Well, it's here. That special time of year again. Boat show season! Every year the best (and worst) gather in Fort Lauderdale, Florida to begin the journey up and down the east coast placing on display their newest creations. Last Thursday I headed to the prime time preview which is the first day of the show where industry professionals are given a preview of what lies ahead in the days to come. I really enjoy this particular day because it gives novices the ability to walk amongst some of the biggest names in the boating and sportfishing industries. We all know how nervous we were walking up to our favorite baseball players asking for their autographs when we were kids and let me tell you approaching those individuals is no different as your age grows. Their were a lot of highlights at this years show and unfortunately their were some low points as well but I am happy to report that I can see strengths in the industry where fisherman and boatbuilders alike needed serious improvements.
For those of you out there who have not been fortunate enough to make it to the show yet let me give you a lay of the land. The Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale is essentially the headquarters to the show and after paying an off site vendor to park you'll be able to get tickets right at the front door. Personally I recommend purchasing your tickets online since they are usually a few bucks cheaper and it allows you to bypass the sometimes overbearing line at Will Call. Upon entering the Convention Center you'll be smack dab in the middle of a field of fiberglass hulls and vendors galore. My first stop was over to the Yellowfin Yachts display where they had a handful of beautiful center consoles on display including a special project which was labeled "Texas State Police" and was sporting a paint job which would command the attention of anyone who saw her from land, sea or air. After purchasing my camouflage visor hat I headed to meet Captain Skipper Gentry for lunch where we discussed his plans for the winter, his new boat as well as plans to fish in the near future. Skipper is a new friend of mine but let me tell you the name of his boat "Carolina Gentleman" is a true testament to his personality. Walking back to the Guy Harvey Outpost display at the show I shook hands with a few other folks and headed to look at some boats. With the price of your ticket comes a free (after ticket price) shuttle ride over to Bahia Mar marina on the beachfront in Fort Lauderdale.
Upon arrival you can again browse one of several air conditioned enclosed tents with hundreds of vendors. Several of the highlights again include Guy Harvey's display (which he was seen at this weekend), The Billfish Foundation, Abaco Beach Resort and countless others. However, I made my way past these displays and headed for the in water boat show. Over the past year we've seen some great projects and developments in the industry such as the completion of Jarrett Bay Boatworks Jeff Burton Project and Paul Spencer's new 57 footer with pod drives. Of course its also rather interesting to see the larger mega yachts of several hundred feet with submarines and tiki bars located in their aft sections and seeing these vessels I was once again reminded that hard work can pay off. Some other creative new designs were transom live wells with a waterfall like discharge....and surfboards mounted atop the bridge cap. Again hats off to Viking and their impressive displays of just about every size of boat which their New Jersey based plant manufactures.
After working in the industry and spending much time studying the ups and downs of our aquatic world you train your eyes to look at certain things. Being that our economic times are still strenuous I was not shocked to see discounts on various products, yet what I was shocked to see was the amount of these discounts. Boats at show prices selling for ten, twenty or thirty thousand dollar discounts were a shock but were a realistic sign of just how difficult it can be to sell a product which is a luxury. It was great to see everyone again this year and I'm looking forward to both the Miami and Palm Beach shows. This year's boat show seemed to have particular vibe about it which was indicative of a brilliant year to come.
See ya on the rip~ Capt. P
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