Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/817056
May 2017 | Boating Industry | 43 www.BoatingIndustry.com /// Market Trends /// board sales. There are boatbuilders such as Stingray and Formula which used to use sterndrives exclusively or near exclusively, and they're now introducing boats with outboard power. Their dealers can now sell the boat they're familiar with, but with all the added benefi ts that an outboard brings, like more cockpit space or being able to tilt the motor up out of the water when it's not in use. The impact of that is signifi cant." Indeed, fi berglass runabouts in the 16- to 30-foot cat- egory now represent a signifi cant portion of the overall outboard market, according to Grand Rapids, Michigan- based Statistical Surveys, Inc. In its data from December 2016, SSI shows fi berglass outboard-powered runabouts marking a staggering year-over-year sales increase of 21 percent. This far outpaces year-over-year growth for other outboard-powered categories like pontoons, saltwater fi shing, aluminum fi shing and bass boats, and represents the only outboard-powered boat category to post double-digit growth. The hot market Outboards not only enjoy massive market share right now, their slice of the pie seems to grow bigger every year. SSI data shows sales of 127,981 outboard-powered boats of all types in 2012, growing to 136,488 units in "There are a lot of new fi berglass boats being sold today, but there are a lot of existing fi berglass boats that are being repowered as well." — Gus Blakely, Suzuki