The challenge for yards faced with the market

When economic turbulence hits and you are looking at which purchases to defer, a boat seems like an obvious choice. The global growth of the 1980s is characterized by the major investments made leading to strong growth in production capacity in particular. This positive trend is accompanied by a decline in inflation in the main industrialized countries. 

The end of this investment cycle had been anticipated, but the sharp deterioration in the situation at the beginning of the new decade has other catalysts in Europe. The huge requirements in terms of financing for the reunification of Germany attract capital to this country, on the back of rising interest rates, weakening other European currencies. Alongside this, household debt levels increase significantly, reducing their ability to purchase new goods or services faced with the credit crunch. 

In the French recreational boat sector, the economic downturn between 1990 and 1992 is particularly marked due to a sharp decline in orders from other countries, leading to a significant drop in exports. In addition, the American market is “weighed down” by the introduction of new taxes on recreational boats. This initial economic reversal is followed by a recession phase from 1992 to 1994. Industrial production contracted by more than 5% (in volume) in 1993 alone, despite the tentative signs of a recovery and a slight upturn seen over the second half of the year.  

France’s recreational boat industry revenues peak in 1990 and will take eight years to recover. In 1991, boat builders see their revenues drop by more than 13%, falling below their figures from 1989. Overall, a decline of 30% is recorded between 1990 and 1994. 

Most of the yards, hit hard by the drop in exports in particular, have to scale back their workforce and recapitalize. Some will not survive. In the United States, which emerges from the storm earlier than Europe (1993-1994), the boat industry landscape is significantly altered, with over 65% of sales concentrated among three main manufacturers. The landscape also changes in France, with some spectacular developments, such as when Bénéteau takes over Jeanneau in 1995. However, each brand will retain its own identity, and the former rivals learn to work together, transforming this considerable challenge into a new opportunity for growth for French recreational boating. 

Emerging from the recession, the main categories of boats offered on the French market remain the same, but their presentation in specialist press such as the Bateaux and Neptune magazines becomes more concise, no doubt due to the increasingly abundant range of models to choose from. The large number of models and variations are grouped into five main segments – inflatable, sport, adventurer, fishing and cruiser – with subdivisions based on their intended use. We also see new American terms gaining ground, as the United States continue to set the major boat design trends, which the Italian and French designers skillfully adopt with their own style.  

The “dayboat”, which is the most accessible and accounts for a large part of the entry-level market, covers a wide range with nine different types of boats, from inflatables to polyester hulls and semi-rigid units, which are still highly popular. Buyers have a choice between specialized or versatile units, with inboard or outboard engines. Some prefer the sleek lines and elegance of a runabout or day-cruiser with an inboard engine, which avoids having an outboard engine sticking out and disrupting the stern profile. However, external engines offer various benefits, including a generally lower price than inboards, more space on board, excellent performance levels and practical maintenance. 

The classic “sport fishing” model, benefiting from significant hull improvements, is seen as a dayboat with a sheltered wheelhouse (a French specialty), but some prefer the sportier lines of an open hull or a “walkaround” with a central console, enabling easy movement from bow to stern. However, as we move up the ranges with more premium models, the term “sport fishing” tends to give way to “coastal fishing”, with the creation of new small cruisers whose wheelhouse is transformed into a “sedan”, with a saloon comfortably accommodating four to six people. Most are still powered by inboard engines, with shaft lines. Examples in this category include Jeanneau’s Merry Fisher 730 Croisière, whose second generation is released in 1996 and features an extended roof over the cockpit, a sedan with a comfortable saloon including large windows, and a kitchen area. Below deck, there is an owner’s cabin with a separate toilet compartment. In the late 1990s, in the extended “cruiser fishing” family, Bénéteau builds on the success of its Antares range with its 9.25m Série 9 model. Like its predecessors, this Antares has hydro-stabilizer fins and a deep V-hull with sleeker lines, offering easy deck circulation to the front and extended railings that reach the cockpit. 

The open hull segment sees intense competition between the French yards and foreign products, which are often very competitively priced, such as White Shark, Bayliner, Boston Whaler and Quick Silver. These units, behind the walkaround concept, face increasingly stiff competition from semi-rigids. With similar features in terms of versatility, open hulls have the advantage when it comes to protection and storage, while semi-rigid boats stand out with their performance levels and carrying capacity. 

The “adventurer” category, still very well represented by the Cap Camarat (Jeanneau) and Flyer (Bénéteau) ranges, enjoys growing success on the French market. These units are synonymous with freedom, simplicity and economy. Their ability to venture out in any weather, to go almost anywhere, like with a car, earns them constant comparisons to 4×4 vehicles. 

Moving towards the “high-end” market, cruisers become increasingly sophisticated in terms of their design and hull construction. With their layouts, the attention to detail, quality materials and open, well-lit spaces make them true masterpieces of interior architecture. And these planing or semi-planing hulls offer impressive performance levels as well, reaching speeds of around 30 knots. The final choice depends primarily on how the boat will be used: open with a sun-deck, or sedan, with or without a flybridge… As the year 2000 approaches, the Italian yards are moving full steam ahead, so to speak. Despite their success, the French yards, especially in the segment for 6.50m to 10m cruisers, are very exposed to foreign competitors like Chris-Craft, Sealine, Sea-Ray, Bayliner, Gobbi, Rio, Four Winns, Sessa and Cranchi, while Azimut and Princess are more dominant for larger units over 40 feet.   

For outboard engines, new advances are driven by the now global duel between Japanese brands, championing four-stroke engines, and traditional American firms, which still see a bright future for two-strokes. Two-stroke engines, which are lighter, see a resurgence thanks to major progress made with reducing emissions through spectacular improvements in their efficiency. Two-strokes gain new respectability, with enhanced performance features that are aligned with the latest standards.

At the turn of the new millennium, with its fears and hopes, motorboat manufacturers, with often very extensive ranges, have learned the lessons of the recession from the first half of the decade. Faced with increasingly demanding markets and the need to constantly adapt their offering, new digital design and production technologies will enable the major yards to introduce new models far more quickly and with a high level of technical perfection. 

In production units, computer-aided manufacturing and planning methods, inherited from the automotive and aerospace industries, will make considerable progress towards the end of the 1990s. Boat production will become far more efficient. Although most individual components will continue to be assembled by hand for a long time, molds will now be milled by highly precise robotic systems, and parts will be cut by digitally-controlled machines able to ensure levels of tolerance that would be impossible to achieve by hand. Moreover, the speed of testing a design and its application in their workshops becomes a key factor enabling the yards to adapt their ranges from year to year, and even every six months, as well as their production tools, in line with market fluctuations and changes in demands among boat users. The keyword of the late 1990s is flexibility. 

For motorboating, as for the overall industry, the future is more than ever about adapting, with series models evolving to create niche effects, as well as the quality of their design and equipment. Alongside the development of digital design and manufacturing tools, the strong progress made with the production of electronic navigation aids – such as VHF, GPS and radars – leads to a drop in prices and greater accessibility. As these on-board electronics gradually become standard features, this heralds the era of constant access to information and connectivity.