June & July 2017 – Welcome to the Jungle

The weather in June was a tease.  Just when I thought we might get a mild summer for once, July proved to be the most oppressively hot month in recent memory.  Between the 100-degree heat index and daily thunderstorms, the lowcountry feels more like a jungle.

The only thing hotter might be the boating industry.  Typically we see a summer slump once we get into the dog-days, but boats are still selling like crazy.  And this late-summer surge appears to be nationwide.  Surveyor friends from around the country are reporting non-stop action from the Pacific Northwest to Texas to New England.

I guess it shouldn’t be too surprising.  The economy is healthy and most boatbuilders appear to be fully healed after the 2008-2011 financial pounding.  There’s more money to spend and more builders to buy from.  But what goes up must come down.  We’re all just holding on tight and enjoying the ride while we can.

Nothing too unusual on the survey front this summer.  A lot of pre-purchase surveys, a few C&V’s and damage claims.  One bright spot was a tonnage survey I performed on a 1986 Baron Shipyard 60′ steel-hull cutter, “NOMADICA”.  You can read a little more about the boat and its full refit here.

On a personal note, we have a new addition to the dog family.  His name is Murphy.  Named after Washington Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy, in a passive aggressive attempt to voice our frustration with the Braves front office (not really, but kinda).  I’ve shamelessly plugged a few photos of Murphy doing puppy things in the pictures below.