How many skiboats are there?

[ErikBerghiller]

Hi Ballers!

 

Just curious, does anyone have a clue how many ski boats that are sold each year on average, found this chart after some googeling around but in order to read it one need to know the ski/wakeboard ratio…

 

Also, approximately how many Ski Nautique 196 and 200 where made in total?

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

 

 

[DW]

The feedback I get ranges from 7-10:1 wake:tourney ski ratio. So roughly 750 ski boats over ~4-5 manufacturers in 2014. Very coarse estimates based only on dealer conversations, not hard number data.

[ErikBerghiller]

@DW Thanks! Any thoughts on how the numbers has changed now days compared to the 90's? Is there any brand that manufactures significantly more skiboats than another if comparing the "big four" or are they sharing the market equaly?

[DW]

ErikBerghiller : Good question, and don't have actual data although the ratio does not seem to have changed much over the last decade or so. As for market share, the top 4 are not evenly distributed, overall Malibu sells the most.

Tow Boat Market

[RAWSki]

Nice article @DW This is just my observation but back in the 80-90's a lot of people bought a DD 'Ski Boat' as their family boat. There was some skiing behind it but at least in Michigan I saw a lot of just 'cruising', tubing, boarding etc. I would say close to 70% of the DD's on our lake were serving the same purpose that IO or Outboard could. Then came the V-Drive and it was more appealing to families and of course Wakeboarding and later Surfing took off. So while the V-Drives easily out-sell DD's I would suspect the number of hard-core skiers buying 'Tournament approved ski boats' has remained fairly constant.

[BRY]

91 was they year everything changed, the compression molded wakeboard was introduced. It was almost all skiing and real DD ski boats before then. As wakeboarding took off the wakeboard v-drive lake destroyer was developed and water has never been the same.

Mastercraft and Nautique were the "big two" with Malibu's and Centurion ebbing in and out, Centurion no ski boat for a while there. Brendell had some good ski boats, Brendella and MB back in the day. Gekko died but recently tried resurgence of their ski boat but looks like only wakeboard again, at least on their site.

As @DW said about 7-10:1 wake:tourney ski boat ratio in recent history.

 

[ErikBerghiller]

@DW Thanks for the article, very interesting... did'nt know that Malibu was the biggest one, never see those around here.

 

@BRY Love the term lake destroyer :)

 

So what do you think about the future, will the skiboat keep its market territory as today? Heard somewhere that the boat manufacturers just keep on doing skiboats because of old habit and that theres hardly any money in developing new models...

[sunvalleylaw]

@BRY That era always reminds me of the old Mastercraft ad that would always get stuck in my head. "This is the look . . . Mastercraft . . ." I think I must have heard that ad a million times watching the old ESPN Hot Summer Nights broadcasts. Featuring Lucky Lowe.

 

 

I ended up with a Malibu. @ErikBerghiller Malibu seems by far the biggest out here in the PNW. Then Nautigue. Just what you see around anyway.

 

Also, here in the Wood River Valley, near Sun Valley, there seems to be a huge number of DD's used for family boating, though now the younger generation is starting to push that number toward surf boats. As compared to where I grew up in Puget Sound where most family boating was behind a Bayliner or Maxxum (Ours was a Glastron, then a Seaswirl) or something similar. I think it is the elevation, and need for power up mountain high.

 

 

[DW]

@ErikBerghiller : Malibu is largest by overall volume, covering their entire model lineup, not sure on DD tourney model volume comparison. Dealer network has a significant impact on brand distribution. As long as there is some level of profit and ROI, hopefully they will continue to offer and also develop excellent ski machines. There are 'ski champions' that are in high level positions of power at the manufacturers, so that helps.

 

@RAWSki : My observation, and it is a small sample, the DD ski boat is now used more as a non ski boat than a decade ago. As an example, 20 years ago every ski boat on our little lake pulled either a skier (and pretty much all on a single ski except for the random guest) or barefooters. Today, the % of DD ski boats on our lake pulling a skier is 50% with 33% owners never skiing or planning on it. A good used DD ski boat can be bought for same cash level as a newer I/O, so that helps keep the DD market going. Might also have some of that 'expert advice' aspect as many DD ski boat owners tend to have the 'expert' label and for obvious (to us) reasons would tend to push the advantages.

 

Kind of amazing that reasonably fit human beings living on a body of water great for skiing / footing etc. never give it a thought.

[bigskieridaho]

Seems that everyone nowadays are moving to the DD and VD markets. When I go out on public water you see the I/O markets dwindling away due to the fact people want that advantage to ski, surf, wakeboard etc. even people with low budgets are buying the older models just to be able to get in the market and have the opportunity to do the sports they want like everyone else around them. You see the new boats which only a certain amount of people decide to pay the big $ and the affordable used boats with people having just as much fun. Great to see the DD market so alive!

[UWSkier]

I think our northern WI lake is a bit of an anomaly. I'd say 35% of the boats on the lake are inboards. Of that 35%, 75% are DDs. 50% of the 35% are Malibus.