Yahoo Finance
True boat lovers reject the popular saying that the two happiest days of a boater's life are the day they buy the boat and the day they sell it.
For them, happiness is putting the boat in the water and sailing off, never-ending expenses included.
That devotion drove a boom in boat sales during the Covid pandemic, as many Americans turned to the water to escape.
After seeing a spike in sales during the crisis, when most other industries struggled, the recreational boating market is now feeling the impact of consumers' discretionary spending cuts.
In fact, most boat owners make less than $100,000 a year, often purchasing smaller and more affordable vessels.
This makes the industry "particularly sensitive to shifts in consumer confidence and credit availability," according toIBIS World's Boat Sales & Repair in the U.S.
According to Deloitte's State of the US Consumer July 2026report, discretionary spending intentions grew for a third straight month in June; however, they remain below the 2021 baseline.
The full-year2025 data from NMMAreveal that new boat retail unit sales dropped 8.8% year over year to 215,237 units, down from 236,070 units in 2024.
Amid these shifts in consumer behavior, the largest U.S.
boating retailer,West Marine, recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcyand closed 59 stores.
More recently, the boat retailer confirmed an additional wave of closures.
West Marine Inc., the largest boating and marine supplies retailer in the United States, recently confirmed plans to close an additional 32 retail locations, bringing the total number of stores slated for closure to 91, reportedBoatBlurb.
| Product | Price | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Brent Crude | $102.14/bbl | +0.34% |
| WTI Crude | $96.90/bbl | +0.21% |
| EN590 Diesel | $846/MT | +0.18% |
| Jet Fuel A-1 | $1090/MT | +0.55% |
| Mazut M100 | $450/MT | -0.15% |
| Bitumen 60/70 | $470/MT | +0.08% |
| Sulphur Gran 99.5% | $470/MT | -0.44% |
| Urea 46% Gran | $650/MT | +1.12% |
| NPK 16-16-16 | $460/MT | -0.28% |
| Nat Gas TTF | $15.42/MMBtu | +0.92% |
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