A/C Boat Show

[Starry Night]

So I went down to the A/C boat show this weekend with Ilene and the kids. Great weekend. Warm weather. 50's on Friday. 48 on Saturday and 45 on Sunday.

The A/C boat show was much better that the NYC show. Better turn out as well. Not to many large boats. More on the 27ft-40ft range. All major manufacturers were present. The one shop that was not there was West Marine. Very strange.

My children had a lot of fun. My son Ethan,6, almost one the Guitar Hero contest, unforetunetly he lost when he had to go up against a 13 year old since he beat everyone up to 10 years old. Too bad they did not have prizes for different age groups. Oh well, he enjoyed himself and was proud of what he was able to accomplish.

Good deals on electronics. The best deals were from Consumers Marine. The only draw back is they have been bought out by Gander Mountain and now collect tax in many states, including NY,NJ,PA,etc. I think CT is still out off the radar. They also purchased Overtons last year. On Saturday I think there were more people in the accessories area than looking at boats. On Sunday it looked like a 50-50 split. I did not see to many people buying boats. More just looking.

 

[Al_Prisco]

Bob, Smart money is buying used. There are so many great deals out there right now. Im guessing the price of fuel has a whole lot to do with it.

 

[Starry Night]

Al,
I couldn't agree with you more. I am glad that I was able to trade my boat for a larger one and have a smooth transaction. I dealt with great people through the whole transaction. Al, do you see were I'm going with this(LOL). I am glad you were able to provide a complete and honest independent survey for the owner of my boat. It was also nice to know that I took care of my boat. That said..Here's to used boats!, or what the sales people say, "Pre-owned well maintained, fully rigged, never fished Yacht"! [:-eyebrows]

 

[Unknown]

LOL, sounds like everything wen't very well for you, Bob. I wish I could have been to that ACY boat show, but of course I had to work at the one in White Plains...

Interestingly, the two shows seem to have aimed at different markets, which is understandable given the small size of the White Plains show and the larger space at the ACY show. In White Plains the largest cruising boat was 26 feet, while ACY specialized in 27-40...

We had larger performance boats from 28-37', but I'm sure they had them in ACY too. One thing I couldn't get into our Show was jetskis. Apparently nobody in the immediate NYC suburbs (north, west) stocks them until you get up to Dutchess. Did they have a lot of them in ACY???

Interesting that West Marine didn't go to ACY, either. I just got my catalog from them in the mail. Perhaps they are doing what a lot of other organizations are doing, namely concentrating on Internet or Direct Mail or other sources. It doesn't matter - BoatFix is cheaper anyway ...

I had wanted to get Boaters World into White Plains, but I was advised that the bigwigs at Corporate wouldn't do shows like ours or the upcoming Rockland Show next month, which is unfortunate, IMHO. Ed down in Mamaroneck really wants to do the local shows and thinks Corporate is being foolish...

Of course, I REALLY wanted BoaterEd and BoatFix to display with me. Did they do anything in ACY??? They SHOULD, if for no other reason than (I believe) Les' partner lives down there, and their major wholesaler is based down there also. We gotta get these guys to jump on the bandwagon and show up at some of these local Shows - it will help build Les' businesses and increase BE membership and participation, IMHO...