There's no point in competing in a market where there are only a few hundred new boats being built each year by Yamaha I don't know the exact number but it sure as hell is not a lot. If the ski world comes into a second boom, I'm sure another major manufacturer would jump in. I can gaurantee you this, if there was a way for a new company (Or old) to make money mass producing a new standup ski without an overbearing amount of risk, it would have already been done.
Superjets probably cost WAY more less to build. Source: They cost $9K brand new ready to run. The composites used for the Superjet are probably roughly the same as their other sit down skis/boats. So we can assume they order massive quantaties of everything needed to make a hull. I kindly disagree with the idea a superjet hull is more expensive to build.
Yamaha isn't 'mass-producing' standups, not anymore. Couple hundred a year is hardly a mass product.
Exactly, the market for standup skis is relatively very small. You can debate the reasons including excessive regulations, high insurance and product liability costs, fat and unathletic people, etc.
Kawi didnt pull out because they were selling too many skis. Yami is only selling them still because all of their R&D, tooling cost, etc. was done years ago. Two stroke skis cant even be sold in at least california and new york already.
Yamaha and kawi developed their skis when they could share their driveline development and manufacturing setup/quantity costs with their sitdown models. This isnt an option going forward. It is no surprise that the superjet is largely unchanged since 1996.
Actually over seas Kawi an Benali make stand ups still. Only yamaha ships to the USA. And keep in mind no guy building Am hulls is gonna have multi billion dollar facilities world wide. Rickter is the closest to mass production. These hulls come well equipped and he has a massive list of parts available. I wish someone like rickter/Rrp would pump out a full ski next. With a standard setup like Dasa 850/mag pump combo for starts. I think a rtr ski would be more appealing but it just adds more cost to build of course.
The way the sport is going Yamaha should make a FX2. Rockered, 701 equipped, lid style hood, foot holds and adjustable ride plate. Factory produces freeride ski would hit big today. The Fx1 was in a time 90% of the sport raced. Now it's flip flopped. I'd buy it even for $15k
Actually, I think that RRP planned to do exactly that and abandoned it after they realized that they would have to comply with numerous regulations as a manufacturer including emissions and even then not be able to sell in 2 of the US's biggest 2 markets of California and New York.
Op mentioned the costs of fiberglass AM hulls being lower because they are smaller and there are less materials.
Yama/Kawi hulls are not glass. They are SMC. SMC is cheaper than fiberglass by far. AM hulls are not high in material costs. They are high in labor costs. The superjet bottom deck, being SMC, pops from the mold with hull inserts for the motor, grooves to just drop the bulk head in (which also pops from the mold with hull inserts). AM hulls must be aligned and drilled and etc for every little thing. That is why AM doesn't have the fit and finish that Yamaha has. Yamaha is built by machine, it's faster cheaper and more accurate, but comes at the cost of more weight.
The costs are in the labor, not the materials. Until AM hulls go to SMC and built in a 3rd world country, you wont be finding one price competitve with Yamaha
Agree that AM hulls are high in labor costs, but disagree that they are low in material costs. Of course it depends on the materials used, but the most sought after models are made with epoxy and carbon fiber and these cost alot especially the high end materials. Do not forget the cost of the molds which wear out and must redone and costs amortized with each hull produced. Also small hull builders operate 'under the radar' of regulations. In order to lower costs, you need large numbers and large numbers will also mean higher costs in the form of compliance with local, state, and federal regulations.
