The Conference Board's September consumer confidence index fell 6.7 points to 81.9. For the third month running, people said they expect the next six months to be worse. Plans to buy a car and plans to buy a home both slipped.

Then Boats Group published something harder to shake off. They pulled ownership records on more than 2.5 million boats across four states and found about 637,000 repeat owners. Across all four states, only 6 to 13 percent bought the same brand again. Nine out of ten people who already own one of your boats go somewhere else for the second one.

Also this week: Brunswick named three more senior leaders. Two of them fill the seats Aine Denari leaves when she becomes CEO on January 1st, and the third fills the one Will Sangster vacates. IBEX opens Tuesday in Tampa, and MDT will be there.

We close in northeast Texas, where TowBoatUS announced a new port on Lake Fork.

Hosted by Jon Logan. Sponsored by Marine Diagnostic Tools.

Read the full breakdown at thecurrentshowpod.com

• (00:00:00) - Intro
• (00:00:40) - Consumer confidence falls in September
• (00:01:59) - Boat buyers rarely stay loyal to brands
• (00:03:26) - Service as the key to repeat sales
• (00:03:45) - Brunswick fills three executive seats
• (00:04:43) - IBEX 2025 preview in Tampa
• (00:05:38) - Marine Diagnostic Tools sponsor message
• (00:06:08) - New Towboat US location on Lake Fork
• (00:07:01) - Sign-off

Who is running this industry, and what they know how to build.

Brunswick named Aine Denari its next CEO. She takes over January 1st. She ran Brunswick Boat Group from 2020 to 2024, and since then she has run Navico Group, the batteries, digital switching, fishing electronics, and components business, while holding the chief technology officer title. Before Brunswick she spent twenty years in automotive and consulting, including six at ZF leading their driver-assist electronics business.

Before that, an executive order with a deadline in it. On September 17th the President signed EO 14430. Four federal offices have until October 17th to start rolling back regulations that, in the order's words, overly burden boaters, anglers, and outdoor businesses.

Then a Shanghai software company bringing a single-system helm to IBEX, Michigan's first Vita electric research boat, Galati putting boat offers on an online platform, and Malco folding the Presta Marine line into its own name.

We close with Elmer Carl Kiekhaefer, who started Mercury, going into a new Wisconsin hall of fame.

Hosted by Jon Logan. Sponsored by Marine Diagnostic Tools.

View the full breakdown at thecurrentshowpod.com

• (00:00:00) - Intro and Headlines
• (00:00:53) - Federal Executive Order on Boating Regulations
• (00:02:00) - Brunswick Names New CEO
• (00:03:00) - What the CEO Pick Means for Shops
• (00:03:31) - Sponsor: Marine Diagnostic Tools
• (00:04:23) - Chinese Software Company's Intelligent Helm System
• (00:04:57) - Michigan's First Electric Boat and Innovation Center
• (00:06:01) - Galati Yacht Sales Launches Online Offer Platform
• (00:06:35) - Malco Rebrands Presta Marine
• (00:07:04) - Mercury Founder Inducted into Hall of Fame
• (00:07:33) - Wrap Up and Sign Off

Six stories, and they're all circling one question. Who owns what, who pays when the bill lands, and who gets to decide.

Tuesday, a 50% tariff hits recreational boats built in Canada, under a statute from 1930, and USMCA won't get you out of it. MarineMax agreed to sell itself to a Blackstone-owned marina company at a 96% premium. A family that held a Boston Harbor marina for sixty years sold to private capital. One Fort Lauderdale dealer went the other way and picked up three brands. Brunswick's Navico wired another system into the boat at the factory.

Then the story we spent the most time on: Delaware's marine right-to-repair bill died in committee without anybody voting against it.

And we close in Detroit, on a 1910 steamer that burned in 2018 and just opened her decks to the public again.

Eight minutes. Every claim sourced below.

Hosted by Jon Logan. Sponsored by Marine Diagnostic Tools.

1. Canadian boats get tariffed. 50% on Canadian-built recreational boats starting Tuesday, September 15, under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930. Stacks on the Section 232 duties already in place. Four HTS lines: 8903.31.00, 8903.32.00, 8903.93.20, 8903.99.21. The administration says USMCA compliance doesn't exempt the goods. Canada's own counter-tariff list from September 8 still leaves finished boats alone, and that part hasn't changed.

2. MarineMax sells. Safe Harbor Marinas, a Blackstone Infrastructure company, is buying at $53.00 a share in cash, near $1.5 billion enterprise value. A 96% premium to the January 30 close of $27.03, and 110% over the 90-day volume-weighted average. Shareholder vote and regulatory clearance still pending, closing expected by year end, no financing condition.

3. Constitution Marina sells. Go Outdoors and partner Monarch Alternative Capital bought the 273-slip Charlestown marina from Bosport Docking, a family owner of more than sixty years. About 9,000 linear feet of dockage. Ten qualified offers, Colliers on the sell side, price undisclosed. MassPort's long-term ground lease meant the seller could only pick a buyer MassPort would accept. The buyers now hold 16 marinas and four RV resort parks.

4. InterMarine expands. The Fort Lauderdale dealer added Beneteau Antares, Beneteau Flyer, and Wellcraft to a lineup already carrying Prestige, Beneteau Swift Trawler, Beneteau GT, and Jeanneau. Existing sales, service, and parts teams cover all of it.

5. Navico and Elettromedia. Audison and Hertz become Navico's preferred audio brands, Navico's displays become Elettromedia's preferred marine platform. Aimed at boatbuilders, not the aftermarket.

6. The repair bill. Delaware HB 279, introduced January 27 by Republican Rep. Rich Collins with Democratic Sen. Russ Huxtable and eight co-sponsors, would have required manufacturers to give owners and independent shops the documentation, parts, tools, and software the manufacturer created for repair, on fair and reasonable terms. It went to House Transportation and never came out. No committee report, no amendments, no roll call. The 153rd General Assembly adjourned sine die June 30, and Delaware bills don't carry over.

Kicker: the Boblo boat. The S.S. Ste. Claire launched in 1910 and carried Detroit families to Boblo Island until the boats were laid up in 1991. She burned at the dock in 2018 and lost her National Historic Landmark status. A family put years and more than a million dollars into her. She opened this month as a floating museum. $10, main deck, Thursday through Sunday at 150 St. Jean. The pilot house is still to come, and when it's done the public gets in for the first time.

• Tariff advisory coverage: https://tradeonlyto...

• (00:00:00) - Intro and Format Change
• (00:00:59) - Boat Tariff Takes Effect Tuesday
• (00:01:52) - Marine Max Sold to Blackstone/Safe Harbor
• (00:02:41) - Constitution Marina Sale in Charlestown
• (00:03:20) - Intermarine Picks Up New Brands
• (00:03:41) - Navico and Electromedia Audio Deal
• (00:03:59) - Delaware Right to Repair Bill Dies
• (00:05:23) - Call to Action: Contact Your State Rep
• (00:05:41) - Sponsor: Marine Diagnostic Tools
• (00:06:12) - Feel Good Story: The St. Clair Restored
• (00:07:09) - Sign Off