Somewhat off topic, but it is an excellent reflection on Swallow Boats that they have such a full order book in the current business climate. Consider the following, taken from recent British Marine Federation surveys:
* Only 450 sailing boats in the range 2.5m to 7.5m were produced in the UK in 2011. So the share of the upper end of that range taken by BayRaiders and Baycruisers must be significant and growing.
* A survey of the UK industry in May 2012 had 58% of respondents reporting static or falling sales while 71% reported static or falling profits.
* Only 9% of respondents reported a lack of experienced/skilled staff as a barrier to growth, although that number is rising, possibly as skilled workers have moved away to other industries. The largest barriers to growth were reported as the financial climate and general economy (43%) and lack of orders/sales (15%).
* Absolutely no-one mentioned a lack of design or boat performance as a barrier to growth, which suggests to me that in general (and in contrast to Swallow Boats), innovation is not very high on the industry's agenda!