Sailboats, powerboats and yachts fill the slips of the Vero Beach Marina (Photo: Robert Scully)

As the economy goes, so goes the boat business. The recent economic downturn meant declining boat sales, more marina slip vacancies and—in some extreme cases—even boat repossessions.  So, in what can only be interpreted as a positive sign involving one of the most discretionary of luxury purchases, the local boat market is enjoying a resurgence. TCPalm’s headline sums up the good news: More private boats seem to be heading to Treasure Coast waterways than in years past. Scripps reporter Tom Ivice travels to several local marinas and encounters optimistic dockmasters including Vero Beach Municipal Marina’s Director Tim Grabenbauer. “The boaters who are coming in are telling me that they saw more boats on the waterway than they have in the last three years,” says Grabenbauer, “To me that’s a good sign.” And while other Treasure Coast marinas struggled in recent years, Grabenbauer’s parting shot proves the resiliency in32963: “We’ve pretty much stayed near capacity in the 13 years I’ve been working here. We saw a little bit of a decrease in power boating the past couple of years, probably because of fuel costs, but the power boaters are coming back now.” More encouraging local boating news comes this week courtesy of Soundings which is reporting on “stability” and positive retail activity in Florida.