The newest thing we're running out of because of the pandemic is . . . boats.  Sales are way up, and about half of the buyers are new boat owners.  

Boat sales have shot up both nationally and locally, mainly because there is no better way to socially distance AND have fun than on a boat.

Boat sharing is also on the uptick, with boat clubs like the Detroit area Freedom Boat Club seeing increases in membership.

"It seems like people had one of two options for fun during lockdown — either golfing or boating," said Steven Dobreff, owner of a Freedom Boat Club franchise told the Detroit News. "We get a lot of new members, but we also get a lot of returning boaters. I trained an 80-year-old couple just the other day. They just returned to boating after four years."

Nationally, boat sales are up about 60%, according to the National Marine Manufacturers.

And locally some areas, particularly up north and in west Michigan are also seeing banner years.

“Customers want to go boating and they want to go boating today,” said Walstrom Marine President Tom Ervin told 9and10 News. “We’re sold out of a couple of product lines through the end of the year already.”

"I really do think, due to the fact that everything was shut down, the only real thing they could do to kind of get that family together and still enjoy their summer was to be on a boat," Bryan Mason of Tommy's Boats in Detroit told Channel 2 News. "We knew, whether it was this summer or next summer or the summer after that, boating was going to take place again."

All this boat talk has me thinking of my favorite boat song of all time, "I'm On A Boat", and I found a clean version, so you can enjoy it without getting fired.

CHECK IT OUT: This 'Church House' Comes With A Private Beach on Lake Michigan

 

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