ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Sunday, February 25, 1996              TAG: 9602280015
SECTION: BOAT SHOW                PAGE: BS-8 EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR

BOAT TRENDS GETTING MORE AND MORE PERSONAL

The most vibrant new product ever to hit the boating scene is the personal watercraft (PWC). Last year was another record-breaking year for these Sea-Doos, Tigersharks, Jet Skis, WaveRaiders, WaveRunners and Wet Jets.

In 1995, the retail unit sales hit the 200,000 mark, up a phenomenal 41 percent from the previous year. No other segment of boating saw anything like that kind of growth. PWC accounted for 36 percent of all power boat sales.

There appears to be no slowing of this trend.

``I really think it is going to boom on up there, bigger this year than it was last,'' said Calvin Carr, of Gios, a Kawasaki and Yamaha dealer in Roanoke.

At Webster Marine, a Sea-Doo dealer on Smith Mountain Lake, PWC account for one-third of the boating business, said Mark Mills, a sales representative.

The price range of PWC is from about $4,500 to $7,600, but the low end isn't getting that much attention, said Mills.

``Most people want the newest and greatest thing out there,'' he said. ``There is lots of trading up.''

That means this new trend in boating has been around long enough to encourage trade-ins. This opens the market for used units.

``We probably handled 100 used bikes last year,'' Mills said.

Some of the highest profile used PWC will be found in the Halesford Marina display at the boat show. Marina owner Dick Stiff has 10 Tigersharks with famous-name previous owners: Ricky Rudd, Bill Elloitt, Dale Jarrett and Sterling Marlin.

Stiff has the Tigershark franchise for Southwest Virginia and plans to be an aggressive marketer of PWC.

``We are a marine dealership going into our fourth year of operation, but we've never told anyone we are here,'' said the Smith Mountain dealer.

Shoreline Marina, on Smith Mountain Lake, is the new Wet Jet dealer. Jeff Tice of Shoreline said he has several 1995 Wet Jets that will carry a special price of $4,499 at the boat show.

Smith Mountain Yacht Club, one of the oldest boat dealers on the lake, is featuring Yamaha PWC. One certain to grab the attention of boaters is the new 110-horsepower Yamaha Wave Venture, a unit with power to pull a skier or tuber. It features an extra-large gas tank and spacious cooler.

``That unit should really perform well,'' said Lee Arnold of Smith Mountain Yacht Club.

The horsepower race shows no indication of slowing. Power options have increased another 20 horsepower in the 1996 offerings.

One of the biggest of the pack is the new 1100 CC Kawasaki rated at 120 horsepower, said Carr. It features an automatic trim which adjusts according to the rpms of the engine.

``You can keep your mind more on driving rather than fooling with the trim on it,'' said Carr.

By mid-year, Mercury, a major builder of outboard and stern drive engines, is expected to enter the PWC market.

``Mercury has built prototypes and is trying to position itself where it wants to be in the market,'' said Mike Fielder of Advantage Marine. ``We probably will be a Mercury PWC dealer. I said `probably,' I have to look at the program.''

The popularity of PWC has much to do with the freedom and fun of the mobility they afford and their comparative low purchase price.

Yet, amid all the glitter are concerns over the matter in which they are used. Last year, PWC accounted for more than 60 percent of all the boating accidents at Smith Mountain Lake.

``I have no doubt that as this first generation of PWC users matures, many of the problems we are facing today will go away,'' said John Birkinbine, executive director of the Personal Watercraft Industry Association.

PWC OWNER

PROFILE

Average age - 34.4 years

Average income - $65,000

Marital status - 55 percent married

Education - 70 percent attended college

Gender - 83.8 percent male

Source - 1995 industry surveys

LENGTH: Medium:   87 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  TIGERSHARK. The personal watercraft market made a big 
          splash last year, gaining in sales by 41 percent. This is a 
          Tigershark, which will be in the Halesford Marina display at the 
          Southwest Virginia Boat Show at the Roanoke Civic Center. color.