It was anchors away last year for new boat sales in Connecticut.
It was anchors away last year for new boat sales in Connecticut.
More families got underway, isolating on their floating retreat than any other time.
Now that spring has sprung, the official boating season is well underway. A lot of boats have to get into the water and the pandemic has caused sales to skyrocket.
Pat and Gayle Tagney are getting their dream boat named Moondance, ready to take back to the Great Lakes after purchasing it last November through Essex Boat Works.
“We were sailors for 25 years, has three different boats and then we decided well, we’re just going to do something different, so we bought a bigger powerboat,” Pat said.
Salesman Bob Jarrett explained the pandemic and people’s priorities changed.
“We began to see it around May, where we were just getting this whole influx of new callers and visitors that were new to boating,” Jarrett said.
The Connecticut Dept. of Energy and Environmental Protection says new vessel registrations increased 97.2 percent from 5,559 in 2019 to almost 11,000 in 2020.
“It rejuvenated sales to the point of little or no inventory. It’s become such a popular outdoor activity,” said Don MacKenzie, President of Boats Inc.
At Boats Inc. in Niantic, Don MacKenzie said people got top dollar for used boats too, along with low-interest rates and fuel prices.
Because Connecticut allowed the marine trades industry to be essential personnel during the pandemic, MacKenzie said it was great for them.
“It worked out perfect for us. We kept people employed, the lower sales tax rate, people came to town to spend money now that places are open,” MacKenzie said.
Marinas like Boats Inc. and others hope the positive financial ripple effect caused by the increase in boat sales, they’ll continue to see smooth sailing through the summer.
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