Bill Yeargan Plant Nautique Interview

I like the 176 now too- but at the time it was offered it never really did much for me. Im not sure if it was the cartoonish looks or the fact that it was marketed as a "lesser" Ski Nautique... but those 2 things probably didnt help its cause. Maybe if it were a bit sleeker or chiseled or had been marketed as a powerboat, barefoot boat, etc, it would have faired a little better in the marketplace. I think the people who were shopping on price (176 buyers) would still have been drawn to it if it had slalomed the same but was styled and marketed differently... and maybe a whole different group of buyers would have been attracted to it as well. Then again, maybe Im out in left field.

I always liked the 176 but it did not warrant continued build as it could not carry its own weight in the market. In Today's world I would think that a smaller ski boat would fall into the same slot as the 176 it just could not hold its own and the cost to develop it and get it thru the line and to market could not be re-cooped. Alway's remember Nautiques is consistantly working and developing new invovative products and they stay abreast to current trends so who knows!!

05 210 wrote: It almost seems like this is exactly what is happening. It also seems like from reading the other forums that there are alot more issues out there with the newer boats(ie. malfunctions,QC issues, and warranty claims). It could just appear that way cause maybe there are more people are whining, but lately it seems like the prices are going up and the quality is going down. Not just with Nautiques, but all brands.

That is just the nature with things.This is happening with everything,Benz and Bmw had this problem too,now it's Toyota.The more systems you add, the more problems you will have.Same thing with a boat, it's all the add ons. Only time will tell how good the quality is now,the track record with hull blisters and stringers in my opinion is not good for a "high end" boat.

That all depended on who read the tape measure!

The Ski Nautique has never gotten smaller.

I guess my main issue is that the whole inboard market seems to be going bigger and heavier, which is understandably going to be more expensive.

Even brands that start out to be affordable, like Moomba etc., keep bringing their models upmarket. Well, maybe Moomba is bad example; they're latest outback V is actually smaller than the previous to be under 20 feet.

It seems like with the SUV market leaning towards lighter framed car based models, I would have to imagine that average towing capacity is going down. So then you have to think about buying a new truck too, when you can't haul your boat with your family hauler.

TRIP wrote: JMurph wrote: Wakeboardin, I know there is a call of CC to make a less expensive boat. I don't see how pulling the molds back out for the 196 or the earlier 210 would help them accomplish that, even if they wanted too. They would still be using the same materials and labor to build the boat. I guess they could build a stripped down model, but no one really wants that either. I'd want that! Gimme a 210 of that era (one of the best looking wakeboats ever) with tower, racks, PP and Pure Vert ballast and I'm a happy man. I don't need 267 led-illuminated cupholders, underwater REMOVEstyle lighting, 3d-touchscreens, a $5000-stereosystem with surround sound, etc etc etc etc etc etc and etc. I think CC (or Nautiques or whatever) should do it (like Standard has), possibly under a new sub brand name (like Axis/Moomba).

If you were able to buy that new 210, stripped down to what your desired level, what would you be willing to pay? 40k, 50k, 60k (certainly not 70k+) I doubt you would be calling for this option if you were trying to sell you previous generation low hour 210. That would push the used sales into the basement and beyond. CC is actually helping every one of us by not slashing prices and selling their new boats at used prices. I know a lot of new CC's are cash purchases, but owners would still be completely upside down on their investment.

I do like the suggestion of a sub-brand. That could actually solve the issue of driving the CC prices down.

As for Bill's comment that they don't build to a price point, at least he didn't dodge that question. It seems like a pretty authentic answer eventhough it would not sit well with the general public (non-CC owners).    

Sorry Erik Not getting your statement "we sold out" Nautiques are an upscale boat plain and simple. If one can not afford a new one then they have two options. Go find a nice used Nautique or settle for a lesser product. Their does not seem to be a shortage of buyers to buy new Nautiques and their are great buy's on even year old boats. I know of a 100 hour Ski 200 for $41K on the trailer. How about a 08 196 $24k.
Again you as a Nautique purchaser have the option to not bling out your boat and can get into a new ski or wakeboard boat for not much more than a year ago. If $3000 difference from last year to this year on a stripped down boat is a make or break then you can not afford the boat anyway.
Yes toski one does not need a state of the art Ski 200, I ski regulary with a 92 SN at least twice a week and we own a 82 American Skier that we use for tubing wake boarding and my son even uses it for learning new flips on his trick ski.
Like it or not Nautiques are going forward where other company's are stagnating and failing, Their must be something to Nautiques as they continue to be sucessful in their efforts.

and to think on my lake, all I see is these yupps in their new 80k CC's pulling around tubers, they definitely geared these boats to the "gotta keep up with the Smith's".
the "true" enthusiasts, the ones out there at 7:00 am looking for the flat water before the blingers get out there are in a mid ranged mid priced ski boat, even a 2500.00 boat teaching their kids to ski.
Has CC lost their way? believe me im not bias here in no way.
Jodi, if so is true and they are now geared to the elite, maybe on the transom it should read as follows: we sold out, if you want to ski go buy a ski boat

I commented on this article on Planet Nautique, but I figured I would post over here as well. The question about building old models again was something I posed, as I see nothing but win win from it.

Cost is something that has a lot of variables, but r&d on these boats is already done. Molds already exist. Assembly methods are known. It would take a very small amount to put the old 210 and the 196 back into production.

My theory is CC/Nautique thinks it will cut into their premium boat sales. I think the entry level and the typical CC buyer is two different markets, and they are failing to capitolize on this. Is the factory at production capacity? If not, fill in shifts with the older boats with a simplified optioning scheme, cutting down on the possible build variations. That will make these boats low volume, and with a short options list people that wanted loaded boats will be forced to look at the newer designs.

Just my thoughts...

M3Fan wrote: Riley wrote: The Sportster came out on the old Response hull at about time time the Response got an upgrade to its hull. I know this is OT but I believe it actually is based on the "Tantrum" hull, again at a much narrower beam than any Response.

Joel, you are correct that the Sporty is on the Tantrum hull, but not wanting to bore people by getting into Malibu specifics such as the diamond hull and diamond cut hull or whatever they call it, the Response got the new hull when the Sporty came out. Not all Responses are the same. The older ones have the same hull bottom as the Sporster.

Mike, you make good points about creating brand loyalty with an entry level model. I do think Nautique owners are more brand loyal than Malbu owners.

One thing being overlooked here is brand loyalty.Entry level products are introduced to get buyers into a product in hopes that they will want to upgrade to a nicer model later. This is EXACTLY why the japanese motorcycle manufacturers build kids products. They are heavily regulated and there is zero margin in them but they do it anyway in hopes to build a lifetime of loyalty at a young age.
   I know several people who wanted to buy Nautiques but they weren't in their budget(did not want a used boat) so they ended up with Malibus and Centurions. You know what? They all got great boats that they have had excellent luck with. Chances are next time they won't spend extra for a Nautique due to brand loyalty, seeing that they got a good product even though considered lesser by some. Will the resale be less? Absolutely, but it's negligable because they paid less.

   Nautique markets boats for the higher end customer-absolutely.

   Problem I see with that is that sooner or later 1/2 of those people(not the real die hards,but the people who bought one cause it's cool) stop buying, or lose interest and they dump them overwhelming the used market. Have you seen how stellar Harley Davidson is doing lately <sarcasm>? They build motorcycles for the upper end consumer also and don't really do much to target new consumers, which is absolutely killing them now that the baby boomers are going away. The market is flooded and used bikes are a dime a dozen(and cheap). Manufacturing products solely for the high end consumer can be rewarding, but it can also be a big gamble.

   And as far as the cost to manufacture an entry level boat being almost the same as a high end boat? Well hell I wouldn't be bragging about that. If Malibu can sell an IRide for 50K , and gets a 100K for a flagship Wakesetter that costs almost the same to manufacture, then one of two things is happening. Speakers, ballast, and bling cost more to add than the actual boat costs to build, or someone(meaning everyone) is getting boned when they buy a top of the line boat. Which is it?

    Mike

Riley wrote: The Sportster came out on the old Response hull at about time time the Response got an upgrade to its hull.

I know this is OT but I believe it actually is based on the "Tantrum" hull, again at a much narrower beam than any Response.

With CC at its current size, it seems unlikely that it could focus on more than one thing at a time, no? Yes, they have the molds, experience, and R&D that's already paid for but to bring the old boat back wouldn't that take away from pushing innovation and spending resources on moving technology forward? Also, it seems that we are still in the type of economy where price point or not, these boats are pretty much being built to order, right? I don't think dealers are placing 5-10 boat orders for spec boats (even price point spec boats) like they used to so wouldn't CC find itself scrambling just trying to be too many things to too few people?

Not trying to argue against a lesser priced boat, it just doesn't like it could work effectively for CC. Malibu sells their former generation hulls in the vride series but that seems like it kind of screws the guy who bought a brand new wakesetter that after a couple of years and a Malibu hull upgrade, finds that his wakesetter has perhaps lost significant value b/c a buyer can go buy the same boat (in the vride series) brand new vs. buying his used wakesetter.

Regarding Standard. It seems like they have a good idea, but would've been substantially better had they made the boat in a more family friendly vdrive. The direct drive, lack of marketing and the economy surely are not helping, but seriously folks. To many out there, these are hardcore watersport boats and the guy with money who is considering the Standard or other price point boat is also going to be looking at runabouts with towers and wakeboard packages. To that guy's wife, the Sea Ray, Chapparel, Bayliner probably look more appealing.

The Sportster came out on the old Response hull at about time time the Response got an upgrade to its hull. The Sportster never got AWSA approval or was any kind of official tournement boat. The idea behind it was to get the entry level buyer into it who would then upgrade to a Response a few years later. Seeing that Malibu ended it leads me to believe it didn't pan out they way they wanted it to.

Sportsters seem to have a following and sell pretty quickly, although not for big bucks.

Correct Craft has certainly dabled in the recreational boating market over the years, but seems to have settled into the water sports only market for now. They don't even make a luxury cruising version of any of their VD'd do they?