New boat sales increased by 4.3 percent for the first quarter of 2011 for the average dealer tracked by consulting firm Spader Business Management.

“Although it’s still a small percentage of the entire year’s business, it does represent a quarter of the year and can be a good indicator of what the year will be like,” Spader said.

New boat inventory levels continue to grow and are now 12.5 percent higher than new boat inventories at the end of March 2010. The average gross margin percentage earned on new boats was 1.5 percentage points higher in 2011 compared to the same period in 2010.

Used boat sales were up by 26.2 percent compared to the same three months of 2010.

Total dealership sales were up by 4 percent over sales for the first quarter of 2010. The average total dealership gross margin percentage was only slightly higher in the first quarter of 2011 compared to the first quarter of 2010.

The Spader training and consulting firm tracks North American boat dealers, both large and small, to compile an average profile.