Used Pontoon Boats - Monsoon Marine Pontoon Boats
Saturday, May 31st, 2008Sponsored by PRACTICAL BOATER: PONTOON & DECK BOATS
Hi gang, Rick Ostler here from Used Pontoon Boats bringing you news and views from the boating industry. Feature profile on Monsoon Marine located in Canton, Ohio.
CANTON - The economy might be holding things up a bit, but David “Rick” Tarr sees growth for his pontoon-boat business, only minutes out of downtown.
Monsoon Marine - Manufactures Pontoon Boats
Tarr started Monsoon Marine in January 2007. You can see the building from Interstate 77, north of U.S. Route 30; the address is 1480 11th St. SW. He foresees growth this year, next year and 10 years out.
“We’re building from local sales,” Tarr said. He has dealers in Michigan, Indiana and Pittsburgh, but “I want to sell here” before developing outside sales, he said. “It’s slow going. As we grow and build more boats, I’ll offer more dealer territory.”
There’s a lot of competition in Indiana and Michigan, so he plans to work to the east in New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Tarr wants to work his way south, and plans to have a distributorship in Orlando, Fla.
Monsoon Marine - Manufactures Pontoon Boat Trailers
The first year was a bit rough, but “it’s finally coming together for me,” Tarr said. He was buying “pieces and parts” from several different manufacturers to make boats. It wasn’t working out because he had to do too many modifications to make things work. “So we designed our own pieces and parts,” he said. Tarr has most of the parts made locally or within the U.S.
He also tried to make too many sizes last year. He’s limiting his offerings to 20-footers, which cost about $10,000, and 24-footers, which cost about $12,000. A 24-foot trailer costs about $2,000.
Most of his business so far has been in trailers. Monsoon made about 100 trailers and six boats last year.
“This year, trailer sales are good,” he said. He plans to make 150 to 200, along with 30 boats.
Monsoon Marine - plan to build over 100 boats
Next year, he plans to make 100 to 125 boats. “The third year, I should be well over a million dollars” in sales, and in 10 years, he expects that figure to be $10 million.
The high cost of gas hasn’t affected his business too much. “Gas mostly affects people who haul a trailer boat everywhere,” he said. “Most lakes around here have a 10- or 20-horsepower limit, and a tank of gas will last a long time on a pontoon boat,” he said. Newer 10-horsepower, four-stroke engines have five- to six-gallon gas tanks and are fuel-efficient. Older two-stroke engines aren’t so much.
Still, he said, “If we weren’t in a recession, I wonder how many orders I’d have. If gas wasn’t so high, I wonder how many orders I’d have. “We have a three- to four-week backlog, but if things were better, I’d have to hire more.” He has four employees working now. “It should increase. I’ll probably have to hire another one or two after the season really gets cranking.”
Monsoon Marine - Pontoon Boat Production
“Right now, it’s taking about three weeks to make a boat. Once we get the process, … it should take us about three days to make a boat,” he said. The craft is made mostly of aluminum. “It’s light and rust-resistant,” Tarr said. “You don’t want something that’s going to eat itself to death.” It’s a 24-foot craft that can carry 16 people, weighs about 2,200 pounds and can be pulled by a car with at least a six-cylinder engine.
The market isn’t what many think. “You think a pontoon boat caters to the older people,” but younger families want a less expensive boat that doesn’t need a lot of care, Tarr said. “Some people leave them in the water all year long. You’d never see that in a regular boat. You don’t have to worry about it filling up with rain and sinking. They’re pretty care-free.”
Monsoon Marine - Pontoon Boats are very competitive
Tarr believes he can compete with bigger manufacturers because of low overhead and the quality of the product. “They’re built like a bulldog,” he said. But “they’ve got to be nice. If they’re not nice, nobody’s going to buy them.” Thanks to G. PATRICK KELLEY for this. Reach Repository Business Editor Pat Kelley at (330) 580-8323 or e-mail: pat.kelley@cantonrep.com
Used Pontoon Boats, By Rick Ostler
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