A recent story on a new entry-level, 20-foot sportboat with a 250-hp outboard engine—for less than $60,000—from Lightning Boat Works captured a good deal of attention. For good reason.
“The market needs an entry boat to attract future performance boaters for a person who loves boating but can’t afford $100,000 for a boat,” an industry veteran wrote in a social media post. “This makes perfect sense.”
The truth is a lot of folks in the marine industry get it, but the costs of boat-building materials and labor have skyrocketed. Still, that isn’t stopping likes of Lightning Boat Works partners Mitch Kaplan, J.R. Jenney and Rick Rosenberger from making a run at it. Whether their new model succeeds or fails will be up to their ability to deliver a boat of commensurate value to its sticker price.
Likewise, consumers will have to scale their expectations. That doesn’t mean accepting junk—$60,000 is a decent chunk of change to spend on any recreational product. You can buy a nicely appointed, attractive new automobile, even of the German kind if that’s your preference, for the same price or less. But expecting custom quality in an entry-level purchase of any boat guarantees disappointment.
Also worth keeping in mind? Entry-level is mostly in the wallet of the beholder.
As reported the following day after the Lightning Boat Works news, Performance Boat Center, which carries the MTI, Performance Powerboats and Sunsation Boats brands, is taking a different path to the entry-level goal with its new IRON Boats line from Sweden. The RIB-like, single- and twin-outboardmodels range from 21 to 29 feet long.
According to Brett Manire, the co-owner of the Osage Beach, Mo.-headquartered dealership, prices range from $125,000 to $250,000 depending on the model and its options. From the looks of the IRON Boats line-up, the brand looks every bit as versatile and it does Euro-style sporty. It’s intriguing.
No matter what happens with each brand, the trend toward an entry-level offering from a new builder, as well as an entire line from a trend-setting dealership, is good news.—Matt Trulio