BY MADELYN HUBBARD

He refers to people of all ages. As a low impact sport that requires slower boat speeds, wakesurfing offers an accessible and enjoyable experience for a wide range of boaters. Manufacturers have simplified the process of generating the ideal wake with innovations like ballast systems, adjustable wake-shaping devices and advanced control systems.

OEMs continue to elevate the experience by offering versatility, intuitive onboard features and layouts that accommodate performance and comfort.

MasterCraft and dealers that carry Nautique, Malibu, Axis, and other pre-owned towboat brands point to ease-of-use and versatility as the dominant trends driving the wakesurf segment.

The market

As recently highlighted at ABC 2025, the boating industry is facing a demographic shift, with many consumers aging out of the market. Wakesurfing has increased boating’ s appeal to a wider age range, attracting new and younger customers while retaining current customers, and fostering long-term boaters.

Dealers are seeing mixed but promising signals as the 2025 season unfolds. Bryan Buckland, owner of Chessie Marine Sales in Maryland, reported a slow start to the year, then a boost in sales in March after participation in two boat shows.

“ Our sales in April increased by 260 percent over March and put our first four months of 2025 pretty even with the first four months of 2024,” Buckland said.“ Activity and sales seem to be remaining strong in May. A lot of other dealerships we’ re talking to are saying it’ s picking up quite a bit. I think we’ re going to see last year being slightly down, but this year we’ re going to be slightly ahead of last year by the time we get to the model year change over in July.”

In Michigan, Silver Spray Sports is tracking similarly. While demand for used boats remains steady, the dealership also saw a notable uptick in new boat sales this March.“ Nationwide, I’ m hearing that things are a little slower than they were last year,” said Whitney Burnash, director of operations, sales, and pro shop manager.“ We’ re seeing a little bit of that, but used boats are still really strong, especially those under $ 150,000.”

The buyer

According to Buckland, technological advancements like Malibu’ s Surf Gate system, introduced in 2012, have played a major role in accelerating the growth of the wakesurf segment and drawing in both new and returning boaters. He added that while wakesurfing is accessible to a broad demographic, from toddlers to super seniors, today’ s new boat buyers, typically fall between the ages of 35 and 60, with younger generations often gravitating to used boats.

36 june 2025 www. boatingindustry. com