Bennington buys Nautic Global

Cableguy Greg

Bennington Marine is buying Nautic Global.

http://www.boatingindustry.com/news/2015/09/22/bennington-is-nautic-global-group-buyer/

raybo3

I would think that is good news for us at least I hope so..... 

[Deleted User]

Can a Rinker branded pontoon boat be far off now? Not Fiesta Vee, perhaps Fiesta Tube?

Andy

MarkB

LOL, andyd I'll take that as a joke.

Hey, if these guys want to grow their business, what better way than purchase a company with an established name in a different part of the industry (cruisers). Makes sense to me.

I doubt very much they would have purchased the company with the intention of retiring Rinker. Rinker is in a pretty unique position offering decent quality for a very good price. The only thing I'd be worried about is cost cutting excercises leading to lowering of the quality ... but we will need to wait and see.

LaRea

I think this could spell the end for Rinker's larger cruisers, and that would be a real shame.  What's the one thing Bennington has in common with all of the other NGG brands except Rinker?  There's nothing over 27 feet.  

I can see where they'd retain Rinker to play in the express cruiser segment, but will they bring back the 390 or 420?  I doubt it.  

MarkB

Depends, can they make money on a 390 or 420?

Handymans342

Why dont larger EC sell? Gas prices? Initial cost? 

rasbury

Interesting...don't follow the marine industry but if the article has any merit, sounds better than Rinker just fading  out- beyond that as Mark said have to see. I'm pretty new to these larger boats with my entry 270, but in that size boat it is just a great practical layout with lots of room above and below- nothing really out there close. 

[Deleted User]

Rinker has good brand equity, a loyal owner base, and with the right management could go back to growth mode. I agree that the bigger boat segment is a tough row to ****. But the entire boat business is tough.  I wish the new owners great success.

Andy

[Deleted User]

LOL, ...tough row to... (rhymes with toe)

pepmyster

Could only be good things to come, we'll see!

LaRea

It seems like a 40-foot cruiser would fundamentally different from a pontoon boat in terms of the corporate infrastructure to design, build, market, distribute and support the product.  I really hope they don't let that part of Rinker die off.  

raybo3

If they bought the facility at Rinker then they are setup to build large size cruisers. Maybe they want to get into a larger size boat market. Its still a little bit of a waiting game to see what happens. I just hope they keep the Rinker tradition......

nhsd

Quite possibly they bought the whole company to get the pontoon portions (which appears to be the larger part of the overall company anyway). If that is the case, they may end up selling the Rinker portion to someone as either a stand alone operation or to someone that is already in the sport boat and/or cruiser market and wants to expand or get some economy of scale... or maybe they do want to move beyond the pontoon market....

Stodge

Maybe we'll see some 40 foot pontoons....

Dream_Inn

Stodge said:

Maybe we'll see some 40 foot pontoons....

Nice one!

Bennington actually makes some nice toons!  A local marina (where I get work done on my boat) sells the Benningtons and they do sell pretty well.

Michael T

The initial news is good. A friend who was a Rinker dealer told me the financials have not been decided yet, such as what debt and liabilities will be assumed for which lines. I heard from another source that there will be no more 400s as the style we know as the Rinker 400 will never be built again and a pared-down Rinker cruiser and runabout line is very likely. Time will tell but at least, for now, the great Rinker tradition seems likely to exist in some format.

[Deleted User]

"pared-down Rinker cruiser?"   You mean they might bring back the FV250?

06Rinker270

Why do the larger cruisers get all the bad rap? Too expensive? Thought the boating industry was making a comeback.  

Michael T

I was told the Rinker EC 400 should really have diesels installed to properly handle its weight. At that price there is a lot of competition. If the 400 was going to be brought back (unlikely) it would have to have a refresh and diesels. The market in that slot seems to be saturated. The same person told me that the most likely Rinker cruisers to "make the cut" were the 290, 310 and 360 and that the number of boats in the runabout line would be reduced - much like GM pared-down their line-up a few years back. BTW where I boat the number REALLY well priced, good quality cruisers for sale in the 30 to 50 foot LOA is astounding. It must be a very difficult time for boat manufacturers competing with a big inventory of quality used boats.

MarkB

I don't think there's enough separation between the 290 and 310 to warrant holding both. I'd rather keep the 260EC, 310EC and 360EC.  The 260EC is about the largest boat you want with a single engine (and that would be the main selling feature). If I had to step up from the 260EC, I would not go to a 290EC, I would rather get the 310EC to get the beam I wanted and enough room for 2 engines.  After that is the luxury of a 360EC.

Michael T

@MarkB, no disagreement from me, just repeating what I was told by a former dealer and a former Rinker salesman from another dealership. They said the 290 was good to have as a decent sized single engine cruiser - they both recommended the 8.2 B3 combo for it. The 310 was considered good for a decent sized "entry" twin engine (both men said get the 350 mag B3s for it) and the 360 (based on the former 342) was seen as the best sized "big" cruiser in the Rinker line - get twin the 8.2 B3 combo for it. To paraphrase them: their thoughts were that all three boats would not need design re-freshening for some time and that there was enough size spread between them to attract the widest array of customers. Speaking of which, I guess time will tell what the new owners decide. As for me, in this present economic climate, I wouldn't want to be a salesman trying to sell boats to the "middle class" you know - that former segment of the population with an economic bull's eye on their backs! Around me the small boats and the huge boats are selling. Sales of new cruisers in the 36-40 foot LOA are dead but the re-sale market is very busy. Fingers crossed that Rinker survives, I really love those Rinkers!