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What I learned at the Annapolis Boat Show

12K views 95 replies 35 participants last post by  Melrna 
#1 ·
We just got back from our trip out east. We were at the boat show on Thursday, for VIP day, and Friday, for Take The Wheel. We didn't make the wine and cheese event afterward, choosing instead to look at the boats again.

What I learned:
1. This is a real boat show! Tons better than the Strictly Sail show in Chicago!
2. If you are shopping for a boat, pay the little extra and go on VIP day on Thursday. The Friday crowds seemed about double what they were on Thursday and we got to see practically every boat we wanted to see.
3. When you return to a boat for a second look, don't be surprised if the sales person recognizes you, even with all the people who tour the boats.
4. Sabre makes a beautiful boat!
5. Painkillers have medicinal value, besides killing pain. :laugher And it seemed the drink of choice for the other sailors in attendance!
6. Sailors are still some of the friendliest, most down to earth people on the planet. :D
7. Being there was like curing homesickness. I didn't realize how much I missed the water. I didn't want to leave!
8. The Chesapeake is a very shallow bay! I thought we could just go out and sail once we left the dock, until we ran aground right in the middle of the bay. :eek:
9. If you are planning to buy a boat, do a sea trial first. A sailboat is not a sailboat is not a sailboat. They all have their subtle differences that may mean a lot to you.
10. I am not a cat person.
11. I need to figure out how to spend more time sailing and less time dreaming about it!
 
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#3 ·
I forgot:

12. Dual helms are cool looking but unless you have a big boat or a beamy boat, a single helm seems to work just fine.
13. If you have been looking at magazine ads for your new boat, you will probably be disappointed once you set foot on them at the show.
14. Refrigeration technology has come a long way and has finally gotten to that point where I found myself saying, "Now that's a nice system!" "Now that's a nice setup!"
15. Air conditioning in a sailboat no longer creates shocked responses.
16. Electronic navigation is wonderful but I wonder how many sailors know paper chart navigation or how to use a sextant? To me, the latter is like having a hand pump in the bilge.

Since going to the show I feel like I'm part of the sailing community again. It's good to be home. Now I just need a place of my own. :)
 
#5 ·
Yeah that's what I thought too! But recently my Brother in Law installed them on his 1940's vintage 45' yacht, because he is getting older, and so are his buddies. (but not his wife, she is still young as ever :D)

Considering he has done 36 Sydney-Hobarts, and the America's Cup, I think we can cut him some slack and let him have his electric winches!
 
#7 ·
Julie we went to a boat show just last year and came home with a nice new Beneteau 34. We were not planing to buy a new boat but it happened. Quite happy with our purchase as we were on a Beneteau First 285, a little cramped with me and my wife and a 3 and 5 year old on her. This was a great year for cruising we had heat off the dock refrigeration and an anchor windlass. Not to mention all of that extra room, we played board games with the kids, hosted dinner parties and the rest. Buying a new boat is an exiciting time enjoy it.
 
#12 ·
I don't get it! Electric halyard winch? Seems like a waste of money to me! Hoisting sail is far easier than grinding in a genoa, and you only have to do it once! The only thing I ever use the halyard winch for is tensioning!

I guess it might be different on a 50 footer, but if you are under 40' and you need a winch to hoist your mainsail, you've got some friction to deal with!
 
#15 ·
When we went out on the Hylas and the crew trimmed the genny by pushing a button, it was really weird to me. All those years I spent cranking winches by hand, all those calories burned, and all you have to do today is push a button? But I instantly knew that I'd never complain if I had that on my boat.

Back in my racing days, a rather inexperienced crew member wanted to take the helm and then proceeded to tack about every 100 yards. Finally I had to tell him to stop, so exhausted from cranking the winches I could barely catch my breath. I thought about that when I saw the crew first push that button. I think I could get used to that. :eek:

Back home, I'm finding a renewed enthusiasm to fulfill my dream of buying a boat. But I can't get back in the groove here to get my house ready for putting it on the market. My body may be back home but my heart and mind are still on the water.
 
#17 ·
Back in my racing days, a rather inexperienced crew member wanted to take the helm and then proceeded to tack about every 100 yards. Finally I had to tell him to stop, so exhausted from cranking the winches I could barely catch my breath. I thought about that when I saw the crew first push that button. I think I could get used to that. :eek:
Haha, I can relate that.

Once in the middle of the Ocean a few hundred NM from land in the middle of the night under the moon lit sky, the captain called for tack. We ended up tacking every 10 mins. After the fifth time, I asked what we were doing. He said he tried to avoid the passing shower. :mad: It made the matter worse, a few times the jib got caught on the staysail that I had to get out there to fix it. :D.

May be that is why sailing solo is the best. There is "Nobody to blame except yourself and whatever happens in the boat stays in the boat.... Shhhhh
hahahah

:)
 
#18 ·
2. If you are shopping for a boat, pay the little extra and go on VIP day on Thursday. The Friday crowds seemed about double what they were on Thursday and we got to see practically every boat we wanted to see.
Saturday's crowds were worse than Friday's.

I noticed new boats looked nice, but we like having not having a boat payment. OTOH, it's either money or labor, all about choices :)
 
#21 ·
I thought the crowds were a bit worse than this year. So much so that my other half just got fed up and we went up Main St for most of the afternoon and wandered around the sights.

Next year - VIP day for me. That way I can hopefully see most of the boats without worry or hassle.
 
#23 ·
We seek out the bad-weather days, really keeps the crowds down so you can talk to vendors uninterrupted and explore boats. Bad weather Mondays are the best of all!
 
#33 ·
Juliekristine, the power boat show is the one that runs Thurs-Sun; the sailboat show takes advantage of the Columbus Day holiday and runs to Monday. Oddly, because Columbus Day is so late next year (Oct 14), there is some talk of having the powerboat show the weekend BEFORE the sailboat show, instead of after as it is usually scheduled.
 
#25 ·
MOnday is the best day to go to get deal from all the purveyors. They dont want to have to pack and their stuff back. Some of the best deep discounts I have gotten were on Mondays of the Sailboat show.

Dave
 
#27 ·
Agreed..that's how I purchased my wife's anniversary gift..went by the 'Fatty Knees' dingy sales rep. on a Monday afternoon about an hour before closing. Rep didn't want to drag the dingy back so part of the deal was a delivery to my marina as well as all the optional pieces thrown into the deal.
 
#28 ·
15 minutes into my first day at the show, I heard the following question posed to a salesman that pretty much says it all about the state of "sailing", today...

"Does it have a JOYSTICK?"

The Annapolis show is always fun, but it's pretty depressing what a hollow shell of what it was 10 or 15 years ago it has now become. The variety of boats that were exhibited this year is not even remotely close to what we were seeing a dozen or more years ago, and it seems each year now another builder is conspicuous by its absence. For me this year, it was Morris. Last year, their Leadership 44 I thought was the star of the show, now they're not even back with one of their Faberge Egg Daysailers, which I think speaks volumes about the state of the industry today...

The show really should be re-named the UNITED STATES CHARTER CATAMARAN & PLASTIC PRODUCTION SAILBOAT SHOW... Without the presence of the hordes of charter companies and their flybridge multihulls with booms 25 feet above the water, the entire show could now be squeezed into Ego Alley. Amazing the amount of open water in between the outer docks now, and this year for the first time, in an effort to fill open space outside the perimeter dock, local brokers were invited to show brokerage boats...

This Stairway to Heaven aboard the Isara 50 has to rate as the stupidest thing I saw this year... Wouldn't you just love to try to keep that chintzy Chinese stainless work gleaming and water spot-free, in a salt water environment?



This is what passes for a nav station, apparently, on a 46' boat these days... Hands-down winner of the award for the Navigator's Chair Most Wildly Out of Proportion To the Table, my 13" MacBook wouldn't even fit in this space:



Looks like a trickle-down/crossover from the world of stinkpots, will Bimbo Pads become the next big thing on sailboats?



Finally, this year's Beauty...



...and The Beast (Monohull Division, winner for the 3rd consecutive year)...

 
#42 ·
Looks like a trickle-down/crossover from the world of stinkpots, will Bimbo Pads become the next big thing on sailboats?

One can only hope. :D
 
#29 ·
We go to the show every year. We're happy with our boat and lack of boat payment for now, but it's nice to get ideas for projects and upgrades from the new boats. Maybe in a few years...

As for there being fewer boats than 10 or 15 years ago, well that has everything to do with the economy. The small builders are selling very few boats right now so the show represents a big investment. I imagine it was even worse at the power boat show.

Sunday was a good day. The rain kept the crowds manageable, our foulies kept us dry and a stop by the Hendricks barge warmed us up. I can't believe this thread is three pages in with no mention of Hendricks!

We enjoyed the show, had drinks with friends and picked up a few things we needed. For us it's a relaxing annual getaway that we always look forward to. Now if I can just keep the wife off the Gozzard...
 
#30 ·
Jon has it exactly right...
As far as crowds...Saturday's was relatively light compared to those going back to the last 15 years.
I was disappointed that Island Packet's new Blue Jacket wasn't available yeti. Though the economy is still sluggish IP may be positioned for the recovery.

Ronbo
 
#37 ·
I was disappointed that Island Packet's new Blue Jacket wasn't available yeti. Though the economy is still sluggish IP may be positioned for the recovery.

Ronbo
Well, you could have just had a look at the Tartan 4000 instead, the 2 boats are strikingly similar... Aside from the addition of a Hoyt jib boom, and shaft propulsion in lieu of a saildrive, there's very little apparent distinction between the two...

I can't help but wonder whether some folks at Tartan aren't regretting not having negotiated a more ironclad non-competition clause of some sort with Tim Jackett, perhaps? (grin)

What would you guess the odds will be that Blue Jacket sells a SINGLE version of that boat with the 7' 5" keel? I'm gonna guess slim, to none...
 
#31 · (Edited)
I went Thursday and Friday....it was definitely more crowded on Friday but it was not totally uncrowded even on Thursday.
I saw some beautiful boats but I also saw some really disappointing boats as well. I won't name names but was speechless when I looked at one that was so non descript inside I thought I was in a cheap trailer. it even had screws missing from the flooring....so it squeeked. The sales person inside....never looked up from their perch at the table, or said a word. Why would a company waste money to take a boat to a boat show and then present such an eyesore?
 
#34 ·
For the traditional monohull sailor, the show left a lot to be desired. For those who want lots of space in their new boat, this was probably a great show.

When I saw the Shannon beast, I was excited at first because I thought they would have one of their real sailboats there. That they only chose to bring a cabin cruiser upon which they mounted sails disappointed me. Hinkley had only a small booth. But maybe that spoke to the trends.

When I walked aboard the Beneteau Sense, the first thing that came to mind was a bachelor pad/party boat. Then I thought about standing on that spacious aft deck and getting hit by a gust. I imagined being thrown overboard.

Later, while inside a Beneteau Oceanis, I heard a customer tell the salesman there are no handholds above. The salesman said that would reduce headroom. The customer frowned then the salesman said, "You can add as many handholds as you want." Problem solved.

The comments here about storage space being reduced to provide larger cabin space are right on. But considering how many positive comments I heard at the boat show about all the open space, well, maybe that's what the manufacturers are reacting to.

But in this economy, and its vanishing middle class, the number of people who can actually afford a new boat is a fraction of what it was 10-15 years ago. If the boatbuilders are going to survive, they have to make their boats cheaper or appeal to a different market. It may be one of those trends that forever changes the world of sailing. I hope not.
 
#36 ·
When I walked aboard the Beneteau Sense, the first thing that came to mind was a bachelor pad/party boat. Then I thought about standing on that spacious aft deck and getting hit by a gust. I imagined being thrown overboard.

Later, while inside a Beneteau Oceanis, I heard a customer tell the salesman there are no handholds above. The salesman said that would reduce headroom. The customer frowned then the salesman said, "You can add as many handholds as you want." Problem solved..
Just once I'd like to see this in a magazine review.

The comments here about storage space being reduced to provide larger cabin space are right on. But considering how many positive comments I heard at the boat show about all the open space, well, maybe that's what the manufacturers are reacting to..
I commented to one salesman that it would be impossible to cook real meals in the galley of their 30 footer. His response "That's why it has a microwave."

But in this economy, and its vanishing middle class, the number of people who can actually afford a new boat is a fraction of what it was 10-15 years ago. If the boatbuilders are going to survive, they have to make their boats cheaper or appeal to a different market. It may be one of those trends that forever changes the world of sailing. I hope not.
There were very few boats 30 feet and under, but that's been true for as long as I can remember at the show. We wanted to check out the new catalina 315 (we have a Catalina 30 now). There were some things we liked about the boat and at $123K it didn't seem outrageous. Then I asked about a boat optioned like the one at the show and was told high $180's.

I'd think that puts the boat out of reach for much of its traditional family market when you factor in payments plus slip fees and maintenance.
 
#39 ·
It is not necessarily a matter of affordability - that assumes everyone wants a new boat.

The real question is why would someone pay 10x as much for new, if your goal is to go out on the water and have fun. You would be paying a lot more money for little or no apparent advantage.

If fact, I believe some of the older boats are better built and more seaworthy than some of the newer boats. So, what exactly are they selling?

The fantasy of sailing? It is absurd to believe the vision of sailing that the boat show provides. Does anyone really care about cut flowers and matching placemats and throw pillows?

How about the reality of wet foul weather gear, sailbags in the forepeak, separate food containers because of inadequate storage, etc?
 
#40 ·
...

The real question is why would someone pay 10x as much for new, if your goal is to go out on the water and have fun. You would be paying a lot more money for little or no apparent advantage.

...
I agree. While I can see the allure of buying a new boat, when we decided on the C30, we went to the boat show and sat in the C309, which, at the time, was the latest version of the 30, sorta. We decided that the aesthetic upgrades weren't worth the $100K+ price difference of new vs. used and the structural issues in the older boat that we ended up buying were fixed by the PO.

That said, we're once again looking at new vs. used as I research the Next Boat, since our needs for the next boat will be different.
 
#41 ·
I'm refitting a Tartan 37 on the Bay (unless someone buys first). Very nice, 1981, flag blue. New barrier coat. Great hull (barrier coat done as prevention). Joinery work spectacular. Tons of storage. Original Westerbeke W50. Original electronics I'd replace with a buyers choice...Here's a good boat for you Julie!
 
#43 ·
I think the successful manufacturers are extremely competent about identifying what their customers want - cabins like condos. As long as I have been attending boatshows I've noticed that when people go onboard they head directly below decks.

I always checked out the deck, rig etc. first and had it pretty much to myself while it was always SRO below.

People seem to want all the comforts of home, even for a weekend on board.

I (and it appears lots, if not most of the people here) want to SAIL and get away from cellphone ring tones, newzak and all the other "comforts" of life.

On the other hand, if spending extended periods onboard, or living aboard, the new boats DO have an appeal.
 
#49 ·
I think the successful manufacturers are extremely competent about identifying what their customers want - cabins like condos. As long as I have been attending boatshows I've noticed that when people go onboard they head directly below decks.

I always checked out the deck, rig etc. first and had it pretty much to myself while it was always SRO below.

People seem to want all the comforts of home, even for a weekend on board.

I (and it appears lots, if not most of the people here) want to SAIL and get away from cellphone ring tones, newzak and all the other "comforts" of life.

On the other hand, if spending extended periods onboard, or living aboard, the new boats DO have an appeal.
Mike,
I think it's all how you intend to use your boat. We live aboard weekends from the spring through the fall and mostly day sail. So for us it's a second home and a lot of the upgrades I've done are to make the boat more comfortable. I don't think I'd want to spend August at the Jersey shore without air conditioning for example.

When you're living on board things like new bedding, dockside water, AC, a stereo, a TV and a well equipped galley are nice to have.

It makes it feel more like being on vacation than camping; and that's also something your spouse will appreciate.

Jim
 
#44 ·
This was my twentieth consecutive Annapolis Sailboat show and I have always looked forward to this event year after year.......Pit beef sandwiches, pain killers and lots and lots of boats to drool over! This year everything seemed a bit different. The inordinate number of catamarans for starters, I have nothing against cats, they're just not for me. There was an apparent lack of high quality monohulls from say 35 feet to 42 ish....Where was Morris, Cabo Rico, Hinckley, Even Shannon didn't show up with a boat that typified their roots or even one that mere mortals could afford. Gozzard may have been the lone semi-custom builder?? Tartan and Sabre fit the bill but all of the Hylas', Oyster's and Passport's were way too large for me
Is Pacific Seacraft producing any new boats? After they moved to North Carolina, I haven't seen anything from them. I love the PS 40......
 
#45 ·
and I forgot to mention...I missed the sailboat show...I was at the powerboat show last weekend. And being from Ohio, I didn't know. I swear. Painkillers got me. I was the one in the rr for an hour talking to ralph....oy....But an invaluable lesson in life....lol....You don't need the strong ones!
 
#51 ·
On the topic of price, and target audience for new boats, I have to wonder how much of that is directly related to the longevity of used fiberglass boats.

I mean, if you tried to make new, 30 - 35 foot sensible sailing boats targeted to the average middle class, could you make a profit since there are SO MANY 30 - 35 foot sensible sailing boats on the used market, that just aren't going away, but can be purchased for half the price of what you can build a new copy for? Sure, there's a percentage of people who would buy the new one just to have it new and shiny, but I doubt that's enough to support a business building them. So therefore, you HAVE to build something that's not already available in the used market. More space, even if it's not seaworthy, bigger boats, etc.

Perhaps the best thing the boat manufactures could do to boost their sales of smaller, more "standard" boats is start buying up all the used boats and destroying them to get them out of the market. :rolleyes:
 
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