Women Are Helping Keep the Pandemic Boat Boom Afloat
After topping out in the 1990s, watercraft purchases surged last year as Covid-19 sent more people outdoors for recreation. As some of those lifestyle changes persist, new buyers could help keep sales rising.
Boatmakers hope to catch a post-pandemic wave.
Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
As soon as Americans began emerging from their homes after the first wave of Covid-19 receded in spring 2020, many apparently headed straight to their local boat dealers. Spending on pleasure boats shot up to 20% in May 2020 above the pre-pandemic pace, according to personal consumption expenditures data from the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis. So far this year, boat spending is running nearly 50% higher than before the pandemic.
And really, why shouldn’t it? At a time when crowded indoor spaces can pose deadly risks, small boats (not cruise ships!) are pretty great places to be. The remote-work arrangements forced by the pandemic have also made it easier for affluent white-collar workers to locate themselves within convenient distance of a body of water.