Larger boats were a typical way for manufacturers to increase their bottom line. The profit margin and value was greater on a per boat basis. Home equity loans further enabled folks to have larger boats. Reduced interest rates made paying more for a boat hurt less.

Now the price of a new boat of any size far exceeds what a used boat is going for, hence fewer and fewer under 30' boats. Since the owners of the under 30'er are able to get in so cheap these days, the cost of moorage becomes a significant portion of the overall investment but is an ongoing monthly cost. When you figure the value of a boat loan that one could get for the add'l $200,300,400 /mo that you pay for a slip, the gap gets even greater and the relative cost for the 'little, cheap' boats goes up disproportionately.

10 years from now, interest rates will be higher, (they can't go lower, right?), the currently 'new' boats will be older and folks won't be able to take them off your/our hands for anything near to what was originally paid for them.

Student loans, healthcare and housing will eat up more of the next generations paycheck and their unemployment/disability checks won't cover much more than a kayak or SUP. I suspect marinas will have any number of 'available' big boat slips in the future.