cruiser, and some just want to get rid of boating all together. I think I'm keeping my SF just because my son loves fishing, so might as well keep him happy!

Yes, this market from what I can see is very dead, the motoryacht market in this size has a little bit of action, but not as much. I think there are several factors......The biggest being the economy in many parts of the world..........Manny hit the nail on the head with the age, I had one owner that owned a 63' Ocean from 1988 to 2009 when he sold it and that was due to age......he did keep his 35' Marlago to use.......

Another factor is fuel, another factor is that the tournaments are dead, and that drove a lot of sales and new buyers were found so they could compete. Another factor is the fishing is not as good as it used to be even 10 years ago in many places......and the next factor is there aren't young buyers coming in to replace the old ones and even if they want to they either cannot get insured now (due to stricter insurance requirements on that size for owner/operators) and a lack of financing.

I'm not sure it is dead. I know Paul Mann has been building big battle wagons. Also, Weaver boat works and F&S has orders for boats.

The new big SF market is not dead, but I think it is on life support.....

I think the mid range SF market is slower.

Also, SF boats have become much larger.

A small SF is now a 40 footer...

About a month ago, I had a discussion about this very subject with the builder of a popular line of super-size center consoles, named after the islands east of Florida. He charges upwards of $500k for a full-Furuno, tower-topped, triple outboard. I'm still in sticker shock, but asked where his customers are coming from? He said most of them are down-sizing from big SF's.

The only fish that come on my SF are wrapped in white paper and missing their heads. My wife loves everything about our boat for cruising - except the near vertical ladder to the bridge. Guests always look at that climb with some trepidation. But any guest who does make it up there is always amazed by the excellent visability and room.

Azimut has a large east coast dealership at our marina. They are a very popular boat design.

Heck, Pipewelders would be a better example. You'd go there and they'd have sportfishes of all makes and sizes stacked up all over waiting for towers and outriggers, some out of the water in the yard getting transducers and stuff put in.......now you go there and it looks like a ghost town.......

I too feel the center console market has encroached on some of the sportfish market. They're just a whole lot easier to take out with a couple of guys, you can cover more ground, and easier to fish.

ALSO, the fishing has changed. 15 years ago you either went trolling or bottom fishing. Live Bait- what's that????? Now it's all about live baiting, and it is a royal pain in the butt to live bait (or swordfish) from a sportfish. Between keeping the lines behind the boat, the bow into the wind and keeping the kite lines adjusted everytime you bump it in gear. A center console, you stop the boat and drift, the kite stays mostly at the same height, and you fish the entire side of the boat and don't have to mess with operating the boat at all until your drift is over.

In the late 90's the Down Easter style fishing boat started making a showing in the sport fish crowd in the North East.

The Down East trend has eased somewhat and you see alot of large center Consoles on the fishing grounds (Yellow Fins, Jupiter, Everglades, Contenders). I think the Down East boats have lost some popularity due to lack of speed.

There was also a trend towards the express style SF.

Now you are just as likely to see a large centerconsole zoom out to the canyon and back as you are to see a larger tradtional SF lumber out there at 120 gph at maybe 25-30 kts.

Most of the larger traditional SF crowd stayed tied to the dock this year at Jacksons.

I recently went the other way, 36 Yellowfin to a 54 Viking. While the Yellowfin was fast and a blast to run, it completely lacked creature comforts. For me and my family the lack of ability to get out of the heat/weather and rest were huge factors. Having said that, I just have to believe its more about the poor economy and lack of disposable income that would normally go towards things like SF boats.

On a positive note the tournament turn outs were good this summer (when weather allowed). I kept thinking fuel prices were going to hurt the numbers, but it did not appear to in my area.

Robert

I think the express offers a lot of nice features if you're going to day fish. Everybody on the boat is within talking distance.....including those in the cockpit and helm deck. Everything is an easy reach, and it's easier to keep track of kids as they're either in the helm deck with you or behind you or down below. Drinks, head, and food is all in easier reach......and you don't have to deal with up an down a ladder all day.......Great view of both the cockpit and behind you at the same time. Easier to hear and talk to the cockpit. More stability.

They do have negatives, less visibility, less space (mostly interior) more noise at helm.

I used to run a 45' Cabo down in Belize, it worked out great. We'd usually pile anywhere from 10-16 people on the boat and run 72 NM out to the owner's island......maybe fish a few hours of it.....The wives stayed in the helm a/c and had their own conversation, the guys in the cockpit.....2 seperate area's but very easy to float back and forth between the two.......when we'd get to the island everyone would get off and stay in cabana's.......then we'd do a 1/2 day here and there fishing......

The mate I had was inexperienced with wiring Marlin. I'd run the boat from the helm, the owner could proficiently run the boat, so I kept gloves at the helm and put them on when fighing a Marlin and when the leader was close to the boat, I'd have the owner take the helm and I'd run back to the cockpit and leader the fish in.......it worked out very well.....but couldn't be done with a FB boat, it'd take too much time to get to the cockpit......We'd usually catch a Marlin every weekend we fished.....along with wahoo etc etc....... Average size down there was only 130-300lbs.....but was fun on 30's or 50's.......