Fleet Building: Success Stories on Lake Ontario

RCR Yachts broker Don Finkle provides a few observations of positive organic growth in his area…

In Youngstown (NY) we have a new fleet of Vanguard 15s. What is remarkable is that they went from one boat to nine in less than six months! What is even better is that the owners are in their 20s and 30s, a most welcome development.

There is an active and growing fleet of J80s on the Lake, spread between the North and South shores. Hardly a day goes by when we don’t get another post of activity in the fleet sharing photos, announcements of upcoming fleet activities, etc.

There is likewise an active fleet of J27s on the Lake. There is a good deal of similarity between the J80 and J27 fleets because these are not new designs. Historically there were smaller groups of these boats on the Lake, but this growth has been recent.

These success stories have common threads. One is that you can get into each of the above for a modest investment. The used V15s are in the $1-4K price range all up. Because the J27 and J80 are older designs, you can pick them up at attractive prices too.

Even more important to the success of these efforts, in our view, is that they are sailor-driven. While there may be a club in the background, there are no dealers, boat manufacturers, or any other commercial enterprises pushing these fleets.

Enthusiastic sailors themselves are making this growth happen. There is no doubt that without this grass-roots promotion, none of the above would be anywhere near as successful as they are now. We hope this provides content to serve as ideas for others.