A Stronger May, and an Industry Shifting Underneath It
We got a touch of our usual May Grey this year, but only briefly. The bulk of the month brought blue skies and good weather to most of the SoCal coast. Market activity stepped up alongside it. Sales were stronger in several of our tracked tiers, the top of the market posted multiple transactions after a quiet April, and inventory grew modestly as sellers continued to list new boats for the season. There’s also a meaningful piece of news from the marine retail side that’s worth covering this month.
On Our Radar This Month
- This month’s sales pace and a note on California inventory composition
- What the West Marine bankruptcy means for boaters in the months ahead
- Updated boat loan rates, with improvement at the larger loan amounts
- Where oil and fuel prices stand, and what to expect at the dock
- A shift in industry sentiment from the latest NMMA report
- The San Diego International Boat Show, June 11 to 14
California Sales, April 15 to May 15
| Price Range | Boats Sold | vs. Prior Month |
|---|---|---|
| $100K to $250K | 43 | up 18 |
| $251K to $500K | 22 | up 4 |
| $501K to $1M | 3 | down 2 |
| $1M to $2M | 1 | down 3 |
| Above $2M | 3 | up 3 |
| Total | 72 | up 20 |
The $100K to $250K tier saw the largest absolute pickup, moving from 25 transactions in April to 43 in May. The $251K to $500K range held its solid pace at 22 transactions. The $501K to $1M and $1M to $2M tiers were lighter this month, though with the small unit counts in those ranges a one-month dip is usually noise rather than signal. The above-$2M category came back with three closings after sitting at zero in April, a useful reminder that the top end of the market moves on its own schedule.
California Inventory, Mid-May
| Price Range | Current Listings | vs. Last Month |
|---|---|---|
| Under $100K | 929 | down 14 |
| $100K to $250K | 519 | up 31 |
| $251K to $500K | 304 | down 1 |
| $501K to $1M | 153 | up 12 |
| $1M to $2M | 66 | down 3 |
| Above $2M | 50 | up 4 |
| Total | 2,021 | up 29 |
Total active listings sit at 2,021 mid-May, up 29 from April. The composition is worth noting. The $100K to $250K tier added 31 listings, the same range that saw the biggest sales pickup, which suggests owners stepping up into their next boat. The $501K to $1M tier also grew, which is constructive for buyers shopping in that range, more boats to consider as the season takes hold.
A Note on These Numbers Going Forward
As I wrote about in a recent blog post, the search and listing landscape in the boat market is unbundling. Buyers and sellers are spreading across more platforms than they used to, and the listings we track here represent a meaningful slice of California used power boat activity but increasingly not all of it. We’ll keep reporting these numbers each month because they’re useful for identifying trends and reading the pace of the market. It’s worth setting the expectation, though, that the totals won’t capture every transaction happening across the state. The direction these numbers point is more reliable than the exact counts.
West Marine, the Service Industry, and What Comes Next
A bigger piece of news this month, and one that affects pretty much everyone reading this. West Marine filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 18. The company runs about 200 stores across the country and is working through a restructuring that includes closing a significant number of locations and reducing inventory. The reasons are the ones you’d expect: lease costs that no longer match the revenue base, tariff pressure on imported goods, a few rough boating seasons in 2024 and 2025, and inflation that compressed margins.
If you’ve walked into a West Marine in the last few months and felt like the shelves looked a little thinner than usual, you weren’t imagining it. That’s been a slow build for a while.
For boat owners, the practical takeaway is to plan ahead a little more than you used to. Last-minute runs for a specific part may take a phone call or two more than they once did, and lead times on some items may stretch. For the broader San Diego service trades, yards, riggers, and mechanics, this matters too. When the largest national supplier is restructuring, the parts pipeline feels it.
There’s another way to look at this though. When a category leader steps back, room opens up. We expect to see local and regional suppliers gain ground, online specialty retailers fill in gaps, and a few of the smaller chandlery and parts businesses in our market step up to serve customers in ways the big-box model never could. Change like this is hard in the moment and good in the longer run, more often than not. We’ll be watching closely and will share where new opportunities and resources show up as we learn about them. If you find a great alternative source for parts or service in the meantime, let us know. We share that kind of thing with our network.
Financing
Boat loan rates from our lender partners ticked down this month at the larger loan amounts, which is a useful tailwind for buyers in those ranges. Well-qualified buyers are seeing the following today, fixed rate, 20-year terms:
- $50K to $99K: 6.74%
- $100K to $249K: 6.24%
- $250K to $499K: 5.99%
- $500K and up: 5.74%
The notable change is at the $500K and up tier, which came in at 5.74% this month versus the 5.99% to 6.74% range we reported last month. Extended terms, variable rate options, and buydown programs are also available depending on the deal. If you’re looking at financing and want to talk through specifics, give us a call.
Fuel: Oil Down, Pump Catching Up
The news here is pretty good for boaters. Oil prices have dropped sharply through May. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI, the U.S. benchmark price for a barrel of crude oil) started the month near $106 a barrel and is sitting around $87 today, a roughly 17% decline. The driver: progress on a ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, and signals that the Strait of Hormuz could reopen to normal shipping. Both of those would unwind much of the supply shock that drove prices up in March.
The catch is that gasoline at the pump lags oil prices on the way down. California regular hit $6.15 a gallon statewide on May 12, the highest in the country, and has only just started to ease this week. The term for this in the fuel industry is “rockets and feathers”: prices go up like rockets, come down like feathers.
For boaters, the takeaway is that relief is on the way at the fuel dock, but it’s going to take a few more weeks. Dock fuel will follow the same trajectory as street fuel, just at a higher baseline. If you’ve been deferring a longer cruise because of fuel costs, by mid-June the math should look meaningfully better than it did in late April.
A Shift in Industry Sentiment
The NMMA (National Marine Manufacturers Association, the industry’s primary trade group) just released its Q1 2026 Marine Leadership Barometer, and the tone of it is the most upbeat read we’ve seen out of them in over a year. Forty-three percent of marine manufacturers expect industry conditions to improve over the next twelve months. Sixty percent expect their own company revenue to grow. Short-term economic sentiment is up 97% from the same point last year.
That’s a meaningful shift. The people who build boats for a living have been cautious for a while, and now they’re not. It doesn’t mean the broader market is suddenly hot, but it does mean the executives closest to the data are seeing reasons to lean in rather than pull back. Manufacturers are usually the first to feel a change before it shows up in monthly retail data, which is why we pay attention to these signals.
The full NMMA release is here.
San Diego International Boat Show
The San Diego International Boat Show is back at Safe Harbor Sunroad Marina on Harbor Island, June 11 through 14. If we can help you with anything during your visit, give us a call. Show details and tickets at sdibs.com.
A Look at the Months Ahead
A few things are pointing in the same direction right now. The overall sales pace stepped up in May. Financing improved at the upper end. Fuel relief is on the way. And the executives who build boats for a living are more optimistic than they’ve been in over a year.
For buyers, the combination of improved financing and a healthy mix of available inventory makes this a good window to be looking. For sellers, the buyers who’ve been watching through the winter are starting to engage, and a well-prepared boat priced sensibly is the right product for this market. The second half of spring usually sets the tone for the summer, and this one is setting up better than the broader headlines might suggest.
Thanks as always for reading. If there’s a topic you’d like me to cover in a future report, send it my way.
Mark Gibbons
President and Owner, 50 North Yachts
All sales data represent California used power boat transactions, reported on a rolling 15th-to-15th basis. Inventory data reflects active listings at the time of reporting. Financing rates quoted as OAC; actual rates subject to credit profile, vessel age, and lender terms.