PIKE COUNTY, Pa. — Spring is around the corner, and marinas around Lake Wallenpaupack are already preparing for another busy season. Last year, many boat companies had to halt production because of the pandemic, which trickled down to area dealers like 1st Klas Marina.
"With lead times and things like that, we're starting to see them recoup a little bit better now, but back in the summer was a little bit tougher to catch up basically," said Joel DeYoung, a salesperson at 1st Klas Marina.
Employees say boats were flying out the door at a high rate last summer, and to put it in perspective - it's not even spring yet, and already sales are better than they were last summer.
"Everybody seems to think that you know boating is obviously a good, a good way to get out and do some stuff with being safe while being safe," DeYoung said.
The ice hasn't even melted off the lake, and marinas face the same problem once again.
"In a typical year, we could probably have somebody come in order a new boat and have it maybe by spring, summer. This year, you know, if they're not in the ring right now, they're probably going to miss the boat for lack of a better term," said DeYoung.
Joel says more than half of the boats in the showroom are already sold, and they are working with vendors to try to replenish as quickly as possible.
"We did see a backup, basically a backorder on certain things. Obviously, with high demand and low inventory is a little bit tough, but you know we're kind of working through it."
With so many people spending more time at home or even second homes on the lake, the marinas aren't the only businesses working around supply and demand.
"And it's not unheard of to hear of waitlists on dock slips and things like that. And we're hearing the same things this year."
Joel says, despite the increase of new purchases, they didn't see a major rise in prices, and that's good news if you are one of the lucky ones buying new this year.