A small group of business school grad students chose to examine the iceboating world as part of a market research project last winter. Here are the results of that research. Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond; they were thrilled with the feedback;.

Question 1 – Are you Male or Female

Interpretation: The vast majority of the market is almost exclusively made up of men. The proportion of women can almost be seen as an outlier as it represents such a small portion of the respondents.
Question 2 – What is your age?

Interpretation: The survey reveals that the bulk of the results are found in age groups 40 years and older. Additionally the vast majority of the market (83.3%) is made up of respondents aged from 50 years old and above.
Question 3 – In what city do you live?

Interpretation: Most of the survey respondents are based out of the USA mostly around the Great Lakes area as well as around the northern part of the East Coast. A few respondents come from different region of Canada such as the province of Quebec, Nova Scotia and Alberta.
Question 4 – What is your approximate average household income?

Interpretation: The major parts of our sample respondents are making a yearly average income of $25,000 to $125,000. There is also a small portion or the market currently making $200,000 and above which is revealed on the graph by a small skew on the right.
Question 5 – How long have you been practicing Ice Boating?

Interpretation: Most of the survey respondents are experienced and as per the results above only 14.8% of them have less than 5 years of experience.
Question 6 – How often do you go ice boating per year on average?

Interpretation: The number of times association members go ice boating per year is pretty scared but is mostly between 1-15 times per year. After 15 times per year the greater the number of times, the bigger the decline is.
Question 7 – Do you participate in ice boat races or competitions?

Interpretation: The data above reveals that slightly more than half of association members participate in competitions.
Question 8 – Which race did you participate in and where was it held?

Interpretation: Most of the races are located in the same area where the majority of the clubs are. The maim location for race are Minnesota, Wisconsin, New-York and Maine.
Question 9 – Do you currently own an ice boat?

Interpretation: All of the survey respondents currently own an ice boat. That question was used as a qualifier for questions 10, 11 and 12 and does not provide much meaningful data.
Question 10 – What type of boat do you currently own?

Interpretation: The data above reveals that the two most popular classes of boat are the DN and the skeeter class. The other classes combined represent only 21.4% of the market.
Question 11 – How much did you pay for your ice boat?

Interpretation: The data above shows that the majority of people usually pay anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000. Only a smaller portion of the market (25% of the results) paid above $5,000 for the boat they currently own. The data reveals that the most common price paid for an ice boat goes anywhere from $2,500 to $4,999.
Question 12 – How much do you spend per year on parts and improvements on average?

Interpretation: Most ice boaters spend less than $500 in parts and improvement per year. A significant amount of respondents are spending $500 to $1,000. A small portion of the market (13.2% only) spends more $1,000 per year.
Question 13 – What features do you look for in an ice boat?

Interpretation: For the data above it is important to take note that the participants were allowed to pick more than one choice therefore the percentage column will not add up to 100%. The data above reveals that most participants (63.5%) look for performance and speed. Other critical factors that are important to consider are quality and price.
Question 14 – Are you looking at purchasing an ice boat in the next 2 years?

Interpretation: The data reveals that the majority (79.2%) are currently not looking at buying a boat in the next 2 years.
Question 15 – How much would you be willing to pay for your next boat?

Interpretation: The data above reveals how much the participants that answered yes at question 14 are willing to pay for their next ice boat. The data reveals that respondents are not expecting to pay more than $5,000 and are likely (45.5%) to be purchasing a boat in the $1,000 – $2,500 range.
Question 16 – Which type of boat are you looking at purchasing and why?

Interpretation: The data reveals that the participants willing to purchase a boat in the next 2 years are mostly looking at buying DN type boats. The other category data is made of up of people willing t buy DIY boats, 2 place boats, Ice Optimists, as well as people who weren’t sure what they were looking for. None of these participants were looking at buying skeeters.