Worried that no one will come to boat shows this year? Or stop boating and fishing? I’m not, and here’s why.
During the energy crisis of the early 1970’s, I recall seeing people lined up at gas stations hoping to buy some gas. I was one of them at times. As January and the New York Boat show rolled around, we at Johnson and Evinrude were worried that this big show would be a bust. We feared that people wouldn’t buy or use boats and outboards due to the gas shortage. We were wrong.
The New York boat show wasn’t the best attended that I had seen, but it was sure better than any of us expected. I still remember one man I visited with in our exhibit who, when asked how he felt about the energy crisis, said, “If I have to, I’ll ride my bike to work so I’ll have enough gas to go boating and fishing.” That reminds me of an old saying that goes something like this, “You can take away a man’s tools, but don’t try to take his fishing rod because then you will have a real fight on your hands.” … [ READ MORE of this article and comment ]
Over the past several months I have found myself watching closely the economic issues surrounding this marine industry of ours and have realized, though it is struggling, there are some interesting opportunities presenting themselves to forward thinking aggressive dealers. 
I have been asking myself that question often as I have pondered the current economic mess we are in and how it has hurt both dealers and manufacturers. In trying to put myself in a typical dealer’s shoes, my thoughts reflected back to when I became a dealer, buying and operating a new car dealership in the Peoria Illinois market after retiring from OMC. The U.S. experienced a mild recession while I owned the dealership, but nothing like what dealers and manufacturers have to contend with today.
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