Boats Deliver Ever Higher Quality but New Owner Satisfaction is Dead in the Water
Boat owners are passionate enthusiasts – a requirement for staying power in a relationship that demands substantial commitment, money and effort to make it a long-term love affair. When the economy enters shoal waters, doing your homework to make sure that your purchase decision is the right one becomes more important than ever.
For seven consecutive years, the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Boat Competitive Information StudySM has measured new boat owner satisfaction across seven segments that span the small boat spectrum. We ask boat owners to tell us how they rate their boat’s performance in the key areas that impact their satisfaction with their boat type: cabin; engine; ride and handling; helm and instrument panel; design and styling; sound system; water sports; and fishing.
This year’s results reflect the overall strong efforts the boating industry has made to lower the number of problems reported about their new boats, but that improved quality hasn’t translated to happier new boat owners. Overall, satisfaction has been unchanged since 2005 – a sign that manufacturers may have to put more emphasis on elements like enhancing vessel style and design or providing new accessories and features if they want to improve new boat owners’ satisfaction with their purchases.
Buyers gave Regal particularly high ratings, placing it first in two of our seven segments for an unprecedented second time in a row. Bass Cat, Cobalt, Correct Craft, Grady-White, Manitou and MasterCraft also ranked highest in their segments in new-boat owner satisfaction.
For more details on the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Boat Competitive Information Study, click here.
Bass boat segment
Bass Cat ranks highest in the bass boat segment for a fourth consecutive year. The company also receives the highest overall satisfaction index score in the study for a third consecutive year. Following Bass Cat in the segment are Ranger and Triton, respectively.
- 86% of Bass Cat definitely will repurchase brand again compared to 60% of segment
- Greatest competitive advantage with Ride and Handling is smoothness of ride in rough water
- Helm and IP satisfaction rating of 9.40 compared to segment average of 8.73
- “I especially like the hull composition, warranty, and dealer’s eagerness to please.”
Coastal fishing segment (17 to 30 feet)
For a seventh consecutive reporting year, Grady-White ranks highest in the segment. Grady-White also achieves the fewest number of reported problems in the segment. Boston Whaler and Triton, respectively, follow Grady-White in the segment.
- Highest Sales and Service satisfaction in the industry
- Best Exterior and Features quality in the segment
- Highest percentage of four-stroke EFIs in the segment (99%)
- “It is enjoyable as a family boat and functional as a fishing boat.”
Express cruiser segment (24 to 33 feet)
Making steady improvements in the study for the past three years, Regal ranks highest among express cruisers for a second consecutive year. Sea Ray follows Regal in the express cruiser segment rankings.
- Best overall boat quality – 313 PP100
- Greatest competitive advantage is with Ride and Handling
- Highest satisfaction for floor plan/ layout of cabin
- “Regal is a First Class manufacturer – attention to detail – soundly constructed.”
Small runabout segment (16 to 19 feet)
For a third consecutive year, Regal ranks highest in the small runabout segment.
Regal also has the fewest number of reported problems in the segment. Sea Ray and Chaparral, respectively, follow Regal in the small runabout segment.
- Best quality in four of five problem categories
- Highest satisfaction across all six Sound System attributes
- Extremely high satisfaction with amount of storage space for water sport equipment
- “It’s a classy looking boat...well built, yet affordable.”
Large runabout segment (20 to 29 feet)
Cobalt ranks highest in the large runabout segment for a seventh consecutive reporting year. Additionally, Cobalt owners have the highest satisfaction with the buying experience at a dealership and are also the most likely to say they “definitely will” recommend and repurchase from their dealer compared with customers of other manufacturers in the large runabout segment. Regal and Four Winns, respectively, follow Cobalt in the segment ranking.
- Greatest competitive advantage is with ability of boat to accelerate rapidly
- Greatest competitive advantage with Sound System
- Highest satisfaction score with exterior appearance
- “We especially like everything – the beauty, the layout, the ride – we love it!”
Pontoon segment
Making considerable improvement since the 2007 study, Manitou ranks highest among pontoon manufacturers and is the only manufacturer in the pontoon segment to improve this year. Manitou is followed in the segment by Bennington and Harris FloteBote, respectively.
- Fewest Exterior problems in the segment with 39 PP100
- Highest satisfaction with Water Sports
- Higher than average horsepower – 100 hp compared to segment average of 85 hp
- “Pontoon boat that performs like a speed boat.”
Ski/wakeboard segment
Correct Craft and MasterCraft tie to rank highest in the ski/wakeboard segment. The 2008 study marks the sixth consecutive reporting year that Correct Craft has received the highest ranking in the segment, while MasterCraft is the only brand in the ski/wakeboard segment to improve in overall satisfaction since 2007.
Malibu follows Correct Craft and MasterCraft in the segment rankings.
Correct Craft:
- Highest satisfaction with exterior appearance
- Highest Engine satisfaction
- Highest satisfaction with ability to control boat at high speed
- “…It’s great to ski behind, the kids love the wake; we love the space for storage and seats. I can pull a skier and still have room for people to sit. We love this boat.”
MasterCraft:
- Highest satisfaction with exterior appearance
- Highest satisfaction with Sound System
- Best Exterior quality in the segment
- “I especially like the unique shaped style, awesome stereo system, power and handling.”
