Is the sport / market declining?

Christian_83

Xscream
Location
Denmark
Hey guys.
I think the past 2-3 years, it (to me) seemed that the freestyle jetski scene was declining.
This year i put my ski and parts for sale, as i have little time to ride anymore and was just wondering if its me or the sport / market is declining the past years?
 

Big Kahuna

Administrator
Location
Tuscaloosa, AL
To a degree it is, There are not as many competitors anymore. I dont know when the last time XScream Made a hull. Seems like Tigercraft, Rise and LSP are the only game in town other than a few smaller builders. Not sure when the last time Toby built a T1......... Racing is still going pretty strong to a degree.
 
Location
minnesota
It's hard to tell. I am in the same boat where it is getting harder and harder to find time to get out and ride. I felt like things were declining but after attending our local free ride last weekend it's hard to tell. I met a lot of new people who where just getting into it or drove from other states to get out of there normal riding bubble. I'd say a lot of us have gotten into a routine and some of the stoke has died. But it's definitely still there, just have to look for it
 

E350

Site Supporter
Location
Sacramento Delta
There is no "economy." Meaning that the free market does not produce anything much in the U.S.

Except for those involved in the service industries, all the production jobs especially for younger wage earners who work with their hands have been shipped to China.

If you are older and have already accumulated your wealth, your assets, then the economy is ostensibly good. Because inflation which makes gasoline, food, rental housing, car prices and house prices higher and higher, just increases the price of your already accumulated assets -- like your house or houses and cars and stocks, etc.

But for this sport to grow, the younger men, especially, have to have sufficient disposable income to buy and maintain a jet ski.

They don't have it.

Because they can barely afford to live at all.

Many I have seen have moved back home to their parents taking their young children with them.

Trump has it right when he says that the price of energy is the prime creator of inflation -- because the cost of fuel is a part of everything which is produced, including the raw materials, the manufacturing and the transportation of the goods to market.

Trump is also right that this can be relieved by "Drill baby drill!"

But inflation is not caused just by the cost of energy.

It is also caused by the Federal Treasury printing dollars which the Federal Reserve buys which has increased the U.S. National Debt to over $35 Trillion. And $1 Trilion more is added to the National Debt every 100 days.

Now the U.S. dollar is no longer supported by gold or by the working man. Rather the number of U.S. dollars continues to outpace the productivity of the U.S. working man. Only a huge cut in federal government spending, like firing 2/3s of its employees can turn the economy around now.

So in summary, our sport is not dying.

America is dying.
 
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E350

Site Supporter
Location
Sacramento Delta
Understood BK, but I am not talking about the annual federal deficits. I am talking about the toll that the accumulation of all annual deficits which create the National Debt.

It has an effect.

And it is true that Trump got rolled in 2020 by the largest Government to Big Business transfer of wealth in U.S. History by Big Pharma and the Hospital-Government Complex and the Complicit Media which receives most of their income from Big Pharma advertising.

But Trump is trying to make amends by letting anti-vaxer RFK, Jr. join his administration -- hopefully as Director of CIA or head of FDA/CDC.

How are the investments of the 20 to 30 year olds whom you know doing?

When I see other people riding, I see old people like me.

Not young people.
 
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All of the flippers have priced anyone young or new out of the sport... but also hit a new peak during covid and been going down since.
As someone new to the sport it’s very apparent. Either the person I’m buying from is done and quitting or they’re up charging me to fund their hobby.

Given it’s a smaller industry, I understand. That being said I talked with one smaller hull manufacturer and they couldn’t believe some second hand prices on their own hulls. I agreed seeing how I could practically buy one new if I was willing to wait for the same price

The lots of younger cats flipping boats, if anything it’s just made me more cautious.

It doesn’t help readily available brands like krash are dogpoop. I would have bought two of those poopboxes just because they were available infront of me. Thanks to this forum I didn’t.

Rickter in my opinion doesn’t help make the sport anymore accessible either…it’s just hard to buy a brand new turn key stand up. I wanted a new boat at first. When it was suggested I spend 12k on a hull from Rickter then pay some guy on lake havasu another 30k to actually build it…I was appalled. I was appalled because I don’t want to manage or negotiate very step of getting a capable boat. Then when I find out this 30-50k journey was going to be a waiting game up-to possibly 1 year because of parts…I realized things aren’t right.

I’d really prefer getting into this sport 10-12 years ago.

No offense but the industry doesn’t take itself very seriously. Buying parts is impossible without being on this forum because the B2C sucks. Poor websites, if the manufacturer even has one, no marketing, very difficult to get anyone in sales or who can answer questions. For me personally most folks selling turnkey built boats are still too niche for me. I want a decent boat, new at a cost between 14-25k that I can cut a check for, take home and go ride. Krash tried and burned

If someone else figures it out, i am confident people would buy. I see lots of young kids buying the seadoo trix thing, there is a market for young people.
 
Location
dfw
When the fed was giving banks .25% loans, stock market inflation was out of sight. When they gave money to all people during covid the price of everything else went out of sight. Baby boomers were the only generation in history who "generally" had it good when they were young. A typical HS dropout in 1969 could expect a family, a house, and a new car before their 25th birthday. Every generation before and after were, economically speaking, around a decade behind. Young people who are smart and frugal will have no problems. Most will have a tough time getting through life.
 
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Christian_83

Xscream
Location
Denmark
okai, so its not just me.
What i dont understand is - now im selling my ski and spareparts, and think its a pretty nice ski, with some of the dopest parts on. Priced pretty well at 19K usd and for comparison a almost identical ski is for sale in the US for i think 27K usd.
But dosent seem like there is a super big line of buyers for this.
On the other hand, looks like LSP still sells ski and also Ricker/Rise is selling skis.
Im affraid that it succeded in pushing the young and average joes out of the sport, leaving only the guys with really deep pockets, left to join the game on a BUN1200 Fully blown setup.
 
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