Advice From A Boat Dealer: Order Now For Next Season

Boat manufacturing is up this year, but so is the demand at Yachts To Sea in Nashville. “More boats are being delivered this year than last year, but the inventory is not catching up to demand,” said Sales Manager Brandon Frederking.

Last year the COVID Pandemic led to more people becoming first-time boat owners because other activities and vacations were curtailed. Instead of  demand ebbing this year as restrictions eased, even more people want to buy boats,  Frederking said.

The business has no new or used boats at its dealership on Route 127 in the north part of Nashville. “They are gone the minute we get them on the lot,” Frederking said.

Yachts To Sea is now taking orders for boats that will be delivered in January 2022. People who couldn’t get boats for this season are ordering early for next year. They don’t want to wait and take a chance on not getting a boat, Frederking said.

 Some inventory that the business expected early this summer came in several months late. “That was frustrating for us and disappointing for the customer,” saidthe sales manager.

Yachts to Sea has already sold about a third of the inventory it will get in 2022. Manufacturers allot dealers  boats, based on prior sales. Every boat  dealer would like to get as many as possible because of unprecedented demand, Frederking explained. 

Even though the boat manufacturers in Georgia and Elkhart and Ft. Wayne, Indiana have not had shut-downs this year, they struggled with production. They have dealt with labor and material shortages. Boats that are nearly completed are waiting for windshields that are in short supply.

Yachts to Sea mainly serves a 4-hour radius, including Kentucky Lake. Entry level 21’ ski boats start at $45,000. The Nashville businesses’s top range is 34’, costing about $300,000.