This is a summary I originally posted on the Cruisers Yachts Owners forum. I went on New Years Day: The show was fun even though it still keeps getting smaller and smaller. I was with our son-in-law and our four grandsons and our eldest son. Our son was considering a used boat and our son-in-law was looking for a 17' or so runabout, such as a Whaler, to have something to do some skiing and tubing with the kids. It was fun looking at all the offerings from the various builders. The line for the Cruisers was clear acroos the aisle at one time. They're beautiful boats. I got some info on marinas for next season; I'm still at a loss as to where we'll keep our boat. Anyway, back to the show: West marine was not there, as far as we could tell, which is quite a surprise. They used to have a large exhibit with some good sales. I came a little late and didn't get the watch the alligator wrestling with the kids. They complained that the "guy talked too much and didn't wrestle enough." Love the perception of kids. The show became crowded by 3:00, probably because people came today to avoid the predicted snowstorm and blizzard due over the next two days. I was hoping to get some idea as to what type of wood or wood-grained vinyl is popular to redo the dash on our Cruiser. Guess what? Wood seems to be out! Dashboards were done in shades of black, silver, or gray. Personally, I still like a woodgrain. Lots of chrome anchors on the cruisers and some of the bowriders from most manufacturers. I wonder how long the chrome will last after a few anchorings in sandy soil. Many of the anchors on the larger boats looked too small to me. One salesman explained that the anchor shown was the standard anchor and a larger anchor was an option. That I don't understand. The anchor given should match the boat, period. Some of the 18'-25' boats had some wild color schemes, bright orange, bright yellow, salmon, bright green, or silver metalflake. Those colors seems a little too trendy. When you spend $30-$40 thousand dollars on a boat, wouldn't you want something that wouldn't look strange and outdated in two or three years? Am I showing my age in my judgment? There were the usual vendors with things related to boating and those with things related to everything but boating, such as curing my aching feet or back with a massage! I only saw one vendor selling fishing tackle and one selling rods and reels. I guess that market is tight right now. I did find the salespeople and representatives of the various marinas to be knowledgable and friendly. That's an improvement over some of the ones I've met in previous years. Hats off to the representatives of the Coast Guard and its Auxiliary, the NYP Harbor Patrol, the Power Squadron, and the various other safety and water environmental groups. They offered information, advice, and details on licensing, courses, and programs available to boaters of all ages and locations. I was there for about 3 1/2 hours. I came home tired, in some pain from walking more than I really should have (even though I took breaks and sat and took some Tylenol), but satisifed with a very rewarding and fun break from the cold weather. There's a smaller boat show (is that possible?) at the Nassau Colosium in February - basically geared to fishing boats 25' and smaller. I may go there as well simply because it's a closer ride - only about 40 miles each way - with low cost parking. It will also be another break from what seems to be becoming a miserable winter. PS. I did take the Long Island Railroad into the city, $17.50 round trip vs. $60 parking near the Javits Center. I missed the train in by 30 seconds and had to take a train a half hour later. The ride into the city and home was uneventful, which is good. Stay warm, my friends. Hy
