Strictly Sail Oakland

[autumnbreeze27]

We're going to Strictly Sail Oakland next month and I was wondering if anybody's had any luck finding deals? We're hoping to leave on the ha-ha if we can pull it together in time, otherwise it will be next year. Anyhow, we're in the market for solar and a water maker, among other things, and wondered if it was worth waiting for the show?

[Stu Jackson]

Most likely a good idea. Many, many vendors offer "boat show" sales. I'm waiting for the show to get a better price on batteries, worked five years ago. Good luck.

[autumnbreeze27]

Thanks Stu. I used to be a regular on the c34 forum until we sold ours last year.

[gamayun]

Definitely worth it. I went for the first time 2 years ago with the strict intention of finding foulies, which I'd been pricing and trying on for a while. Saved about $100 on a mix of Helly Hansen and Gill gear, which are more comfortable than WM brand and have held up extremely well. Then last year, I got near wholesale price on B&G MFD and radar, comparable to what Garmin was selling. Again, this was what I specifically went to the show for and had been pricing the different units for a while. This year I'll be looking at a mast climber (for sure) and maybe a new controller for the autohelm. There's a lot of stuff to tantalize. You should do your homework before you go and have a good sense of the different brands and prices. Depending on what and how much you buy, you might also be able to negotiate even better prices with the vendor.

[rcmpegasus]

I went the spring before I did the HaHa, picked up a number of things for substantially less than retail. Also a lot of stuff I did not know existed that filled some niche issues I had. Got EPIRB, giant first aid kit and hf SSB reciever.

[Fog Bank]

We are going to Strictly Sail as well. Visions of deals to be found are running through the Admiral's mind...

[Sondor]

For a second job to earn some extra cash, I spent a few seasons selling outdoor kitchens at home-shows for a high-school friend of mine, and can honestly say that show-prices are often truly the best prices of the year for many vendors.

For the best deals of the show on big ticket items, I suggest shopping the opening morning (everyone likes to start a show off on a good note) or the tail-end of the show.

If you like haggling, go to their booth/tent when they are slow. If you don't like haggling, go to the booth/tent during peak traffic.

Enjoy!

[SmartMove]

Before we started cruising we moved our boat to Puerto Rico to outfit her. She was an ex-charter boat with only a VHF, a few dishes and linens. We went to the Annapolis Boat Show and literally bought almost everything that is on her today. Solar, wind generator, Atlantic Towers arch, dinghy and outboard, Garmin electronics, Spectra watermaker (although we got that at the Miami Boat Show earlier in the year), EPIRB, etc. We bought a lot of greatly discounted stuff from West Marine (that included the dinghy and outboard) because of the added benefit they would ship to their stores for free! Getting stuff to Puerto Rico can be expensive especially big stuff.

We estimated that our savings paid for our week long trip to Annapolis and then some. Well worth it and lots of fun too!