"Everyone is buying boats'"during the pandemic, and it's causing a short supply

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

But what are you buying ??

How can a house be $100,000 one month and $200,000 six months later ? Where does that sudden $100,000 appreciation come from ?? It's not manufactured money, ie, the cost of making the house..the property has always been there.....so where does it come from ? How is this extra "perceived' value arrived at ? Who sets it ? The guv'mint can and does print it's own....every guv'mint in the world owns a printing press...

Where does it come from? Where it has always come from...Supply and demand and inflation.

[MicHughV]

Angela Merkel, German chancellor arrives in Greece for a visit.

She pulls up to a hotel, give the receptionist a $100 bill and asks that she be allowed to see the room.
The receptionist says ok and she hustles upstairs to take a look.

While she is upstairs, the receptionist calls his bookie to pay off a $100 bet. The bookie arrives, picks up the $100 bill and goes down the street to pay off the hooker he bonked last week.

The hooker goes back to the hotel to pay her $100 hotel bill for the room she has been using to provide her services.

As she leaves, Angela Merkel comes back downstairs, says she doesn't like the room, picks up her $100 bill and leaves...

That's economy !!!

[wolfgal]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

This person just bought a yacht and is already over his head.

The tragic side affect of Pandemic is that the harsh realities of human desperation now take a back seat

https://gcaptain.com/artist-banksys-...mediterranean/

spot on!

perhaps they are now taking the backseat, but, from my point of view, harsh realities like this will eventually affect the driver and the car...

we've got a lot going on...

the pandemic as a threat to one's health and to those we love
+
the rise in fear-of-the-other, isolation, depression, suicide, mental illness
+
economic fall-out from lockdowns and the way mainstream looks NOTHING like the stockmarket
+
ominous levels of debt, potential insolvencies, evictions and talk of a reset
+
growing tensions between groups of people
+
distrust in institutions, in fairness (including voting, etc). the "happiest" countries in scandinavia also show a high level of trust in their govts and institutions, but elsewhere...?
+
geopolitical tension especially as a rising power ruffles the feathers of a sitting power
+
economic fall-out from natural disasters like landslides, draughts, storm surge...
+
decline in natural resources, clean water, etc



my feeling is that the math can be added at times but, other times, it will be multiplied

when multiplied, we are looking at masses of people seeking food, shelter, and safety...

sorry to go so dark on you. think that if i already lived on my boat and sailed and could cruise, i'd be fixing something right now (and much happier for it!)


for those who are interested where the economy is going, this is an interesting interview. Lyn alden is brilliant, absolutely brilliant and a great communicator. i've seen lots of interviews with her, but this (to me) is the first time, the guy interviewing her does a good job himself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSQ0D7JSJBI

wolfie

[yesthatsue]

Originally Posted by smj

I also think some of the work force that was able to work from home decided it would be nicer to work from that nice beach house they’ve been dreaming of rather than their home in the city. Let’s face it, not a lot going on in a city during lockdown!

That's exactly the reason why we upgraded boats last weekend -- with Starlink coming within a year or so, and my job 100% remote, having a boat I could work from becomes a bigger deal than it was before that was a possibility.

[MicHughV]

I don't get the panic....in my neck of the woods....life has returned near as damnit to normal....businesses are hiring....traffic is flowing...gas prices going up again....bars and restaurants open.....all stores open....etc..etc...etc...workers returning to work....schools and universities up and running again...stock market on the rebound....air flights up....mask use is basically only in stores....and half the wearers have it around their necks...a lot of people still working from home, but will likely also change soon...

off course, you still get the person in a full body plastic suit, mask on, driving his car with the windows up....

[svGenesis]

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction

[smj]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

I don't get the panic....in my neck of the woods....life has returned near as damnit to normal....businesses are hiring....traffic is flowing...gas prices going up again....bars and restaurants open.....all stores open....etc..etc...etc...workers returning to work....schools and universities up and running again...stock market on the rebound....air flights up....mask use is basically only in stores....and half the wearers have it around their necks...a lot of people still working from home, but will likely also change soon...

off course, you still get the person in a full body plastic suit, mask on, driving his car with the windows up....

With close to 300,000 new cases reported per week in the US I would say that where you live is part of the problem not the solution.

[Chotu]

Mask in car:

There are reasons for this.

1) You just left a store and forgot to take it off

2) You got your hands all gunked up with the ‘rona and want to take your mask off later after washing them

3) You are going from one store to the next.

4) You are the type of germaphobe that wears a mask, rona or no rona.

5)You have a different condition that requires you to wear an n95 or p100 mask, such as severe allergic asthma triggered by pollen or particulate air pollution. Possibly brought on by epoxy exposure from being a little too into boats.


So try to have a little understanding for others.

[DeValency]

All very true, Wolfie -

I wrote something more focused on the economics of the market, somewhere probably tens of responses earlier. Lyn Alden is brilliant!

But also added the same comment on the emotional decision in having a sailboat, maintaining and sailing - actively sailing! It has a close to zero impact on the “boats market” as some people got so excited with jet skies and fishing dinghies numbers.

But for those of us; the real sailors - it is the best investment in maintaining a sanity and happiness (not only in those two famous days per boat 😎 )

Originally Posted by wolfgal

spot on!

perhaps they are now taking the backseat, but, from my point of view, harsh realities like this will eventually affect the driver and the car...

we've got a lot going on...

the pandemic as a threat to one's health and to those we love
+
the rise in fear-of-the-other, isolation, depression, suicide, mental illness
+
economic fall-out from lockdowns and the way mainstream looks NOTHING like the stockmarket
+
ominous levels of debt, potential insolvencies, evictions and talk of a reset
+
growing tensions between groups of people
+
distrust in institutions, in fairness (including voting, etc). the "happiest" countries in scandinavia also show a high level of trust in their govts and institutions, but elsewhere...?
+
geopolitical tension especially as a rising power ruffles the feathers of a sitting power
+
economic fall-out from natural disasters like landslides, draughts, storm surge...
+
decline in natural resources, clean water, etc



my feeling is that the math can be added at times but, other times, it will be multiplied

when multiplied, we are looking at masses of people seeking food, shelter, and safety...

sorry to go so dark on you. think that if i already lived on my boat and sailed and could cruise, i'd be fixing something right now (and much happier for it!)


for those who are interested where the economy is going, this is an interesting interview. Lyn alden is brilliant, absolutely brilliant and a great communicator. i've seen lots of interviews with her, but this (to me) is the first time, the guy interviewing her does a good job himself.

wolfie

[Woodland Hills]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

I don't get the panic....in my neck of the woods....life has returned near as damnit to normal....businesses are hiring....traffic is flowing...gas prices going up again....bars and restaurants open.....all stores open....etc..etc...etc...workers returning to work....schools and universities up and running again...stock market on the rebound....air flights up....mask use is basically only in stores....and half the wearers have it around their necks...a lot of people still working from home, but will likely also change soon...

off course, you still get the person in a full body plastic suit, mask on, driving his car with the windows up....

What country do you live in? I wish America was doing that well! Bars and restaurants are closing left and right, Wall St is booming while Main St is collapsing, unemployment is astronomical, airlines are announcing tens of thousands of layoffs as soon as stimulus rules allow, tourist travel has died and stores that sell to them have closed, schools and colleges are closing within days of opening due to outbreaks. What a disaster!

[Lake-Effect]

Some troubling signs that financially-ok and well-off folks are saving more and have not resumed spending at pre-pandemic levels, which of course means that jobs for the lower tier won't be roaring back quickly.

(on the other hand, if "Everyone is buying boats" for real, I predict explosive growth in the boating trades next year )

As we've seen in this thread and elsewhere, and now in this article, the pandemic has actually been a financial boon for many higher-earners, most of whom kept working from home.

[MicHughV]

I'm not taking a stand on this 'rona thing one way or another.....I'm just you letting you know what I see and what is happening in my neck of the woods...NE Florida, USA.

I just came back from the beach....hundreds of people out watching the sunset, men, women, kids, kite surfers, people walking dogs, etc.......not one mask to be seen....driving home, passed by several area restaurants with outside seating..same thing.....all packed...no masks at tables...

Y'all are welcome to come and see for yourself. Make up your own mind, but please don't tell me or anyone else living here that we are part of the problem....

[MicHughV]

and while I'm at it.....I just read the passenger numbers at the airport are ticking up here, and no, I'm not making that up....thats a news story.......my wife works at one of the Universities here, I happened to be there today with her. Granted the place was not as busy as I've seen it, but dorms appear full...and many students everywhere.....sure....they are obliged to wear a mask.....but I can tell you, that while some obey that mandate to the nth degree...there are others that wear it as an ornament.....

I'm just telling you what I see....good, bad, indifferent....who knows......time will tell...then you can either wag your finger at the folly here or you can accept the fact that some people accept the fact...

I've never once...not once....seen any of our marina employees wear a mask....the drystack boys deal with hundreds of people from all over town every week, up close and personal like they always have, the folks that come in to use the boats, same, I've never seen any of them with a mask either......day in....day out...same goes for marina mechanics and other staff....they are all busier than they've ever been. I know of no Covid case that has resulted from marina activity.

Not so long ago, I was in a big fishing competition here...200 plus boats....4-5 people per boat....no masks....volunteers at the weigh in....no masks...

Panic ?...no, I don't think there is panic here, most stores are open, bars are open, streets are full of traffic...I see a lot of for hire signs..etc.

Off course, things aren't they way they were....but there seems to be large ground swelling here of people that aren't gonna take it anymore...we'll have to see how it all works out...

I'll check back in a few weeks...

[barnakiel]

Yes. In a big country like US where you are free to go places despite Covid pandemics, boats may sell.


In Europe where states are small and independent, the market is dead. The market is flush with old no longer wanted boats.


b.

[MicHughV]

B, I can tell you that here, small boat sales are thru' the roof. Dealers can't keep them in stock. Sailboats not so much. I put my fishing boat up for sale and it was gone 12 hours after it was listed, Got a lot more for it than what I paid for it. Crazy times. Sailboat activity, near as I can tell, is deader'n doornail.....