Picking up the discussion starting in 'Motion to change name" about the feasibility of resurrecting the Parker brand, I strongly recommend that the PSSA does not go down this path.
I suspect that some members may be unaware of just how deep the worldwide decline has been in both new and used boat sales, and of just what a parlous state much of the boatbuilding industry is in..
Personally I was full of admiration for the fact that Parker's managed to survive for as long as they did, undoubtedly helped by demand generated by the strength of the PSSA.
The new boat sales market reality is that in 2009 European sales of new sailboats fell by 35-40% compared to 2008. To give just one example, Bavaria Yachtbau was sold at the height of the boom in 2007 to Bain Capital for Euros 1,300,000,000 euros [yes, 1.3 billion!] yet just over a year later, in September 2009, and in deep distress, Bain were forced to sell out for just 300,000,000 euros - so they kissed goodbye to 1 billion euros in 15 months!
In every single European country long established names went bankrupt or were forced to make deep cuts in their labour forces during 2009.
The reality of European boatbuilding today is that volume production of most boats under about 9 metres/30ft has been increasingly outsourced to former eastern block countries ever since the turn of the century, with Poland being just one of the beneficiaries of this irreversible trend.
On top of this, the net result of outsourcing and increasingly capital intensive mass production methods has been that - in real terms - new boat prices have been falling for several years, making it virtually impossible for even small specialist builders of niche market design, such as Parkers, to survive.
There are no significant builders of small sailing cruisers left in the UK. The UK marine industry scrapyard is full to bursting with the remains of builders big and small - remember Hillyard? Trapper?, Westerly? Contessa? Sadler? Rival? Bowman? Hunter? Moody? [just add your own personal favourites.....]. History tells us that almost every attempt to resurrect even such well known names as these has failed, and that a great many well intentioned enthusiasts lost their investments in the process.
In the UK, it is true that in 2009 strong used boat sales of established sailboat brands [eg Beneteau, Jeanneau, Bavaria, Hanse etc] bucked the worldwide trend, but only because the 30% fall in the value of sterling against the euro brought a stream of bargain hunting eurozone buyers across the channel in 2009 looking for recent model boats.
To end on a positive note, the good news for PSSA members is that strong brands such as Parker, often continue to attract buyers long after the demise of their builder, even in recessionary times, especially if supported by an active owner's association such as this one.
Geoff Sheddick
Parker 27/146 "Stroller'