Is it possible that yachts can serve as an economic indicator? The Monaco Yacht Show, where billionaires gather to browse for boating baubles, is coming up in the fall. But event organizers say the yacht industry is beginning to bounce back from the recession.

“The yacht industry is the first thing to crash and the last thing to come back,” says Lang Ryder, who runs the Marine Lending Division for Seacoast National Bank. He says there was even a boating bubble – owners needed cash so they sold and prices dropped. “The bubble was overnight, if you had a boat in 2007 that was worth $1,500,000. In 2009 it might be worth $750,000.”

Claudette Bonville, an interior designer for yachts, says renovating a boat is just like redoing your house, “except it costs a lot more money. Sometimes it can be a $1 million, sometimes it can be $5 million.”