boat manufacturers/ motor manufacturers ???

[leechlake]

I'll start this saying I'm a Lund boat guy Yamaha motor guy. I've owned others but I really like that combo. I read about a month ago that Mercury purchased, I believe, Genmar so they could put their motors on Lund, Crestliner, Alumacraft. I inquired on a new boat last week and they offerred only Honda and Mercury on the Lund. They said Mercury wasn't too concerned about Honda but Yamaha wasn't really an option any more on a Lund boat. Now, I'm sure I would be able to get them to somehow put a Yamaha on a Lund, but at what price? Anyone have some more accurate information on this issue. I don't really like being dictated what type of boat/motor combination I have to buy.

[Valv]

Brunswick Corp, which owns also Mercury didn't buy Genmar.

They bought Lund and Crestliner, since Genmar sold them because they want to manufacture only fiberglass boats (they own Larson/Glastron, and many others). I believe you will have an option to have boat not rigged up for any motor, then have dealer do it for you when you purchase your motor. I am not sure 100% of how it works, but I believe that's the way it's going now.

I also believe Brunwick is pushing pre-rig with Mercury from Mfg to boost sales of their motors, but I am confident it won't last long, I'd like to see next year end sales reports, I am sure they will have different results than prior to this, and if they want to sell boats they will have to backtrack their steps and allow pre-rig of other brands.

This is just my opinion.

[Ruegs23]

You guys are right on the money. I work up in Little Falls where the Crestliner and Larson plants are. Brunswick did buy Crestliner and is putting Mercury motors on the boats. So far this has not been good for them. I supply fastners and maint supplies to these plants and while Larson has stayed busy this year, Crestliner has been shut down 4 of the 6 weeks since Christmas!! Many people I have talked with have mentioned this is because of the packages with only Mercury motors are being offered. We are sure hoping this gets cleared up fast and I'm sure new boat buyers are as well.

[Guest]

Brunswick doesn't own Alumacraft. They are still independently owned and

they will rig any motor you want on the back of your boat.

[RoadRunner]

Isn't it something how Brunswick has a way of buying good companies and driving them into the ground? They darn-near did it with Harley Davidson and now it looks like they are trying to do it with Crestliner and Lund.

[wisconsinfish]

Brunswick did buy all of Genmar's aluminum boats. If they are smart, they will keep innovating and redesigning them. They better watch out because the rest of the industry is catching up as far as fishibility and comfort. Not so sure about the quality issues. Take a look at how many boats out there are modeled after the crestliner fish hawks now. Almost every one has something similar.

From rumors, the crestliner 1750 fish hawk sold more than any other aluminum boat for several years. Outselling some manufacturer's complete lines. It was a good move for Brunswick-Mercury.

There are a lot of people that don't know much about boats or don't care to and they just buy them pre-rigged. May see more and more of this. Skeeter/Yamaha have been for a while now. I think there is a few more yamaha/boat combo's. Tracker used to be Evinrude Johnson and then went to mercury.

I'm not so sure that mercury has the resources to build enough engines to supply every lund and crestliner sold each year anyway. Hopefully the option is there to buy them without prerigging.

What happens to all of the Lund/Crestliner dealers that don't carry merc's???

All I know is I can't wait for that ice to melt!!

J.T>

[marine_man]

I'm pretty sure that dealers can still order boats without any pre rig (controls, gauges, motor wiring harness). But, it takes quite a while to install all the rigging neccesary.. so it all depends on the dealer... I've heard that some dealers are charging more to rig / re-rig a boat, and some are not...

marine_man

[Hookmaster]

My current rig is a Lund/Yamaha. If I can't get what I want from Lund, my next rig will be an Alumacraft. It's as simple as that. Alumacraft is already pushing this in their ads.

[Giant_Jackpot]

Doesn't Yamaha make the powerheads for the Merc 4 stroke? Just a thought.......

[Valv]

The relationship between Yamaha and Mercury dates a long time ago.

They didn't build lower units and gearcases, so they always had Mercury do them, and exchanged for powerheads. Many 2 stokes are actually Yamaha powerhead, and many Yammy have Merc lower units.

Now competition is getting harsh, and they don't exchange much anymore.