Yanks target the baby boomers

Sixty-two-year-old Kathy Casey-Kirschling is officially listed as America's first baby boomer and as a boat owner (it is called First Boomer) she has become the US boating industry's poster girl in a campaign to get a significant portion of the 80-million American boomers who will retire in the next two decades into boating.

Surveys say that Casey-Kirschling was one of 17 million boomers who went boating last year -- she takes her grandchilding tubing and goes fishing with her husband and friends -- and the first of this year’s big American boat shows, the New York Boat Show, was aimed straight at the boomers.

The vast array of runabouts, cruisers, yachts, kayaks and dinghies on show in New York last weekend was aimed at this older market. While Americans buy a large percentage of the world's superyachts and big dollar sports-fishing boats, most American boating is in more modest vessels.

The millions of boomers have an estimated annual spending pool of $US2 trillion and the US boating industry wants a big hunk of that to be spent on recreational boating. Of the 80 per cent of retirees who plan to purchase a "recreational product" in the near future, 27 per cent want a boat -- followed by an all-terrain vehicle, a motorcycle, a caravan or a motorhome.

The industry points out that taking a family of four to Florida for a week's holiday will cost $3100, or $258 a month, while buying a $25,000 boat costs just $225 a month and provides enjoyment throughout the American summer.

So the “Queen of the Show” in New York was not some 150 foot mega yacht but the Sunseeker 47 Portofino, a $US1.15 million sports cruiser with a master stateroom and a twin bed guest cabin, both with ensuites. The boat has a large saloon, a well-equipped galley, and a wetbar and sunpad on the stern.

Other popular boats were the Azimut 48 Flybridge, the Regal 35 Sports Coupe (which can be opened up for summer or closed up and heated during spring and autumn) and the Hacker-Craft 30 Sport, a modern twist on the traditional American mahogany sport boat. It features a wider flair and more freeboard to keep the passengers dry and make it a sea going as well as a lake or river boat. It also features modern transom steps and a swim platform to allow easy boarding and entry to the water for swimming, waterskiing or tubing.

Photograph: America's "First Baby Boomer" Kathy Casey-Kirschling abourd her boat with her press secretary.