Duties on Aluminum boats and Batteries

[kaelc]

Looks like the libs have dropped a 25% tariff on Aluminum boats from China and now batteries. Might be a good time to jump on any lithium batties people have been looking at? Hopefully, it's just limited to EV batties, but we'll see!

Can Canadian boat manufacturers slow the tide of cheap aluminum hulls with the tariff?

Is anyone getting quotes directly from the smaller BC builders these days on 24-footers? Buddy got a quote on a chinese one for 50k CAD including shipping to Vancouver with locking cabin, I warned him away but thankfully the tariffs put a knife in it. 75k seems like a tough price point for a BC builder, rigged with electrical and hydraulics but no electronics, batteries and power. The price of rigging, glass, doors and accessories in Canada likely pushes the prices well beyond 75K for a 24 foot hull?

 

[carpeweekend]

The tariff is also on raw aluminum which will raise the price that our own domestic boat builders will have to pay for aluminum. Even if they aren't using Chinese aluminum, the tariff will decrease supply to the North American market and consequently raise prices. Tariffs always end up costing the end consumer more.

 

[kaelc]

The tariff is also on raw aluminum which will raise the price that our own domestic boat builders will have to pay for aluminum. Even if they aren't using Chinese aluminum, the tariff will decrease supply to the North American market and consequently raise prices. Tariffs always end up costing the end consumer more.

If they get the target country to change behaviour the consumer pain can be less harmful then the economic pain of dumping in the long run.

I looked at the potential tariffs and it looks like it’s only on raw and prefabricated aluminum so I don’t think there is going to be a change for boat manufactures unless they buy Chinese aluminum.

 

[searun]

I'm pretty leery about thermal run-away on LI batteries, so despite their weight and charging benefits won't be buying any. While reasonably rare, thermal run-aways are a fact of life and a potential fire risk. Any fire risk on a vessel could turn south really quickly with limited options to save the vessel other than quickly removing that battery. Most batteries on vessels are located in hard to reach areas making quick removal almost impossible in an emergency situation.