FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – In a bad economy, fun is often the first casualty.

For James Hedrick, that means it’s a busy time in his line of work. He’s one of those dreaded repo men.

Hedrick spends his days scanning megayachts, sailboats and fishing skiffs as he steers his dinghy through a marina west of the city’s skyscrapers, looking for a piece of the American dream.

This particular piece is a gleaming white, 65-foot Hatteras with two master bedrooms, two full bathrooms and a full galley kitchen with glossy teak cabinets. The owner is $35,000 past due on his $1.5 million boat loan.

Hedrick is an agent with National Liquidators, considered by industry experts to be the world’s largest marine repo company. The Fort Lauderdale-based company has tripled its business in the past three years, and now takes possession of about 200 boats a month in Florida, Ohio and California. The company’s competitors also say they’ve seen similar increases in business.

“They’re going to hang on to the car, they’re going to hang on to the house. But they’re going to give up on the boat,” said Hedrick, whose employer has doubled its staff in two years to 85 repo agents so they can meet demand from the banks and lenders.

‘SELF INFLICTED’

It’s not just boats: Repo agents say banks and lenders have been asking them to reclaim all-terrain vehicles, motorcycles, small planes, snowmobiles, semi-trucks and, of, course, cars. Vehicle repossessions were up 10 percent in 2007 over the previous year, said Tom Webb, an analyst for Atlanta-based Manheim, the largest car auction company in the nation.

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Wood-and-canvas canoes are the most functional of all the canoes built from wood. Covering a wooden hull, the canvas provides a durable watertight membrane. The covering can easily be renewed and at the same time all other parts can be replaced or repaired, making these exquisite canoes truly an investment for a lifetime of good use.

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Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. today announced that the personal watercraft industry’s first fuel saving feature, Low RPM Mode, is now saving Yamaha WaveRunner owners up to 26 percent in fuel costs based on average annual use.

This fuel savings is in addition to Yamaha’s already industry-leading fuel economy, and was calculated using the Yamaha FX SHO® Series WaveRunner and today’s prices for regular 87-octane fuel. Yamaha WaveRunners are the only line of personal watercraft optimized for Regular Unleaded fuel rather than more expensive, higher octane blends.

“We’ve always been focused on creating cleaner, more efficient engines and our Low RPM Mode helps our owners save money and still enjoy the fun and excitement of riding a Yamaha WaveRunner.”
  
“It’s clear that fuel consumption is an important factor in determining how people enjoy their time on the water,” said Bryan Seti, national marketing manager, Yamaha WaterCraft. “We’ve always been focused on creating cleaner, more efficient engines and our Low RPM Mode helps our owners save money and still enjoy the fun and excitement of riding a Yamaha WaveRunner.”

Yamaha’s Low RPM Mode is activated wirelessly using a handheld remote transmitter. Once activated, the WaveRunner automatically adjusts the maximum RPM across all throttle positions.    

Yamaha’s Low RPM Mode can be found on the FX SHO® Series WaveRunner, which was named “2008 Watercraft of the Year” by Watercraft World® magazine, and has become the most acclaimed, and technologically advanced personal watercraft ever created. In addition to the SHO Series, Low RPM Mode can be found on half of the models in Yamaha’s 2008 WaveRunner lineup. (Link)