I'm seeing the same thing here, cheap aluminum boats are everywhere. People trying to sell anything they can to pay the bills I suppose. I don't think I go a day without seeing a 12, 14, or 16ft boat for less than $300 sitting on some lawn these days. If I didn't already have four, I'd have been tempted by a few of them. Three or four years ago the same boats were selling for well over a grand and you were lucky to get hold of one, now they're even turning up at the scrap yard. My neighbor picked up a super clean Mirrocraft 17ft the other day, with a title, from a local junk yard, someone hauled it there for scrap weight. I think he got it for $180, by the pound.
If this turns around, it may be the time to buy up as many of them as possible but if it don't they be nothing more than scrap it seems. Dealers likely saw this coming because most never put any new models in stock, or just couldn't get hold of any. Many dealers have gone away, between the loss of Evinrude a few years ago and almost no small boat sales, most smaller dealers just hung it up and closed their doors. All that's left are the big boat dealers at the shore and even they look like they're hurting.
The marinas are and have been nearly empty now for a few years.
To be fair, I've seen a steady decline since around 2008/2009 or so. It got better for a bit in 2016 or so but 2020 took a huge chunk out of boating and fishing here. You can list highly desirable items for sale and hear nothing but crickets these days. The fleamarkets are full of cheap tackle, often in the hands of second and third party sellers taking a shot at selling it but finding out there's no takers.
For me, I own boats because I fish, I fish because I like to eat fish. Fishing should be cheaper than buying fish, when its not, its a waste of time. A day on the water now can cost $100, and I can buy the fish for less. Since the bag limits are so low these days, usually only one or two fish, its tough to justify the ride to the saltwater.
I think a lot of people are thinking the same way. Nearly all the saltwater ramps are pay ramps, so most won't go there, and those are usually jammed up with skis and pleasure boats so most guys launch in one of the back creeks and make their way to the saltwater. That ride is now expensive at nearly $4/gal plus oil.
