My "post mortem" from the Miami Boat Show

[scarlet]

We went to our first boat show">Miami Boat Show last week.. had a BLAST!!! and have so many thoughts... so, I wanted to share...

After the show, I've come to many conclusions:

1. We need a LOT more money..
2. We need to get into a lot better shape, physically!!!
3. Went on a few monohulls.. they are BEAUTIFUL.. but absolutely NOT for us. Too much "motion in the ocean"!!
4. Neither of us understand the appeal of the Trimaran. We went on the Neel. It was pretty.. but a strange layout.. and the hulls seemed to be completely wasted space...
5. The Gemini, (which had been on our short list) though pretty decent quality, was WAY too small for us. It was the first Cat we went on.. and I couldn't wait to get off!! it was so small, I got claustrophobic..
6. Isara? I already updated my thoughts on another tread.. but to sum it up? not impressed.
7. Biggest surprise of the show?? The Leopard cats! After looking on line, I had ruled them out.. didn't like the design. But seeing them in person? They are terrific! I LOVE the front cockpit! We really liked the 48... I kept saying that I couldn't believe it was a 48 because it felt so much bigger..
8. Biggest disappointment?? Nautitech. I apologize for offending anyone, but in my opinion.. they were crap! the quality was so poor compared to some of the more moderate brands (FP.. Leopard.. Lagoon).
9. Of the boats we saw at the show, there are 3 boats at the top of our list.. in this order:
a. leopard 48
b. Helia 44
c. Lagoon 450
10. On the "I could settle for this boat list"?
a. Leopard 44
b. Lipari 39
c. Lagoon 39
11. There were many other boats we loved.. but they were way too big.. and way out of our price range (even on the used market)

Anyway... you can't imagine how excited we now are about this adventure... And, we can't wait to go to Anapolis in October...

[SkiprJohn]

Thanks for the boat show update. I haven't been able to get to one since the early 90s since they don't have any in Hawaii.

Your question about trimarans was aptly put but the appeal is that they sail well to weather compared to cruising catamarans which are often overloaded. That's my input having sailed a few trimarans and one or two catamarans (not cruisers). I'm a mono sailor.

[valhalla360]

1. That's the problem with boat shows.
2. Always amazed how my knees hurt after a boat show. You don't realize how many steps your are taking when they only come 2-3 at a time.
3 &4. We feel the same about monos. For cruising, I've always though a trimaran was the worst aspects of a mono and a catamaran.
5. You might see about taking a look at them away from the boat show madness. Much different by yourselves vs when there are 15-20 people cramed on a 34' boat. Especially when surrounded by boats that have an interior area that is typically 3-4 times as large (remember that 45-50' cat is likely 60-70% wider also). Not saying it won't still be too small but we've been on the new ones and felt that claustraphobic issue but when we are on ours, no problem.

We missed the miami show this year and the Detroit Boat show just doesn't compare.

[SV THIRD DAY]

After standing in a booth for the show talking water makers and refrigeration systems for 1000 times, I'm sure happy to be back aboard the boat and home for a few weeks before heading out again to Taxes in March and then the Oakland Show in April. When you do the show circut it all blends together but it's still fun meeting all the excited people about making their dream a reality. The one thing about the Boat shows I've noticed is that I'm damn glad I never went to one before casting off cruising! If I had we would have spent way more money both buying the boat and outfitting than we did.

[scarlet]

Skiprjohn... I'd like to say I'm feeling sorry about you.. but YOU LIVE IN HAWAII!!!! lucky dog!!

I did do some reading after the boat show on Trimarans, and understand that they are very fast.. performance multihull.. so... that does make sense..

Valhalla.. both of our knees hurt! My husband had a VERY bad break a year ago.. shattered his knee into 9 different pieces. When we saw his post op exray, it looked like a home depot project. and me? I'm just WAY heavier than I should be.. but, it's ok.. we've just added some fitness goals now to realizing our dream.

Actually, your point abouth the Gemini? we were actually the only 2 people on board.. We were actually sad about it.. because, I think the quality was good.. and it looked really good on the inside. It has always been our favorite design... But... we couldn't both be in the same hull at the same time, because we couldn't pass each other... and we've discoverd that we HAVE to have a separate shower stall... don't have that with a Gemini. Maybe by the time we are ready to buy, they will have built a 40'...

[scarlet]

.. and Rich? I TOTALLY know what you are saying. When we went to the big convention center.. to say we were overwhelmed would have been an understatement. SOOO much "Stuff" to add to your boat. We had to remind ourselves that some people just go out and buy a 20 year old boat.. with just the basics on it... and then they go sailing! So, obviously.. much of that stuff was above and beyond what a sailer would need. We just don't know yet what we need and don't need.

[MNLandLoc]

Thanks for the recap for those of us that couldn't make it this year. Sometimes not going saves more than just the cost of the airfare and hotel....

[yeloya]

Hi Scarlets,

I am a bit surprised with yr comment on Nautitech's... Normally, they are supposed to have slightly better finish compared to FP and Lagoon.
Which model was she ?

Cheers

Yeloya

[scarlet]

yeloya... I apologize because I can't remember exactly. I think they only had one there.. and I believe it was the 421.. it had 2 helms... one of the issues was that the whole interior was "wood laminant" and it was so cheap that you could peel the top right off of it... the doors/cupboards didn't close properly... the cushions were poorly made... everything was just noticeably poorer quality than all the other boats we saw. My husband even mentioned the poor quality.. and he's not that observant.. he looks at the big stuff.. not the details. So for him to notice.. that says a lot..

[DotDun]

Originally Posted by scarlet

4. Neither of us understand the appeal of the Trimaran. We went on the Neel. It was pretty.. but a strange layout.. and the hulls seemed to be completely wasted space...

I suppose one has to sail for awhile before they can appreciate the Neel Tri.

Atlantic crossing in your future? The Neel will beat you by a week!!

It's definitely a sailors boat, and the first tri that is 'close' to the production cats in livability. Plus no sleeping in a dungeon! It's certainly not a condomaran, probably less than half the hull windage of the Lagoon 450.

Low weight center, all mechanical low in the hull. Huge man cave!

Lots of light-weight stores in the outer hulls.

[scarlet]

Dotdun.. REALLY?!?! WOW.. that's a fast boat!

[ShaktiGurl]

We actually went aboard the Neel there. We said why not? Never given tri's the time of day. We were actually really surprised at how modern and comfortable it felt. Like a sports car. I don't know if we would ever get one but they pleasantly surprised us.

I really liked the Gemini. I thought if I ever had to go alone I would like something like that. Too small for the husband but he also liked it.

[DotDun]

Originally Posted by scarlet

Dotdun.. REALLY?!?! WOW.. that's a fast boat!

If I were in the market........(why don't you come and buy my boat? )

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by scarlet

Skiprjohn... I'd like to say I'm feeling sorry about you.. but YOU LIVE IN HAWAII!!!! lucky dog!!

I did do some reading after the boat show on Trimarans, and understand that they are very fast.. performance multihull.. so... that does make sense..

Valhalla.. both of our knees hurt! My husband had a VERY bad break a year ago.. shattered his knee into 9 different pieces. When we saw his post op exray, it looked like a home depot project. and me? I'm just WAY heavier than I should be.. but, it's ok.. we've just added some fitness goals now to realizing our dream.

Actually, your point abouth the Gemini? we were actually the only 2 people on board.. We were actually sad about it.. because, I think the quality was good.. and it looked really good on the inside. It has always been our favorite design... But... we couldn't both be in the same hull at the same time, because we couldn't pass each other... and we've discoverd that we HAVE to have a separate shower stall... don't have that with a Gemini. Maybe by the time we are ready to buy, they will have built a 40'...

In that case, it's probably too small for you. Even if we were half our size, no way we could pass each other in the hulls.

I was just assuming because every time we've been on one at a show, we are always amazed when we stop and count the number of people hanging out on the boat.

[SkiprJohn]

Originally Posted by scarlet

Skiprjohn... I'd like to say I'm feeling sorry about you.. but YOU LIVE IN HAWAII!!!! lucky dog!!

Valhalla.. both of our knees hurt! My husband had a VERY bad break a year ago.. shattered his knee into 9 different pieces. When we saw his post op exray, it looked like a home depot project. and me? I'm just WAY heavier than I should be.. but, it's ok.. we've just added some fitness goals now to realizing our dream. ...

Living in Paradise has its downsides. Can't think of any right now but if I ponder it a bit I might come up with some. Oh, yeh, gas costs $4.20 a gal. and milk is more expensive.

Anyway, I can understand why you want to look at cats since the knee thing. I'm limping around on a healing broken foot and I don't think I'd have any trouble sailing a cat but certainly can't go out on a mono just now.

Good luck in your search. It's really a lot of fun looking at all the different options.