Will-C":3ne2ud97 said:
Ok, forget the 27' with the extra elbow room,generator compartment and the self bailing cockpit, room for six in the cockpit. (I liked the big cadillac comment). But really, not to be a wise guy but if a 215 is 60 or 70k what is going to be the redeeming factor about a 25' boat that is going to make the guys with the older Toyota's and Jeep Cherokee's want to drop 100k on a the new 25 boat over what you already offer with the 215? A separate compartment for a portapottie and a larger chain locker? I mean why the bigger heavier boat. Want a simple and light well built and designed boat? You already have it. What is going to set the new 25 apart from the 215 and make it worth another 30K. A fold out 4 person dinette? Or the fact that it will be the lightest simplist 25'boat that draws less,cheapest 25' to run period, runs ecomonically with a 135 hp Honda max? Just wondering?
D.D.
Honestly, these are great questions.
The base price difference between the boats should be about $15,000. For that you get a boat that is 3.5' longer, has a 6" wider beam (beam counts more than length), has a lot more room inside & in the cockpit, has a 6' 6" v-berth, has a 4-person dinette, and has the all important head compartment.
I don't know with any certainty just what the $15K would encompass with regard to equipment. I know the hull shell is going to cost more to fabricate, I know the windows are going to cost a bit more, I know the fuel tanks are going to cost a bit more, and I know the interior will cost a bit more to build. I know we'll have to use SeaStar steering rather than BayStar steering. Based on some preliminary figures it seems we may be able to offer a Marinaut 25 equipped much the same as the 215 for that $15K more.
The buyer would likely spend a bit more on the engine, purchasing a BF150 rather than a BF115 (~$2900 difference) but could also choose a BF200 (~$6800 more).
The buyer would spend more on the trailer (~$1500).
If we're going for the lightest M25 then it's likely the engine of choice would be the BF150. Based on that and the extra cost of the trailer we'd now have a difference of $19,400 between the M25 and the M215, so call it $20K. Still you've got a much larger boat (volumetrically in particular), the enclosed head, more space for friends & family, more storage for longer trips, and more personal space for those that need it.
For those buyers who want more we can outfit the M25 with a shower, shore power, and all the finer things in life. If that buyer added another $10,000 in options the difference would then be in the neighborhood of $30K but they would have added quite a lot to the boat...things that aren't on the 215.
[A note here: we can equip the Marinaut boats with any engine make, I'm using the Honda engines in my example because I'm most familiar with them and have pricing at hand.]
It's not so much a matter of trying to make the 25 work with older trucks in particular; the example for that was the Tundra because the tow rating changed from 7,200 pounds to 10,000 pounds which is significant. But even a brand new Jeep Grand Cherokee has a tow rating of 5,000 pounds with the V-6 and 7,400 pounds with the V-8. Towing a 25 with the V-6 is probably marginal and questionable but with the V-8 a Marinaut 25 would be towable while a CD25 is not (usually) and a Marinaut 27 would also likely be out of the question. A new F-150 with the V-6 EcoBoost is in much the same position; it will work for a Marinaut 25, maybe for the C-Dory 25 (it's right on the edge), and not for a Marinaut 27.
I'm pretty sure as fuel prices continue to rise that: 1) folks will choose lighter, more efficient boats, and 2) they'll choose lighter, more efficient tow vehicles. What's not to like about a full-size truck that can easily tow a Marinaut 25 and still give you 23 mpg on the highway when you're not towing? You can't do that with a V-8 powered truck which would be necessary to tow a CD25 or M27.
No matter how you look at it a 27-footer is going to cost more to build, use a larger main engine, and will be heavier (due to the boat, the motor, and the trailer). My estimate is that it would take about $10,000 more to build an M27 over an M25. You'd almost certainly use a 200 if not a 225, which will add $4,000 (BF200) to $5,100 (BF225) over the BF150. The trailer would run about $1,000 more. So, given the same level of outfitting the M27 would run about $15,000 to $16,000 more than the Marinaut 25. Compared to the Marinaut 215 the Marinaut 27 would run $35,000 or so more; that's a big jump. And the 27 would definitely require a heavy duty tow vehicle.
We've sold a lot of $100,000 boats over the years and I've found just because someone is willing to spend that for their boat doesn't mean that they also want to purchase a new tow vehicle to go along with it. Folks that already own a perfectly good Yukon XL, or Grand Cherokee, or F150, or whatever often would very much like to purchase a boat they can tow with what they already have rather than having to purchase a new tow rig.
Looking at the numbers I've presented here it makes a lot of sense to me to have $15,000 to $20,000 steps in the line (from the M215 to the M25, from the M25 to the M27) than to have one large $40K jump. It's probably more than that really since folks with larger boats tend to add more to them.
I can hear the conversation on the M27 now:
"What do I get when I go from the M25 to the M27?"
"A longer cockpit."
"You mean I'm paying $20K for a longer cockpit?"
"Yes."
"Why would anyone do that?"
Sort of echoes the conversation between the CD22 and CD25 when we sold them, the punch line being: "I'm paying how much for that head?"
The truth is folks want what they want. Everyone comes to the table with a unique background and a particular set of needs. If it requires an enclosed head compartment on the boat to get your mate to get involved in boating and you can afford what it costs to make that happen, you spend the money. There really isn't any need for "justification", you just do what's necessary to make the situation work for your particular needs. The same will be true for the larger cockpit; some folks won't get it, some won't be happy without it.
Les
:wink: