By Everett Potter

Summer in the U.S. usually synonymous with boating, but this summer, boat sales are off the charts and availability is scarce. According to the Brunswick Corporation, the company that owns Mercury, Boston Whaler, Lund, Bayliner, Sea Ray, Lowe Boats, among other well-known brands, you can credit the pandemic for driving more people into boating in the past 18 months.

“Last summer when COVID hit, demand for boats went through the roof,” said Lee Gordon, a Vice President at Brunswick, noting that boating rose in popularity because it was an activity where people could safely social distance with their family and recreate at the same time. “Buying a boat is tough right now as demand far outweighs what is in the market. We are currently selling boats into 2023.”

Well, if you can’t buy a boat, the next best thing is to rent one. If you can’t do that, then consider joining a club. Carefree Boat Club, Nautical Boat Club, 321 Boat Club and Suntex are among the players in this field, but the largest one happens to be Freedom Boat Club, which Brunswick bought in 2019 … continue reading