Some See Early Signs Of Rising Tide For Boats

STEVE KARNOWSKI

HAM LAKE, Minn. (AP) — The economy was a big part of why Soua Xiong held off buying a new fishing boat for the past couple years. Hoping the worst was over, he was ready to do more than look when he walked into the Rapid Sport Marine showroom.

"It's a good time to buy. It's time for a change and I think things are changing," Xiong said after signing the papers on a shiny new $22,000 Lund fishing boat to chase walleyes in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

Boat dealers and manufacturers are counting on people like Xiong, 35, an oil refinery worker from Cottage Grove.

As Americans get ready to go fishing this summer, the U.S. recreational boat industry is struggling to stay afloat. Sales of new boats were down 30 percent last year and could fall another 20 percent this year, according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association. Boat makers have shut down or mothballed many factories and laid off thousands of workers. But as summer approaches, some dealers and others in the industry are upbeat, citing low gas prices, plentiful bargains, low interest rates and an uptick in showroom traffic.