The Covid Boat Boom

Seattle is one of the biggest boating hubs in the country, hands down, and this pandemic has been a wild ride for everyone, boats included.  It was interesting not being able to go outside and detail boats in some of the spring of 2020.  We were fortunate to be in the first wave of folks who were able to return to work last year.  The nature of what we do is inherently socially distant.  We’re outside, and most of our fantastic crew work independently, so we were extra lucky.  The ghost town effect in and around Seattle was bizarre to say the least.  Parking was free on Lake Union though, so that was pretty exciting for a while.

One thing that became clear over the course of 2020 was that boating was going to become the thing.  Europe is closed. Canada’s closed.  Hotels are closed.  Flights canceled.  What to do, what to do?  Lets buy a boat!  Everyone bought a boat, and everyone is still buying boats this year too.  Covid has been a major boom for the entire industry.  But with all these new boats, the old boats didn’t go anywhere.  The infrastructure plan hasn’t built any new marinas yet.  I’m not aware of any plans for major dock expansions.  Maybe it’s time to buy stock in a boat trailer company, or a pop up yacht garage company.  I digress.  One of the quiet things I wanted to mention, that some boat owners may not be ready to face, is that some boats are dying.  For every new boat hitting the marina, there are several boats in varying stages of decay.

​Neglect is a guilt inducing term, so we won’t use it here.  But, the issue of decomposition, especially from boats made during the fiberglass boom of the 1960s and 70s is an important topic and I’ll circle back to it in future blogs.  There certainly are plenty of circumstances where there is nothing that can be done, and sometimes there’s more important things happening that need attention before boats, such as pandemics.  Lock down can become a complicated thing, especially when your boat is in Seattle and you live several thousand miles away and can’t travel for years.  Feast your eyes on these aging boats for which covid has been a real bust.