From mid-February to mid-April 2016, we conducted an anonymous online survey about people’s boating lifestyle. The main purpose for the survey was to get to know what boaties (and non-boaties too) were interested to read about when it comes to the boating lifestyle on the Gold Coast.
Incidentally, we also gathered insights about how people differ in their circumstances and how these differences reflect in activities and places they choose when boating, and their preferences for topics to read. For instance, majority of those who had smaller boats go out fishing most often. Most of those who are in the 55-64 age range prefer going offshore and generally have bigger boats for cruising up north such as the Whitsundays. The responses we gathered also proved how diverse boating can be on the Gold Coast. Although fishing, relaxation and cruising are the most common activities, the range of other activities that people actually engage in range from sports racing to diving, and even as transport.
Most people who participated in this survey were aged between 35 and 54. 32% belonged to the 35-44 age range, followed by those in the 45-54 age range (27%).
16.21% of the respondents are from the postcodes 4217 (Benowa, Bundall, Chevron Island, Gold Coast MC, Isle Of Capri, Main Beach, Paradise Island, Paradise Waters, Sorrento, Surfers Paradise and The Spit). 13.5% are from 4216 area (Anglers Paradise, Biggera Waters, Coombabah, Currigee, Hollywell, Paradise Point, Runaway Bay, South Stradbroke and Sovereign Islands), while 8.10% are from 4212 area (Boykambil, Helensvale, Hope Island, Monterey Keys, Sanctuary Cove and Santa Barbara). Interestingly, there were respondents whose postcodes were from northern Queensland.
According the results, 78.38% of respondents own boats or watercrafts, and 21.62% do not own a boat. Those who owned boats indicated that they owned power/sail boats and/or tinnies. Only three respondents indicated that they owned a PWC. However, regardless of ownership, most of the total respondents still go out on boats or watercraft at least once a week (21.62%) on average. The following is a list of boats owned by most of the respondents (as written in their responses):
- CruiseCraft Outsider 625
- Woods Striker 18trimaran (in progress)
- Yacht, Quintrex Fishnipper 350
- Stessco BassTracker FL410
- Bluefin Varmint 3.8m
- several tinnies
- 6m custom plate boat
- a polycraft
- Anglapro
- 6.1 Allycraft runabout
- Sea Jetski
- WAterski Boat
- Riviera
- tinny and jetski
- 45ft houseboat
- quintrex tinnie 4.1m
- all makes rxpx vxr ultra 300x
- swanson 36
- riviera flybridge
- cruising yacht 40ft
- bavaria 42 cruising sailing yacht
- Adams 40 yacht
- shark cat
The places that people frequent are the popular Gold Coast Broadwater (70.27%), South Stradbroke Island (56.76%), and Jumpinpin/Jacobs Well (48.65%). Majority of the respondents, 67.57%, go out boating most often with family and friends.
We made comparisons on the different boating activities, destinations and information based on age groups. This is because we understand that interests and motivations differ in these categories. The diversity of the trends come from the age groups, so we decided to compare the boating lifestyle of the respondents who belong these different groups.
Frequency of Boating
The most number of respondents (32%) came from the 35-44 age group, followed by 45-54 and 55-64 age groups (both getting 27% of the total responses). The choices were: (1) Everyday, (2) At least 2-3 times a week, (3) At least once a week, (4) At least 2-3 times a month, (5) At least once a month, (6) At least once every 3 months, (7) At least once every 6 months, (8) At least once a year, and (9) No boating.
The 55-64 age group (making up 27% of the total respondents) has the most respondents who go out boating most often, with 50% of them stating that they go out boating every day. 41% of the respondents in the 35-44 age group said that they go out boating at least 2-3 times a week, while 40% of those from the 45-54 age group said that they go out boating at least 2-3 times a month. The 65-74 age group (making up 10% of the total respondents) has 50% of them going out once a week.
Boating Activity
The most common boating activity is for cruising and relaxation (70.27%), followed by cruising offshore and fishing (both getting 43.24%). The choices were: (1) Cruising inshore [GC waterways], (2) Cruising Offshore or out of town [outside of GC], (3) Fishing, (4) Relaxation, (5) Sport/Racing, (6) Work/Business, (7) Transport, (8) Rescue, and (9) No boating. In the “Others”, respondents included Liveaboard and Diving as their activities.
Relaxation ranked first in the 35-44 and 65-74 age groups. In the 35-44 age group, 83% of the respondents chose relaxation. In the 65-74 age group, all of them chose relaxation (100%).
Fishing is more popular in the 35-44 age group, with 56% response rate, and in the 55-64 and 65-74 age groups with 50% response rate.
In the 55-64 age group, 80% of the respondents chose both relaxation and cruising inshore (Gold Coast). They both came out as the two popular activities in the age group, followed closely by cruising offshore with 70%.
Cruising offshore is the most popular activity in the 45-54 age group, getting 60% of the respondents.
Work and business is also popular in the 35-44 age group, with 56% response rate.
Destinations
The choices for destinations were: (1) GC Broadwater, (2) GC rivers and canals, (3) South Stradbroke, (4) Jumpinpin/Jacob’s Well/North GC waterways, (5) Moreton Bay, (6) North Stradbroke, (7) GC offshore, (8) Tweed River area, (9) Offshore north of GC, (10) Offshore south of GC, (11) No boating, and (12) Others.
Respondents who selected “Others” indicated the following destinations: Whitsundays, Sydney Harbour, Port Stephens, Central Queensland, 1770, Tannum Islands, Bundaberg, Sunshine Coast, Hervey Bay, Melbourne, Queensland East Coast, US (north to Washington State [boundary of Canada], and US South down around Baja California and into the Sea of Cortez to San Carlos).
The Gold Coast Broadwater proved to be the most popular destination for the respondents (70.2%). It is most popular among those in the 65-74 age group (100%), followed by those in the 35-44 age group (91%).
South Stradbroke showed popularity among the 35-44 age group (83%) and the 55-64 age group (60%). Jumpinpin/Jacobs Well/NorthGC also garnered popularity among the 35-44 age group (75%) and among the 45-54 age group (50%).
Boating Companions
The choices for companions were: (1) Family, (2) Friends, (3) Boating Groups or Clubs, (4) Sports Groups (or in competitions/events), (5) Social Groups or Clubs, (6) Work colleagues.
For most of the respondents, family and friends are their usual boating companions. It is interesting to note however, that each age group have different preferences. Those in the 35-44 and 65-74 age groups showed preference for their friends, while 45-64 age groups showed preference for family.
In the 65-74 age group, the friends received a 100% response rate, while the family received 25% response rate. In the 35-44 age group, friends received 83% response rate, while the family received 56% response rate.
Family received 90% response rate from the 55-64 age group, while it received 70% response rate from the 45-54 group. Friends received 50% in both age groups.
Type of Information Interested In
The list included: (1) Technical Boating, (2) Boat Maintenance, (3) Fishing, (4) Sailing, (5) Houseboats, (6) Liveaboards, (7) New Boat Review/Listing, (8) Used Boat Review/Listing, (9) Sports/Events, (10) International Boating Information, (11) Boating, (12) Destination, (13) DIY, (14) Fashion/Personal Care/Wellbeing, (15) Gadgets/Technology, (16) Local Business/Industry News, (17) Lifestyle Articles [includes dining, camping, social events, pets on board, gardening on board, etc.], (18) Local Boating Personalities, (19) Boating Services Listings, (20) Watercraft and Watersports Features, (21) Latest Rules and Regulations, and (22) Environment.
The type of the information that the respondents are most interested in are latest rules and regulation (59.46%), followed by boat maintenance (56.76%) and technical boating (51.35%). The least popular on the list are fashion and personal wellbeing (8%) and international boating information (13%). Surprisingly, fishing information came 8th as the most popular, getting only 27% of the total responses.
For the 35-44 age group, here are the top 5 topics (all getting 50% response rate) that they are most interested in:
- Boat Maintenance
- Fishing
- Used Boat Reviews/Listing
- DIY
- Lifestyle Articles
For the 45-54 age group, the top 3 topics are:
- Used Boat Reviews/Listing (60%)
- Technical Boating (50%)
- Boat Maintenance (50%)
For the 55-64 age group, the top 5 topics are:
- Liveaboards (60%)
- Gadgets/Technology (60%)
- Technical Boating (50%)
- Boat Maintenance (50%)
- DIY (50%)
For the 65-74 age group, the top 3 topics (all getting 75%) are:
- Technical Boating
- Boat Maintenance
- Lifestyle Articles
Print or online?
85.7% of respondents who read the magazine preferred the printed copy and 23.81% read the online version. The reasons given are:
- “Print is better—I see it, I read it—but I wouldn’t search for it online.”
- “Printed copy is a great free book.”
- “Printed: you can share, lend, give to friends, keep items, refer to items.”
- “Printed copy better than staring at a computer screen. Computers are for work; printed mags are for leisure.”
- “There is no substitute for print.”
- “Digital version provides faster access, easy reference; printed mag’s better on kickback holiday reading.”
While the general sentiment showed preference for the print version, one respondent indicated otherwise as he lives abroad: “I’d consider online subscription—saves trees, fuel and postage, and it’s an easy way to collect data about visiting Australia.”
We thank the respondents who participated in the survey. Their answers and comments have been very helpful and enlightening for the Boat Gold Coast team. We are working on improving our content based on the survey results and other feedback from our readers and clients.
If you have not participated in the survey, you are more than welcome to answer our Feedback Form on our website (boatgoldcoast.com.au/feedback_form). We would like to know your thoughts and ideas.
Compiled by Roselle Tenefrancia and Michelle Simao
