Brp to exit sport boat market

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Yamaha boat plant is in Vonore, Tennessee. There are no unions, so I am sure that's why the plant is there.

Maybe, but that is where the company who makes their hulls is located. TWC inc., they also make the hulls for Mastercraft and Sea Ray. Both which are spitting distance from Twc. Literally the next road over.

That right there is probably a huge reason that they can keep the costs down. Google that town and Twc, then switch to satellite view-it's bitchin to see the crazy amount of hulls outside at the plants.

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The plats have robots that do most of the hull making. They have a video showing it take like 45 mins ot gelcoat a whole boat and 25 mins to drill all mounting holes. I am sure the all of the parts come from Japan since that is where Yahama's main headquarters is. Just like BRP eninge come from Austria ready to drop in.
 
Well I am picking up a leftover 180 se. I saw the announcement and also was really bummed.
If anyone is looking for one, there out there, you just have to do some searching to find them.

I looked at the yamaha's and decided on the sea doo. Better handling.
 
Fitting, after I decide to enter the seadoo arena they decide to quit....Actually after a little google action, there seems to be more on forums than in press releases or official media.

I personally am not concerned, Rotax will forever make replacement parts (IMO) and the rest we will just have to cobble together.
 
I was on the fence about buying one and as soon as I heard they were not going to make them anymore, I bought one right away. I was looking at the speedster and no one else makes a small boat like it and I wanted a small boat so jumped right away before they were all gone :)
 
I dropped into my dealer yesterday to leave my boat for winterization. I know, I gave up on the season. But we have 50 degree shifts daily from night/day. It has been below freezing multiple nights here.

I asked the guys at the service desk, as salespeople will just tell you what you want to hear. He was saying dealers were pissed all over the country that they had to hear this from the owners and online. As soon as they started pushing their weight around and asking to reconsider, BRP informed them that plants were shut down and hull molds were destroyed.

I truly don't think they would destroy the hull molds, but that's a fairly stern way of saying it's not going to happen. So I asked my dealer fi they may consider another jet manufacturer. He says, we will see who comes to our table. We expect the calls to start happening very soon from Yamaha and SeaRay. But Yamaha has a great dealer network, so they don't think that will happen.

Keep in mind, my SeaDoo dealer is a full line BRP dealer. They do every BRP under the sun (Spyder, Sleds, PWC and boats) He assured me there is no reason for any current owner to be alarmed as most the parts will be available, and the engines are all current.

On the flip side, I am a Buell owner. When Harley Davidson shut them down in 2009 with 2010 being the last model year, they assured us of warranty support and parts for at least 7 years. They leaked this to the dealer network and many HD Dealers who handled Buell, dropped the Buell line before the shut down so that they would not have to stock parts or certified techs! It's 2012 now and authorized support is next to none. Parts are just startin to get hard to get. SeaDoo could have taken that route, but they have more at stake to take care of us.
 
I dropped into my dealer yesterday to leave my boat for winterization. I know, I gave up on the season. But we have 50 degree shifts daily from night/day. It has been below freezing multiple nights here.

I asked the guys at the service desk, as salespeople will just tell you what you want to hear. He was saying dealers were pissed all over the country that they had to hear this from the owners and online. As soon as they started pushing their weight around and asking to reconsider, BRP informed them that plants were shut down and hull molds were destroyed.

I truly don't think they would destroy the hull molds, but that's a fairly stern way of saying it's not going to happen. So I asked my dealer fi they may consider another jet manufacturer. He says, we will see who comes to our table. We expect the calls to start happening very soon from Yamaha and SeaRay. But Yamaha has a great dealer network, so they don't think that will happen.

Keep in mind, my SeaDoo dealer is a full line BRP dealer. They do every BRP under the sun (Spyder, Sleds, PWC and boats) He assured me there is no reason for any current owner to be alarmed as most the parts will be available, and the engines are all current.

On the flip side, I am a Buell owner. When Harley Davidson shut them down in 2009 with 2010 being the last model year, they assured us of warranty support and parts for at least 7 years. They leaked this to the dealer network and many HD Dealers who handled Buell, dropped the Buell line before the shut down so that they would not have to stock parts or certified techs! It's 2012 now and authorized support is next to none. Parts are just startin to get hard to get. SeaDoo could have taken that route, but they have more at stake to take care of us.


This leads me to another point..

Why would SeaDoo BRP, announce this "before" they finish selling all their boats they have in show rooms right now? I dont understand the logic, also, why couldnt they just not produce any for the year 2013?

Also, its really kinda fishy, because they just sent me a flyer that says "Bet your interested in seeing our 2013 line up"??

Wow, so what gives?
 
Polaris kind of did the same thing and you can still get parts. Service is harder to get since Polaris has been out of the market in PWC for almost 10 years now, but I still now people who take there PWC to polaris shops that fixes them. Most of the shops are usually close to water.
 
A Seadoo Dealer gave me the Seventeen Hundred Sales Figure. Seadoo started manufacturing Sportboats in Benton in 1995. They rolled their 75000 boat off the line in 2010. Thats roughly only 5000 boats per year. 1700 boats may be an acurate figure considering the economy. Its easy to see why BRP would pull the plug. In comparison...Seadoo surpassed One Million PWC production in 2007.
 
Brunswick Corporation which includes numerous boat brands and Mercury engines filed for bankruptcy in the recent past. Four Winns also filed for bankrupcy. Glastron shut its factory athough boats are still made with the Glastron name in the Four Winns plant. The pleasure boat industry is struggling.
 
A Seadoo Dealer gave me the Seventeen Hundred Sales Figure. Seadoo started manufacturing Sportboats in Benton in 1995. They rolled their 75000 boat off the line in 2010. Thats roughly only 5000 boats per year. 1700 boats may be an acurate figure considering the economy. Its easy to see why BRP would pull the plug. In comparison...Seadoo surpassed One Million PWC production in 2007.

I think that's accurate as most of the announcements to the dealer reflect a factory with the capacity of 7000/year and last year rounded up to 2000. Those figures would make any company struggle to justify the existance of the line.

As far as the harsh, pull of the plug question, how else can you do it. Look at how pissed people are that just bought one. Think how pissed they would be if they waited any longer.

The right way is to do it like they are, just like Oldsmobile did. Take what stock you have, slap an extended warranty on it and say "we are here to stay, even if the product is going away" "you will be supported and we will get you parts and service"

That's a classy way to leave the market. It also leaves the door open to opening it up again in hopes of salvaging some loyal BRP customers. Unlike how bitter I am at Harley for screwing us Buell owners. No extended warranties, no guarantee of parts or support, just pull the plug and give us a tail light warranty. When you can't see our tail lights, warranty is over!
 
I know even if I keep my boat I'm ok, my model lasted from 2003 to 2011 with the exact same design, and even the 2012 was minor cosmetic changes, which is great because really you can truly get any part for this boat, plus we share all engine parts with the pwc's.. So in reality it's hard to go wrong with my boat..

However I was proud to bring my boat out, now my Yamaha friends are gonna say "sorry bud seadoo has gone away".. With a smirk..
Though I'm gonna call seadoo and see if they can extend my warranty to 5 years since I just purchased it a month and a half ago.. (now come to think of it I could have bought a 2012 with a free 5 year warranty :(
 
However I was proud to bring my boat out, now my Yamaha friends are gonna say "sorry bud seadoo has gone away".. With a smirk..


I got a laugh out of this. I'll put it this way. I used to get pissed at the drag strip when I'd see a Ford Pinto running a low 10 second 1/4 mile. And I would run a mid 13 second 1/4 mile in my Mustang. But the silver lining is: No matter how fast he went, he was still driving a Pinto!

And for you, you buddies are still driving a Yamaha!!!!!!!!:rofl:

Stay proud, you still have a better boat in my opinion.
 
Just got a letter from BRP about production stopping with 2012 being the last year for BRP boats.

Very happy with my Speedster. Had it on the river yesterday and really enjoyed the ride. It's a keeper! :)
 
Just got a letter from BRP about production stopping with 2012 being the last year for BRP boats.

Very happy with my Speedster. Had it on the river yesterday and really enjoyed the ride. It's a keeper! :)

Yup I got the letter too, sad, I will be putting it with my warranty and sales receipt. It mentions exactly what I mentioned, "the boats share most of the parts with the PWC's, and they will have all the parts in stock for years"
 
Have a project at home, building a Street Tracker out of a 1980 Honda CX500D motorcycle. Production for this motorcycle stopped in the early 80s, but still find needed parts for my project with internet, ebay, and Honda motorcycle dealers that buy old stock from other Honda dealers. Contact any Honda motorcycle dealer in the US and they can check inventory of other dealers telling you who has the part on hand. Purchased a new aftermarket plug & play electronic ignition system made in Czech Republic with other CX forum members on a group buy. The aftermarket ignition system works great and for less money than the original Honda OEM part. Went in on another group buy for water pump mechanical seals with other CX owners. We had enough people to get very good prices from a seal manufacturer, better than original OEM prices and the seals work as good as OEM seals. Wanted to install 78 wheels on my CX. Could not find a reasonably priced rear 78 wheel on internet/ebay. Posted on the CX forum my need for a rear wheel and a fellow CX owner in New York sold me a wheel in good condition for a fair price 1 1/2 weeks after my original post.

Bottom line, with forums like this one, an international group of folks can assemble to share ideas, improvements, and OEM & aftermarket parts sources to keep a great product in operation easily for 40 or 50 years after the manufacturer stopped production. :)

BRP boats will be in use for a long time. My guess is the 4 tech 1503CC engine will be in production for years and there will be plenty of OEM parts available for future decades.

Looking forward to many years use with the Speedster!
 
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That REALLY sucks.

Alot of people saying they priced themselves out of the market, but, my boat ('04 Sportster) was made in USA and I've seen some parts inside stamped made in Canada.

I'm really saddened by the exit of good jobs from North America. I'm in IT & all I do now is set up contracts where people from India (IN India or in Canada on a work visa) take over.

It's a race to the bottom & it makes me sad.
 
That REALLY sucks.

Alot of people saying they priced themselves out of the market, but, my boat ('04 Sportster) was made in USA and I've seen some parts inside stamped made in Canada.

I'm really saddened by the exit of good jobs from North America. I'm in IT & all I do now is set up contracts where people from India (IN India or in Canada on a work visa) take over.

It's a race to the bottom & it makes me sad.

Yes, Agree

Here is a little explanation from the Vice President of BRP

"BRP vice president explains sport boat exit

October 2, 2012
Filed under Features, Top Stories

BRP’s exit from the sport boat market was an effort to strengthen its product portfolio by allocating resources to industries exhibiting a faster growth rate, according to Yves Leduc, BRP vice president and general manager of its North American Sales and Marketing division, who spoke to Boating Industry in an exclusive interview.

BRP first entered boat manufacturing in 1994, but today the segment only represents 3.5 percent of BRP’s overall business. Leduc said the necessary investment to ensure growth in the sport boat market would be too substantial going forward.
“We realized that even doubling our market share in an industry that wouldn’t rebound in the short term would have required a large investment in product development and engineering,” Leduc said.

Instead, Leduc said those development efforts can now be shifted to BRP’s other industries, like its recent innovations in its roadster and side-by-side utility vehicles, as well as its personal watercraft models.
Leduc described personal watercraft as one of BRP’s most interesting growth industries and said the PWC division stands to benefit the most from the decision.

“We see mid- to long-term growth in that industry, which we tend to drive almost all by ourselves,” Leduc said. “ But to get there, we needed more concentration, more focus. And that is how the boat decision appeared.”

BRP is in the process of shifting PWC manufacturing from Valcourt, Quebec, to a new plant in Juarez, Mexico. The process, which will take two to three years, will lower base production costs, according to Leduc.

Leduc said BRP wanted to wait until the end of the season to make the decision to cease sport boat manufacturing. The decision also followed a year where the boating industry stabilized, but failed to advance past single-digit growth.

“It would have taken a very long time to come close to where we were in 2007, so now is as good as a year later,” Leduc said.
BRP announced it would be closing its manufacturing plant in Benton, Ill. The general shutdown was effective immediately while most workers were still on annual summer production break, according to this Montreal Gazette report.

You can see the direct linke here:
http://www.boatingindustry.com/top-stories/2012/10/02/brp-vice-president-explains-sport-boat-exit/

IMPORTANT QUESTION:

If they are moving all of this production into "Juarez Mexico' (sadly the death capital of the world right now), where people get paid about 100 times less than in the U.S. Are we going to see a reduction in MSRP?
 
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