Reasons Wakeboard Boats are expensive?

Blazingfact

Mar 2, 2023

Summer means one thing to many people: it's time to get out on the water!

People have invented a variety of beach activities over the years, such as tubing, water skiing, and wakeboarding.

Each water activity has its own draw, purpose, and prerequisites.

Tubing entails being dragged at the whim of the boat driver, with no control over your direction or destination. Water skiing provides more control, but requires some leg strength to get the most out of it.

Wakeboarding is simple enough for most people to enjoy.

However, all of these require being dragged by a boat. What difference does it make? Because those boats are pricey!

Reasons Wakeboard Boats are expensive?

Boats and Towing

Not all boats are created equal, and not all boats are designed to tow a load on the water.

Smaller boats may be able to accommodate tubes, which float on the water even when loaded with people.

The floating reduces the resistance from the boat's "drag," requiring far less work.

A jet ski could haul an inner tube designed for a small child, if the boaters were determined enough.

However, tubes are about all that will float on their own.

When it comes to water skiing or boarding, the boat must be able to haul the load quickly enough to overcome the resistance of sinking people and do so with enough consistency to keep the people above the water's surface

Though larger boats, such as a barge, can certainly haul someone, their speed is frequently limited for safety reasons.

The lack of speed can make skimming the surface of the water difficult, especially when turning.

Wakeboard boats, on the other hand, are well-known for their maneuverability and speed.

They're small enough to navigate lakes at a reasonable speed, but powerful enough to reach high speeds.

This places them in a unique position that benefits the sport.

Increasing Popularity

Prices are determined more by demand than anything else, particularly in a competitive market.

Many once-cheap items become more expensive not because of scarcity, but because more affluent markets decide to join in on the fun.

Camping, for example, was once a low-income family's go-to activity, but it has been priced out of that income range as the "glamping" scene has increased the popularity of camping to the middle and upper classes, making it much more expensive to even rent a spot to camp.

Boating is another activity that has grown in popularity, largely in tandem with camping.

It's not uncommon for middle-class (and higher) families to book a weekend camping spot months in advance with the goal of spending as much time as possible on the water.

From manufacturers to retailers, everyone adjusts their prices accordingly.

Inflation

Let us begin with this: Boats were never cheap. Boats were never something the "average American" and their 2.3 children kept in their garage.

Boats were always optional.

Manufacturers do not build boats with the intention of selling them to EVERYONE; they build boats with the intention of making a profit from the sale of as many as possible, but not in such a high volume that drastic markdowns are required to move the product.

Because of the need to compensate for the lower number of sales through a higher profit margin, inflation has hit many luxuries harder than it has mainstream items.

Wakeboard Boat Design

With the growing popularity of wakeboarding, these boats are being designed with special attention paid to the wake that is left in the water.

Boats used to be designed to produce as few wakes as possible in order to reduce drag and increase speed.

Because wakeboarders Would like a good wake, many boats have been redesigned to produce a more desirable wave.

Engineers are being used to work with designers to determine what shape of the hull, what materials, and what weight all work best together to form the most ideal ripple effect behind the boat.

Aside from the engineer salary, this means that much more money is spent on research and development than previously.

The knowledge of the design for the smoother was so well served that boat builders did not have to test the smallest changes repeatedly just to verify a result.

Because the changes are more deliberate, and the goal is so different (larger wakes versus small wakes), designers must occasionally scrap ideas that have already been funded.

Wakeboard boats are also made of more durable materials than in the past.

This is due to the fact that these boats are put through their paces by drivers who alternate between maximum speed and stopping several times per day, for several hours.

Technology

Boats, like cars, now have several technological features that they did not previously have.

Wakeboard boats now frequently include sonar depth tracking as a standard feature, which was previously unavailable on even the most expensive boats.

Wakeboard boats are now designed to include control of a ballast system in addition to these bells and whistles.

The driver can actually change the height and width of the waves, giving wakeboarders a more personalized experience that is tailored to the individual being towed's experience and preferences.

Speed control has advanced even further.

Boaters used to have to be familiar with knots and be able to calculate their own speed.

GPS is increasingly being integrated into boats that use location mapping to help regulate speed.