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More Tariffs & The First Marine Right To Repair Bill Is Dead · The CURRENT

• 0:00
  Hey everyone, this is John Logan, the host of the Current podcast. We're going to make a couple changes on this episode. I've listened to the feedback of a couple friends and nemeses around how we could improve the show. So we're going to really lean into the newscaster kind of vibe for this show.
• 0:16
  Leave a comment down below like and subscribe. Let me know what you think. And with that, we'll get right into it.
• 0:24
  If you work on the water, sell to it, service it, or just can't stay away from it, you're in the right place. This is the current the business and news podcast for the marine industry, with weekly news overviews every Friday and engaging interviews as they happen. I'm your host, John Logan. Welcome aboard. A 50% tariff on boats Starting Tuesday, the biggest boat retailer in America agrees to sell itself. Six years of family ownership on Boston harbor done in one deal. And the first law that would have let you fix your own boat never got voted on. This is the current news.
• 0:59
  With dealers already sitting on inventory that can't move, the cost of bringing a boat across the northern border just went up by half a 50. Tariff takes effect Tuesday, September 15th on recreational boats built in Canada. The legal hook is section 338 of the Tariff act of 1930, and that's going to go on top of section 232 that was already in place. So four categories were named. Inboard power boats under seven and a half meters, then up to 24 and after that outboards under seven and a half and above.
• 1:28
  A question most dealers are going to be asking is does USMCA get you out of it? It does not. The administration says the tariff applies whether or not a product qualifies under the agreement.
• 1:39
  Canada's own counterterroriff list and the one that started September 8, still leaves finished boats alone, but it protects American boats headed north. It does nothing for Canadian hull sitting in a US Port on Tuesday. So if you got units on order, today is the day to call your distributor. What's on the water and what hasn't shipped, that's going to be what's open for negotiation. Marine Max sells to Blackstone, back to Safe harbor, the company that calls itself the world's largest boat and yacht retailer is being bought by a marina operator. Safe Harbor Marina is owned by Blackstone. Infrastructure is paying $53 a share in cash. That puts the business near a billion and a half in enterprise value, which counts debt. So it isn't the check isn't going to to shareholders, but look at the premium. $53 against $27.03 where the stock closed on January 30th before the sale went public. That's a 96%, 110% over the 90 day volume weighted average. Marine Max CEO Brett McGill pointed to the two platforms combined. Safe Harbor's Baxter Underwood called them complimentary. This isn't final now. The shareholders vote and regulators still have to clear it. But both sides expect to close by the end of the year. In Charlestown, a family sold a marina that They've held for 60 years. Go outdoors bought Constitution Marina with partner monarch alternative capital, 273 slips and about 9,000ft of dockage, walking distance of the north end. Ten qualified offers came in, but there was a catch. Massports holds the ground lease, so the seller would only pick a buyer. Massport would accept.
• 3:17
  Go Outdoor and monarch now hold 16 marinas. But not everybody's selling. Intermarine in Fort Lauderdale picked up three brands this week. Benitou, Antares, Beneteau Flyer and Wellcraft. President Luke Thebolt credited a growing relationship with Coupe Beneteau. You get the same sales team, the same service team and the same parts team, which means three more product lines go to the shop and they didn't have to get any bigger. Speaking of what's going on in the bay, Navico Group signed a deal with the Italian auto company Eletro Media. Audison and Hertz became Navico's preferred audio brands. Navico's displays became Electromedia's preferred marine platform. And that brings us to tonight's main story.
• 3:59
  For 20 years, independent shops have watched the same thing happen. Evoke it's more computerized. The software that reads it is harder to buy or you have to go through third party or fight. The OEMs and work they used to walk in the door is now walking out and going to the dealers. This year, one state tried to change that. Delaware House Bill 279 was introduced in January, what the sponsors called the first right to repair bill in the country, written specifically for the marine industry. So here's what it actually said. Manufacturers would have had to make their repair materials available to owners and to independent shops on fair and reasonable terms. The documentation, the parts, the tools, the software, everything the manufacturer built for the repair process in the first place. Not a discount, not a courtesy, just blanket access across to everybody. And this wasn't a party fight. Republican Representative Rich Collins carried it and Democrat Senator Russ Huxtable co signed. Eight more lawmakers co sponsored and split down the middle half Republican, half Democrat. They went to the House transportation committee on January 27th and that's where it stopped. No committee report, no amendments, no roll call, no anything. The 153rd General assembly adjourned on June 13, and the Delaware bills don't carry over to the new Assembly. So it just died. It wasn't defeated, it wasn't debated. It just never got heard.
• 5:19
  Now, it doesn't mean that next year they can't represent the same bill or a very similar bill. But we're going to have to wait until the legislative session of 2027, which means right now is a useful time to call your state rep. It isn't when the bill is in trouble, it's before it's written. So I would recommend you find out who your state representative is. I'm South Carolina. I actually have my state representative's cell phone. I can call him or text him anytime and talk about presenting our own right to repair bill in South Carolina. I recommend that you do the same.
• 5:49
  This is a great time to talk about our sponsor, Marine Diagnostic Tools. Marine Diagnostic Tools is trying to create the third party marketplace for repair information diagnostics, everything a marine shop would need to run more efficiently, run more effectively and repair any boat that comes in their bay. Whether you're a boat owner or professional marine mechanic, Marine Diagnostic Tools has a diagnostic scan tool with everything you would ever need for you. Also coming out soon, we have some pretty exciting software apps in order to help you run your business even more effectively through our platform and a certification program coming soon as well. The current is sponsored by Marine Diagnostic Tools, so go to mariendiagnostictools.com and check out what they've got.
• 6:29
  And lastly, a feel good story. The St. Clair launched in 1910. For 81 years she carried Detroit families down the river to Bo Blow island until the boats were laid up and forgotten in 1991.
• 6:39
  In 2018 she caught fire and burned at the dock. The upper decks burned and she lost her National Historic Landmark status. A family bought her anyway, put years of work into her and better than a million dollars of their own money and eight days ago she opened $10 aboard. You can get a tour Thursday through Sunday down at 150St. John.
• 6:59
  The pilothouse still isn't finished, but when it is a public we'll get to stand in it. The first time in 116 years that anyone but the crew has been allowed up there.
• 7:09
  And that's the current for the week of September 11th. Thanks for tuning in. I'm John Logan. Subscribe to wherever gets your podcasts and I will see you next Friday.