Where Are We On The Classic Boat Timeline? This May Take Some Time.

Timeless

Being in marketing, I think about these odd things. Like Emotional drivers and where and when to trigger those things and how. When you break down all communication thats what is the main driver. Emotion. There are other things, but studies have proven.. OVER AND OVER, we make purchase decisions based on emotion, not rational thinking alone.

Yes it is

I have broken down a mindset time line of sorts. As in how people felt buying and owning a Wood Boat. 

1910-1920 – Novelty and early adopters. Luxury and image drove the desire for motorized boats. For the high end population and people that liked new things.

Owners are special

1920-1930 – The early stages of adoption. Motor boats are normalized a bit, and prices and access make them easier to obtain. Where we are today with Electric Cars. Tesla – But Think Ford and GM are as Chris Craft.

Strange image. 1939?

1930-1940 – Full adoption and use. Motor Boats become an exciting dream to have and ride in. People dress up to go motor boating, mass production is starting to take off, dealer networks are bringing motor boats to every corner of North America and Europe.

1940-1945 – World is on hold, but mass production advancements greatly improve the ability to make boats for after the war. Marketing is put into associating Power Boating with patriotic themes. Thus setting up demand for GI’s coming home

Lets go for a boatride

1945-1950 – To many, the hey day of boating. Mass production and GI’s returning home and living life. The theme of women having fun, with men is amplified, and the term Control and Command are used to help people feel like they are alive and in love when on a boat. Boats also deeply mimic car and airplane designs. Many of the same industrial designers are used in Detroit with Cars and Boats

Party time

1950-1960 – Family boats become more popular, as do boats that require less maintenance. Fiberglass, Fins and reliable outboards start pushing our Wood boats out of the market. Think PC’s and Typewriters. 8 Tracks and CD’s Life evolves.

1960- 1970 – The Chasm, the time when wood boats are deader than dead. They are unloaded, neglected and considered garbage. After all, its an “unusable” boat that was purchased as such. Like a worn out lawnmower,

Barn!

1970-1980 – Even darker times. More burn piles, but some folks that owned these boats start to remember the times they spent on them, so this is the first step in Romantic memories of boats.

1978-1983 – Some people start playing with old wood boats, many from memory, though the passion is so remote its not all that recognized.

You old Poo!

1983 – 1995 – In 1983 On Golden Pond, to quote the camera man after filming a day of boat footage on the lake “Well we just shot one hell of a Chris Craft Commercial” This is from Pat Curtain who was the boat wrangler for the film.  This one film Launched Wood boats into the past generation of boaters. The Memory Boaters, they bought, restored and created clubs to grow the Passion of “Classic Boats” This is considered the hey day of CLASSIC BOATING The ACBS and Classic Boating Magazine and others grow at an amazing clip.

1995-2000 – The classic boat passion is driven by memory, a time gone by. I always wanted one, I want to go back to better times, Make Boating Great Again.

Dons book is credited for a huge increase in classic boaters

2000-2010. – The Passion is starting to fizzle. The memory boaters are aging, and in the new digital universe are feeling disconnected. Less and less people remember the good old days, but clubs and restoration experts are fueling a way to make classic boats more accessible. Don Dannenberg writes his amazing bible on the subject and now folks in garages can restore a boat. And with modern Epoxy systems, do it reliably. This is the beginning of the Craftsman period. “I like those boats, they are cool, and I can do it myself”.

2010 – 2019 – The passion is literally dying, the Greatest Generation of classic boaters is going away fast, and leaving behind some amazing crafts. The memory boaters are no longer buying and restoring, Now these boats have made it through the fashion and restoration chasm period of the life cycle.

mmmmm

2015 – Today –  Image, art, lifestyle, are driving sales. I love the image of these boats and what they represent. I like being different, and when I own one of these it shows how I care about timeless design. These boats are from an analog time. Where things were built by people, not robots. The flaws and imperfections are all good things. I love the look and feel of the period the boats represent.

Best of the Best Of Shows

Okay, so how does this dribble help you in any small way? Great professor Woody, you just blabbered on about this.

OKAY AGAIN. Are you a broker? Well, your market has changed. How you photograph and sell these boats is different. Terms like Mid Century replace 60’s, I would suggest the terms Antique and Classic are out of date. Antique no longer feels right. Classic is a more timeless word.

Guilty

Are you having a show? Actually you are having a Selfie Shoot. People can come and take selfies and share how cool they are by being around some old farts. Your old fart stories are cool. Tell them. But not about how you can tell the difference between a grain of wood. But about the time you started your family in the back seat. THATS TIMELESS AS WELL.