[quote=jonathan162][quote=klozhald]
In the 90's the EPA started really pressing fiberglass and foam manufacturers and industry users. They put Clark Foam out of the surfboard supply business [b][i]altogether[/i][/b], for one. Also Congress passed a repulsive tax on yachts over 100k, which literally killed the US yachting industry. All the legacy boatyards either closed or moved overseas. Repealing the tax did not bring anyone back. The damage was done. The sailing industry as a whole died with this. Prindle was sold to NACRA and dried up in the US, moving to Europe. Hobie dropped a number of models, etc. Availability dropped, fleet membership dropped, ownership dropped. We are all that is left, and the current materials are expensive, or alternately cheaper/heavier roto-mold.
My $0.02.[/quote]
Here's another interesting point for my "whither catamarans" paper that I don't think was raised in that thread (though I should go back and confirm). My question would be why an onerous tax on boats over $100K should affect a market in which most boats cost a fraction of that.[/quote]
No HTML tags allowed (except inside [code][/code] tags)
