2017 Annapolis Boat Show..view from a vendor

[SV THIRD DAY]

As the show is winding down here on a muggy and humid Monday the vast majority of the vendors I have spoken to say their sales are up over last year and quite a few vendors (including myself) are reporting record sales this year at the show. Now of course there is often times a little "oh ya, we are doing great" tendency for exaggeration, but the longer you know the vendors the more honest responses you get to the "how was the show for you questions". So I think I'm getting the true answers rather than blowing smoke from the vendors I know.

There was some worry coming into this year's show that the punishing hurricane season would put a damper on sales, but I haven't sensed that mood at this years show.

Half of my sales went to "I'm taking delivery of my new boat" type of customers while half went to the "Classic Plastic" market.

Thursday-Sat were the busy show days

Painkiller count for the show...with the record setting sales this year I upped from level 1 to level 2 painkillers and added another dozen painkiller cups to our pantry.

I did say Hi to Tellie but once again he didn't want to participate in a Bar Crawl with me.

So if you were at the show as a Cruiser...what were your thoughts?

[ohdrinkboy]

Good meeting you at the show Rich.

I really miss seeing production 30-40 foot monos at the show. Tartan, and Sabre used to bring a contingent. Now it is overwhelming with big cats. I like em, but there is no way I'll be buying one. $$$$

Also surprised by the growing use of laminates on boats....as in nice formica.

Anyone see the full size Samsung fridge on one of the catamarans? I have friends with one in their house and it has had a ton of service calls. Can't imagine it after a few years in a salt water environment.

[Pegu Club]

The show was had a very positive feel, and it was not just the Painkillers
We did our best to add to the vendors accessory sales this year, sadly it did nothing for our savings account. Lots of big boats, not many boats in the 30' to 35-ish foot range, I guess that the market is soft in new boats in that size range.
The 745 Oyster was something for sure, carbon rod rigging and all.

I glad the sales were up for you guys & gals.

[brownoarsman]

While the hurricane I'm sure worried some, I imagine the stock market's record highs and the continuing trend in baby boomers' retirements are really driving the market, and outweighing negative hurricane effects.

[Lost Horizons]

Originally Posted by SV THIRD DAY

So if you were at the show as a Cruiser...what were your thoughts?

I have been to the Miami Strictly Sail a few times before, but never to the Annapolis show. Major difference - many more visitors, the boats were crowded, particularly on Saturday. Even on Friday the ratio of visitors to boats was excessive. The weather was also warmer than in Miami in February, again particularly on Saturday. I think there were fewer boats then in Miami, but definitely many more tent vendors. Too bad I did not need to accessorize at this time.

All in all, I left quite excited after putting a deposit for a new build next year! Will be keeping fingers crossed for a while.

[DenverSailors]

We had a tremendous time! The vendors were almost universally terrific, my wife met her hero, Lin Pardey, and we sailed a catamaran for the first time. I was not surprised, but a little disappointed that the Brokerage Cove clearly was not for those looking for classic plastic under $100k. It was worth the trip, we made some new friends, and look forward to Annapolis for years to come!!

[Cool Hand Luke]

My wife and I drove down on Sunday morning for the day from northern NJ. 3.5 hour drive was well worth it. It was a great show and looked at some amazing boats. The Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 419 looks gorgeous and almost exactly as my 409, except newer... and it has a microwave that I don't really need

Had lots of fun and a few painkillers... stayed overnight in Baltimore, where I went to college, and drove back to NJ on Monday morning.

It was my first boat show">Annapolis boat show and will be back every year from now on. Highly recommend!!

[jewt]

The "French hunters" were really cheap looking and appear poorly constructed, plywood in the cockpit, really? And the Catalina's do not offer anything but a in mast furler. In addition the loan company are no longer financing boats over 20 yrs old when they are built much better than any boat selling for less than $350,000.

just sayin'

jewt

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by DenverSailors

I was not surprised, but a little disappointed that the Brokerage Cove clearly was not for those looking for classic plastic under $100k.

It's not cheap to put a boat on the brokerage dock and brokers need to talk a client into shelling out for it. It only makes sense for the most expensive boats, or those that are unique in some way.

Brokers will obviously try and sell the boat they are showing, but it's also marketing for them and they hope that interest will trickle down to the rest of their listings inventory.

[mjgill1]

My wife and I drove 16 hours from Iowa to attend our first Annapolis Boat Show. We've been to the Chicago one before and really enjoyed it.

Thursday was five times as crowded as I had anticipated. It was like herds of people moving from place to place and many of the boats were difficult to get into. We did have the obligitory couple of pain killers and enjoyed the boats we got on for sure. Overall we had a great experience with all of the vendors. Their attitudes being very positive and upbeat. Not all of the boat sales people were the same though. Without mentioning any names, I can tell you that if I had 1.2M to spend on an over 50' mono, it wouldn't have gone to a certain builder due to their sales person's snobbish attitude. Most unfortunate indeed.

We got to meet and chat with the new owners of Island Packet and Seaward Yachts. They sure were great people! They really gave off a good vibe, and from talking with them we could tell that the companies are going to be a lot better from now on. Particularly Seaward, as they had customer service issues in the past. I see a bright future for them.

The parking was very convenient and reasonable. We parked at the stadium and took the 10 minute bus ride to the show. Overall, it was a great experience and I would do it again in a hearbeat.

[Divevac]

Our third Annapolis in 6 years, we drove ten hours from Canada with the express purpose of talking to vendors about outfitting (solar, wind, liferaft, arch, watermaker, AIS) our imminent purchase in prep to cross to the Azores and Gibralter. Vendors did not disappoint...

The listings in Brokerage Cove offered nothing comparable to our imminent purchase - we just didn't bother.

New boats: I was overwhelmed with the Amel 55 - those people know how to build a custom boat!! Back down to earth, IMHO the boat highlight of the show was a draw between the new Stiletto and the Nautitech Open 46. Both are spectacular for their intended audience. Regrettably neither will end up in our stable.

I was especially disappointed at all the apparent gimmicks on the lion's share of production boats: dual wheels set only 30" apart in a mono, plastic fantastic abounds and (call me a purist or traditionalist) in-mast furling and sail drives do nothing for us.

The Island Packet and HR46 were also incredible for our purposes yet alas for reasons of budget, we will stick to the used market.

The show is always entertaining and we have come to love Annapolis-especially as we stay 3 blocks from the show at USNA. Can't get enough of the USN Museum-simply spectacular!!

[CalmSeasQuest]

We were at the show for 4 days and had a great time. Weather was great, lots of interesting vendors and we were able to spend time on the boats under consideration (FP SABA won out )

While Thursday (VIP day) was great as it was far less crowded; I probably won't bother with the VIP passes next year as you're still stuck on a school bus if you use the show parking (although the #4 Painkillers did help.)

All in all - It was a great time.

[MamaKube]

We loved the Annapolis Boat Show this year!
Great boats, good classes, and nice vendors. The lovely weather and pain killers admittedly helped. We have been to several small function parties as a side spin but would love a large social option for sailors Saturday night.

[hsi88]

Living relatively close and having a boat just around the corner, I go to the show every year. I went Friday afternoon and in my opinion, this was the best show in a long time. More stuff to look at and the simple things (like getting a drink) were more accessible. I had a really great time. I almost didn't go but am happy I did.

[brownoarsman]

[Rant]

Just got back from the powerboat show. I was hoping to check out small camping cruisers like a C-Dory 22, but, besides the smaller Ranger/Cutwater boats, there was nothing like that at all. And the Ranger 23, with trailer, weighs in at 9,000 lbs, so it's not easily trailerable.

The sailboat show had numerous microcruisers (Rhodes, Sage, etc.), but this doesn't seem to be a class of boat that exists at the powerboat show. Anything below 26' was an open console or bowrider, and then you jump to some less than accommodating pilothouse fishing boats, and then the 35'+ 'comfortable' boats. I'm not sure if the market that buys powerboats just isn't in to portapotties and single burner alcohol stoves or what. They are definitely into pretty young female boat attendants, which were much more numerous than at the sailboat show. Pretty disappointed with the boat selection, no complaints about the attendants though.

[/Rant]