Boat sales skyrocket during pandemic, but supply chain issues create backlog

The industry is one of the few business sectors in the state to have grown since the pandemic began.

For decades, North Carolina families have vacationed in towns like Morehead City along the state’s Crystal Coast, and for more than 30 years, Bill Rixey has been there to sell them boats. But the past 12 months of sales have been unlike anything he’s ever seen.

Rixey said that, in a normal year, he would have as many as 25 boats on his lot at a time. But these days, customers have been buying them as soon as they come in.

The upswing hasn’t been limited to North Carolina.

"People want to get away," Jackson said. "They just don’t want to be cooped up in their house anymore, and it’s a good way to isolate yourself from other people in general."

Sellers said that, even when the worst of the pandemic is over, they hope the trend continues.

"That family dynamic has changed. I think that our business is going to continue to be strong for quite some time," Rixey said.