DaySailer Marketing

[GreenLake]

And you should put the discussion under "Events" in the forum, not DS1.

[K.C. Walker]

GreenLake,

Events, yes, good thinking.

KC

[jdubes]

The link to the sailing event post.

http://daysailer.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3285

[GreenLake]

Let's take a look at 2 boats that are the same size and intended for the same purpose, family day sailing. Similarly equipped these 2 boats are the same price. A new DaySailer with a spinnaker and sails in the upgrade (racing) version would run about $16,000. The Laser Performance Statos all up with sails and spinnaker AND with higher performance parts would run about $16,000.

Also, the DS is no longer the bargain it used to be. From a
1967 price list:

Complete Boat less Sails: $ 1,775.00

The inflation rate since then has run at officially 580%

From the links KC gave, the boat without saisl lists at $15,600.
A comparable price in today's dollars to the 1967 price would
be $10,295.00 for what is functionally a nearly identical item.
Most other durable consumer goods have either become a lot
cheaper over those 50 years, or have seen a huge increase in
features or usability or both...

Now, for sails, the story is different. Dacron sails were listed at
$195 for set of two. For the comparable $1,131.00 in today's
dollars one can get a rather competitive set of sails, and cheaper
sails are available. (The sails listed at the link run $1040.00.)

Just thought I'd share that analysis, although it's not very encouraging.

[talbot]

I like the idea of assembling more exciting pictures and making them available. The ones I've seen have been either family-album stuff (me & my dog, etc.) or garage-nerd (candid shots of the inside of the starbord flotation tank).

O'Day pushed the DS as a placid family playcraft, and the last O'Day interation, the DS III, accented that aspect even more. And the fact is it's not a performance boat. It is, however, built for adventures. I've seen articles where it's been sailed in the arctic and on long cruises. We use ours for camping on mountain lakes. It's at its best in stronger winds, and it handles heavier seas than other open boats its size. So why all the pictures of limp-sailed drifters?

If we want better images of Day Sailors, no one will take them but us. I used to be a ski writer, and it is not easy getting good photos, even at a ski race. You have to stake out a turn for hours and burn up lots of film (well, megabytes, now). You are not participating in the sport while you do that. Getting good sailing photos will mean heaving to or staying on shore with a long lens while you capture other people having fun. But maybe if we take turns...

[seandwyer]

Hey guys - just wanted to bump this thread back into everyones thoughts. Sailing time is now and we need to remember to take pictures / video's. If we all do this over the summer, maybe we can assemble something during the winter doldrums. I think I really like talbots angle. The DS isn't really a performance boat - and by todays standards it isn't really a cruiser lacking in conveniences people expect. But the DS is definitely an adventurers boat - sea worthy, big enough to live on for a while, small enough to explore shallows, handles heavy breeze pretty well and doesn't take much to move, heavy enough for motoring, but light enough to row. Easily single handed, but plenty of room for a crew. Yep - the DS is an explorer and adventurers open boat - with a cuddy to keep gear out of the elements - and plenty of room for that gear I might add.

[GreenLake]

Good thought.

[jeadstx]

I got a number of comments on the Texas 200 from people that said they prefered the older small boat designs. I hope it will help the DS with exposure to some of these long range events.

John

[ctenidae]

I like the idea of assembling more exciting pictures and making them available. The ones I've seen have been either family-album stuff (me & my dog, etc.) or garage-nerd (candid shots of the inside of the starbord flotation tank).

I had one of the port tank, too

And the fact is it's not a performance boat. It is, however, built for adventures.

We beat the snot out of an Ensign 23 two weeks ago on a 10 mile loop.

So why all the pictures of limp-sailed drifters?

Because in more exciting conditions, the camera is the last thing you're messing with. Good points, though- we do need better, more exciting pictures to keep and build interest.

[jeadstx]

I put a post under Events for an event in October in Oklahoma that might provide a gathering place for Daysailers in the center part of the country. Might be a good opportunity to collect pictures.

John

[GreenLake]

Is it just my impression or has the pace of Daysailers being offered for sale increased? Looking at the postings from this site, the offers in the Jan-Jun period of 2010 are about twice of what they were a year earlier.

Does that simply mean more boats get posted here, or does that reflect a trend? If so, what kind of trend?

Are people selling because their boats were underutilized assets and suddenly they need th money? Are people getting out of sailing/out of sailing a DS in larger number - with a corresponding dark figure of boats turned into flower pots?

It appears like boats listed here eventually do get sold. So is this a zero-sum turnover, with the benefit of perhaps having more boats in the hand of newer, more active owners?

Also, what percentage of boats that change owners each year end up being listed here? Or, in other words, what's the total turnover?

These speculations are tied to the "marketing" questions because understanding these trends and their magnitude would help understand what kinds of marketing efforts will be most successful.

Perhaps one thing that could be useful is to have a sticky post or even a site document specifically geared to new DS owners.

[Bob Hunkins]

Hi all, I'm taking your thoughts with me to the North Americans next week.

It's well known(trust me!) that we have a marketing problem. None of the comments I've heard in this thread are new to me. I'll spare you my $0.02. on the subject.

As for the rendevous or rallies- Great ideas, please send e-mails about them to notices to the class secretary, Brooks Measures. She would be ecstatic about putting them in our quarterly newsletter.

If there are any more details, please send me them I can put them on the class calendar on this site, also. I'll do that when I get back from Ohio.

[Jett]

Hi Greenlake,

Can't answer your general questions about the recent uptick in DS sales. But I can tell you I've decided to put mine (actually a Spindrift DS1) on the market.

In my case, it's primarily advancing age and the resulting need for more stablility in a boat. Recently my wife capsized our DS1 on a small lake, though with plenty of help to get the boat righted after she realized she couldn't by herself. But the DS1 turtled several times, got water in the sealed seat tanks (we still don't quite know how) and even with help, was hard to get the boat to stay upright to bail and tow back to shore.

We've really enjoyed the boat (you may remember that she surprised me with a Valentine's varnish job on the wood...I mentioned this in a post earlier this year), but we also are not as willing these days to wrestle with a boat from the water as we used to be. Comfort sailing is now appealing!

Settling on small keel boats has been our recent decision and, I would have to say, our age has something to do with that. I put the boat on consignment with a sailboat dealer, as I chose not to market it directly.
http://www.marina42.net/cgi-bin/p/m42p- ... ge&id=3057

[GreenLake]

Thanks, Jett, for providing some details behind a very personal decision. Good luck with selling the DS and sailing your keelboat.