Brunswick realigning Lund and Crestliner

[cold one sd]

I have a friend that was an OMC tech for years and hated Mercs with a passion. When the package boats started coming out and he had to start working on Mercs I asked him what he thought. He told me that he couldn't believe how trouble free Mercs actually were. I talked to a friend that owns a dealership yesterday and he told me that they have had more trouble with the large horsepower Yamahas that they have with Mercs of the same size. It is a amall dealership and they have only sold three Yammy 250s and all three blew the powerheads. I have never owned a Yammy, but I would have no problems with owning one. I think they are all good outboards at this time.

[eyepatrol]

Being in the market for a boat early next year, I've heard some grumblings from dealers (okay, some are happy) about this Lund/Crestliner/Mercury deal. Some dealers are being hit hard by it. A small Lund dealer (basically one man outfit) in a nearby town is being affected, and I know R&R Marine in Shakopee has now dropped Crestliner and will be Sylvan and G3. Personally speaking, I think this will be a mistake to only offer Merc motors on the Lunds and Crestliners. Boat owners are, for the most part, pretty dedicated to the brand of motor they buy. Sure, some like myself keep an open mind about it and consider various options, but I tend to think that Merc owners are dedicated and Yammi owners are dedicated and perhaps the other brand motor owners too. I've got to believe that eliminating the pre-rigging of various motor brands will hurt. To what degree it's yet to be seen.

One thing I have been told from a dealer though is, now that Yammi's aren't being put on Lunds and Crestliners, Yamaha Corp is making a big push to move the G3 into the northern tier states to compete with the other aluminum boats.

[Wade Joseph]

I have read grumblings on another forum that this "restructure" means Lund/Crestliner plants in MN are gonna be closing as well.

[Try Too Fish]

I cant see how forcing you to use a specific brand of motor is going too be good for lund long term. When it comes too boat motors,just like autos everyone has there pet brand and most will go elsewhere rather than buy what they don't want!

[eyepatrol]

I think too that now days, boats are so similar in set-up that boat brand is not quite as important. Sure there are some brands which may not be as tried and true as others and some have a little better fit and finish, but overall the boats on the market today are pretty good quality, thus if someone wants a specific brand motor, they are able to choose from many different brand boats. Just another reason why I feel this move by Brunswick will hurt the Lund and Crestliner sales to some degree.

[LoonASea]

When You consider how many lund boats are sold each year and how many have voiced their opinion on their next boat purchase,,,,it would seem like a small percentage who would not buy a lund again that ,,,Im the kind of guy who buys a new boat every 20 years or so so this has no affect on me ,,, an Im thinking dealers will find a way to work with customers to get them what they want ,,,just My 2 cents

Randoid

[eyepatrol]

I think dealers will work with people on what they want, it's just that if they want something other than a Merc motor, they're going to pay additional fees for re-rigging, etc.