Dealers need to sell green efficiency
by Ralph Lambrecht

When gasoline prices reached $5 a gallon, the marine industry was in serious trouble. Now that gas prices have been cut in half, the industry is still in trouble, confronted by a sick economy that has people pulling in their spending.

What features can dealers emphasize to induce people with a boating inclination to consider a new or replacement boat package? The buzz words are GREEN and ENERGY EFFICIENCY. People involved in boating are automatically environmentally friendly. They want clean air and water when they are out on the waters, so dealers need to sell green efficiency.

The engines
Technology has been applied to marine engines during the past 15 years to improve their greenness.

Outboards-The carburetor has disappeared with the application of fuel injection, direct injection on the two-strokes, and electronic manifold injection on the four-strokes.
Inboard engines-Electronic fuel injection began to be applied to these engines about 10 years ago. Catalytic converters are the most conspicuous addition to inboard engines, and engine builders added them to meet the new requirements imposed by the EPA on exhaust emissions.
Fuel efficiency-There have been conspicuous reductions in fuel consumption, particularly in the outboards.
Reduced emissions-Boat manufacturers have made changes in their permanently installed fuel tank systems: low permeation plastic tanks, vents, and fill hoses.       

Dealers can stress these value added features in selling to new buyers or convincing the owners of older boats to trade up to state-of-the-art products. Moreover, a boat with less exhaust smoke and engine noise, as well as a lower fuel bill, has some very positive attributes.

The boats
To meet the recession in the boating business, the industry needs to change its sales approach. Instead of targeting affluent boat buyers who want bigger boats with larger engines that go faster and faster, it needs to stress fuel efficiency.

It needs to sell green to today’s fuel-efficient consumer who doesn’t want a 24- to 30-foot boat that delivers less than two miles per gallon at cruising speed.

The boat of tomorrow will be sold to a consumer who wants to enjoy the boating lifestyle as much as any one, but who also wants a clean, green fuel-efficient boat. To get this boat, dealers should tell their builders to:

• Flatten the bottom aft
• Lengthen the amount of the keel in the water
• Maintain the deep vee entry forward
• Reduce the power required to plane while maintaining a good ride.

For more than 30 years, the pleasure craft industry has been swept along by a fascination with the “deep vee” hull with 22-24 degrees of deadrise at the transom. This has to change. The deadrise at the transom should be held to 12 degrees or less.

When the biggest outboards were less than 100 hp, that’s the way they had to be. They can be that way again, and there are some out there right now, particularly in the aluminum boat brands.

With fewer dollars available for most people, selling a green fuel-efficient 18-footer that is packaged with a moderately-sized outboard that can deliver 6-10 mpg at cruising speeds of 20-25 mph is the goal. These boats do exist. I’ve seen pictures of a few that have been tested at that pace in boating magazines.

Dealers need to make an entry-level boat and motor combination that is appealing. It will be one that  meets boaters’ needs for fun on the water, at a price that will be comparable with that of a small economy car. It can do everything boaters need on the water, except keep up with a PWC at 50+ mph.

How to proceed
Find the right boat–Not all manufacturers will have such things right away, but the bigger builders will be looking in this direction with the smaller end of their line under 20 feet.

With a flatter bottom at the transom–This is the key to holding the boat up on plane with minimum power.

The ride should be acceptably comfortable–Don’t have the boat become airborne at planing speed; keep the keel in the water.

Add two-stroke or four-stroke outboards–The two-strokes are a little lighter but just as fuel efficient, while the four-strokes may be a little quieter idling.

Don’t advertise the boat’s highest rated power–Enough to plane the boat with something close to its rated load capacity will do.

The result
By stressing ecology and energy efficiency, today’s dealers can sell a boat that operates at a reasonable speed, can be fun and adventurous. These boaters will leave the iPod® at home and save the cell phone for an emergency.

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Ralph Lambrecht is an engineer with more than 60 years of experience in the marine industry and in the development of marina safety standards. He can be reached by fax: 847/234-0863 or via e-mail: heaxheadV30@aol.com.