CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) -- Boat dealers and manufacturers are "cautiously optimistic" as they look toward the 29th annual Charleston Boat Show this week amid economic hardships and a sagging boat market.
Exhibitor space is sold out at the Charleston Area Convention Center, but it remains to be seen whether the show attracts buyers. Boat sales were off 30 percent nationally for the year ending in November, according to the National Marine Manufactures Association in Chicago.
Some vendors couldn't attend this year's show because of the economy, but efforts are being made to cut costs and new exhibits have helped fill the gaps, said boat show producer Jacqui McQuinness Bomar.
"Things are not as bad as I thought they were going to be a couple of months ago," she told The Post and Courier of Charleston. "I was starting to worry a little bit. It's looking strong though. The question is can we get the folks out there to buy the boats?"
The weak market also dove as gasoline neared $4 a gallon last summer. Although no local boat manufacturers shut down, more than 450 workers lost their jobs as several boat builders in the Carolinas ran into trouble.
Brunswick Corp. sank its Sea Pro line of fishing boats and laid off 175 workers at its Newberry plant northwest of Columbia in May. Five months later the company said it would eliminate 270 jobs by closing its U.S. Marine boat yard near Wilmington, N.C. In August, Cobia Boats said it would shutter its Marion, N.C., plant and put 68 people out of work.
Attendance has been off at recent large boat exhibitions in New York, San Diego and other states, but boats are still being sold, said Thom Dammrich, president of the National Marine Manufacturers Association.
Dammrich attended one of the largest boat exhibitions in the country in December in New York City to determine how unsteady the industry could be in 2009. He said attendance was noticeably down but sales were better than expected.
"Attendance was off," Dammrich said. "We didn't see the casual attendee. We are not seeing so many of the tire kickers. The attendee was a serious, quality buyer, and a lot of boats were sold. They are not hitting the ball out of the park, but sales are exceeding expectations."
Charleston's boat show chairman, Tim Clark, said he and other boat dealers hope the show provides a glimpse of the boat market in 2009.
"We are all looking forward to the show as a bellwether for what the rest of the year might be for us," Clark said. "We are cautiously optimistic."
