Posts Tagged ‘boat show’
AC Boat Show cancelled?
Monday, February 8th, 2010Yes it was, for Saturday at least. The snow that fell Friday into Saturday was enough for show promoters to cancel the show just 10 minutes before it was to open on Saturday. Vendors and patrons that had traveled from all over NJ and from out of state were furious.
The local media claimed there was about 24 inches of snow that fell upon Atlantic City by Saturday morning. I walked from the hotel to the AC Convention Center through some virgin snow and never found any that was even close to coming up to my knees. Not sure where the weathermen on the news were getting their information from but it was not from downtown Atlantic City. I estimate there was 10″ of the white stuff at best at 9:30 am.
The roads were actually pretty clear, most were plowed and were showing 75% or more blacktop. Despite what seemed like only a few inches it crippled the town all day. The outlets, the Pier at Caesar’s and a 24 hour Dunkin Donuts that I tried to stop at were all closed for the entire day.
Some of the casinos had very few tables open claiming they had no staff due to the store. Some of the more upscale casinos we later found out made special arrangements reserving almost a thousand rooms for staff to come in on Friday and stay the weekend to ensure that everything remained open and running smoothly for their guests. We wish that was the case where we stayed…all but one restaurant was open and it was impossible to get a seat a table game all day.
Even when we left on Sunday we could hardly believe how everyone was reacting and what the media making such a fuss about. There still was not 24″ of snow in AC to be found anywhere except where someone shoveled or plowed. We were even more amazed as we pulled into the driveway and saw out grass peeking through the snow…guess you really can’t depend on anything the weatherman says-they were predicting 6-10″ for our area…again 2″ at best was on the ground.
A weekend without fishing or boating?
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009NEVER! Although it was a very uneventful weekend boating and fishing wise for me, I did squeak a little time in for my favorite pastime. I had a work project that ran most of the weekend and yesterday so I did not get a chance to go down to the marina but then again work is work in today’s economy.
I did run over to the Edison Boat Show for an hour or so with a few friends. It seemed more crowded and it also seemed that there were more boats than the AC Show. There were also a lot of sold signs on the boats, not sure if it was truthful or marketing ploys.
I hope to on Thursday after work run down and pickup my wheels and on the way back some anti-fouling paint for the outdrive and transom assembly. Then this weekend I should be able to get my deck sealed up, the drive and transom assembly painted and the drive maintenance done. Once the deck seal dries, she can be detailed and splashed…we should be on track for the first week of March if everything goes as planned.
West Marine Superstore & AC Boat Show
Monday, February 9th, 2009I got to the marina early to try and get some work done before we headed down to the boat show. Apparently this soda blasting company had other plans for me. I have never seen a blasting company setup such a large tent and then not contain the dust and debris that was blasted off the boat. They were inconvenienced by me working on my own boat since I would not let them use MY swim platform as a workbench or portions of MY boat to tape down the tent for the boat they were working on. Then while I was in the boat they moved my ladder and I then had no way to get down from the boat. At this point I was pretty mad and by the way they were setting up I figured it was best to leave and not be present while they were working.
When we returned from the show the mess was appalling. I am going to have a talk with the marina owners over it. Despite my boat being completely covered there is a coating of bicarbonate and bottom paint on everything. Not to mention the piles of it all over the yard. I can’t imagine how these guys stay in business the way they work.
After leaving the marina we headed over to checkout the new West Marine Superstore on the way to the Parkway. The new store is huge! It is well stocked, at least now if you are working on the boat and need a part, unless it is an engine part they should have it in stock. I hate patronizing the big box stores but on a Sunday afternoon there are not too many places to get parts these days. The bridge like electronics display is pretty impressive, they also have a sound proof audio booth for testing out stereos, speakers and amps, a huge fishing section with tackle from back bay to offshore, a much bigger selection of wire, connectors, fuses and circuit breakers that will come in handy and pretty much every other department has been super-sized.
We had heard that on Friday the boat show was very light in attendance and everyone we know that went was able to park in the convention center lot…big mistake. It was closed and we hit tons of traffic getting to it and away from it. So we made our way over to Bally’s to realize my is too tall to park there so around the block through the traffic and back to the Clarridge. It was like driving through mid-town Manhattan at rush hour.
As rumored there were none of the bigger boats due to restrictions on the bridge, wires and the marina that was used in the past being closed. With the limitation of being trailered in the largest that I saw was the 36 Bertram and the Cabo (not sure if it was the 35 or 36).
We did look at several of the outboard powered pilothouse style and express boats. The new Parker is a beast, the cockpit is enormous but trying to fight a fish that takes you around the transom would be impossible with those huge 350’s on the back. I don’t think you would be able to swing a line around them with a 7′ rod. The rocket launcher on the roof of the pilothouse I think Shaq would have a hard time reaching, standing on the gunwale would give you access to end two or three but after that you would need a ladder or have to stand on the livewell to reach them.
The Everglades was impressive as well. The windows on the bridge are huge.
The most impressive as far as interior space as well as layout was the 34 Whaler. The cockpit was not the size of the Parker but large enough four to five anglers. The Verado’s are much more compact than the Yamaha 350’s so fishing around them is quite a bit easier but still not my cup of tea. The bridge was roomy but down below is where they have the competition beat. The wasn’t another boat in the 34-36′ range that had the interior space of the Whaler. The stairs leading down could be a bit tricking in snotty conditions. My biggest concern with this rig would be the attitude at which she runs loaded. If she tends to run bow high like a Henriques then visibility will probably be an issue. But if that were fine and her handling good, this would be at the top of my list for a mid thirties outboard powered fishing boat.
The accessories section was not bad, a few vendors/manufacturers that I would have liked to have visited were not there. I renewed my Sea\\Tow membership with Capt. Sean, got a warm welcome and gift bag from Michelle and was able to meet Capt. Kermit form Sea\\Tow Manasquan…hopefully the boat shows are the only times I run into Capt. Kermit.
There was a booth for ShamWow but Vince was no where to be found. I am not sure if this was actually the real product or not. It seemed like a knock-off to me.
I was hoping to maybe find a great deal on a auto Garmin GPS unit, I remember seeing them last year but did not find a single one.
There was a booth that had some very interesting LED lights. There were spreader lights, drop lights and some were hard-wired and others were rechargeable. They referred you to the Consumer’s Marine booth for purchase but I did not feel like fighting the crowd around the booth. I am gong to get one of the spreader lights and give it a shot though, it seemed pretty bright at the show.
The guy with the soft-side coolers with the ice under halogen lamps was of course there. I might just have to get a small one to try them out. A couple of years ago they were next to us in the JCAA booth and it really is amazing how well they retain ice.
PlasTeak was helpful. I am considering replacing my carpets with a synthetic decking. I did not realize how expensive that product is though. For them to make the mats would be upward of a $1,000 for a very small area. I think I am going to have to measure better and do the math and see if it really does come out to that much and also compare the cost to the DIY materials they offer.
SeaSuckers were there. I got to talk to John about the issues with mine and he is going to replace them under warranty, I just need to ship him out the suction cups and the vacuum pumps. Will have to get on that later today.
All-in-all it was a pretty good show. I would have liked to drool over some larger boats that I can’t afford but I think they managed to pack in a good amount despite the issues they had of getting the larger boats in.
AC Boat Show
Monday, February 11th, 2008I decided to go last minute. A couple of buddies called from the marina and they have free passes from their bosses booths so we mad the trek down. Yeah it sucks that they get away with jacking up the prices of the parking and even charge if you have a diamond or platinum card for the casino.
Ran into Mike and John, Dennis Jr. and of course Shawn and Michelle and Lenny. There was rumors Jeff was there but never saw him. Oh and of course our hard working duck from the Fisherman…Scott.
Got to see the new Shimano Lucanus jigs, pretty cool stuff but at the price they will be for bottom and wreck fishing I can’t see buying them.
I would have thought Joe would have been in the World Cat booth but didn’t find him there.
It seems like most manufacturers are somewhat jumping on the pilothouse bandwagon and offering at least a three side hard enclosure.
The boat that really caught my eye was the new Ocean. Very different layout, pocket in the keel for a transducer, only draws 2.5′ for a 37! Only thing that seemed like it might be an issue on that boat was the deep tinted windows, although the front wasn’t as dark so I guess it would be fine at night, that and I can’t imagine that there is enough insulation and shielding to quiet the turbos on the Yanmars in the salon but they claim there is.
The Contender 38 Express was about the nicest outboard express I saw. It featured trip 350’s but I can’t imagine you can see over the bow too well running. The helm is just forward the cockpit.
I was hoping to see Everglades new 35′ Express but they did not have it at the show…unless I somehow missed it.
If you can’t fish, might as well look
Friday, December 21st, 2007Since we are now on the hard and Will be doing repairs, maintenance and improvements till February if we can’t fish or use the boat we might as well look. I will be heading up to the NY National Boat show. I have given up going due to the cost of going and the lack of boats, tackle and accessories. But this year I received two free tickets so I am going to make the trip.
It will actually be good to see some of the new sportfish type boats that should be on display this year. That and what I really want to do is spend some time picking the brains of the safety gears vendors. I am starting to do my research on purchasing a raft and what better time and place than when most of the major manufacturers and bigger vendors of them will be all in one place.
So far I have been fortunate enough to borrow a raft from friends when needed. But I would prefer to have one on the boat always and this year I am going to take that step. The first big decision I made was to go with a canister model that will get mounted on the pilothouse roof. This will serve two purposes. One it will free up precious space in the pilothouse and two it will allow for auto-deployment in the event of a sudden sinking or capsizing.
Lets be realistic, if the boat were to capsize, and in frigid water what would the likely hood of someone getting into the pilothouse to retrieve the raft, exit and deploy it. The canister style makes deployment much easier in more dire situations. I will just have to be careful with placement in preparation to add a radar unit.
For those still in the water, good luck, fish on and stay safe.