Annapolis Sailboat Show - My Day

[flashmutt007]

Sunday gave us fabulous weather for going to the Annapolis Sailboat show. I was so excited to get there. Got my wife up at 0530 to drive over there. Parked at the Navy Marine stadium and took the first shuttle bus over to the Marriott. Only got there 1.5 hours before they opened the gates....always like to be early, but this was a little tooooo early... anyways...we took some time and walked around Annapolis. Love that city... very historic and beautiful.

My wife and I had a plan... we wanted to look at and get on every sailboat between 32 and 39 feet. This is the size range we're interested in, so why muddy the waters by looking at bigger and 'flashier' boats.... So at 10 AM when they opened up, we went right in and started with the Jeanneau's, then moved over to the Beneteau's, then onto the Catalina's, then the Hunters and on and on and on... After the first two boats, we decided it was better to just leave our shoes off and walk barefoot for a while..having to take off your shoes (albeit understandable) is for the birds..... Next year will make sure we wear slip on shoes (maybe carry a pair of flip-flops in our bag for this purpose…).

At about 12:30, we had been around the docks and saw all the boats in our size range. We were tired and went out to find a bite to eat for lunch. While dining, we talked about all the boats we just went on and rated the ones that we liked with plans to go back and really look those over with a keener eye...

After lunch, we walked the miles of vendor booths. Must say for a first timer, this was a bit overwhelming. Kind of like a flea market / swap meet... but really informative. I never knew there were so many 1) boat loan companies 2) boat electronic companies & 3) boat hardware distributors... They were everywhere... Looked like everyone had a 'boat show' special, so if you need something for your boat, this would be the time to get it....

When we tired of walking the vendor booths, we went back to take a second look at our boat picks. This time, I went below with thoughts of looking at every square inch I could. But I tell you, the lines had really gotten long by 3 in the afternoon to get on boats..but wait.. All those folks were waiting for the bigger flashier boats...the smaller ones that we were interested in didn't have any lines.... guess good things can happen!
I went below each one of them and stuck my head into every hatch, door, panel, looked under the mattresses, under the seats, sinks and anything else that could be opened. I wanted to see it all. At one point I was down on all fours opening the panels on the floor to look down into the bilge... oh it was exciting... On the second and third boat, my wife came below with me and when I started my detailed look, she just went up top to wait and chat with the folks who where on the boat with us.... It's like she was embarrassed or something…go figure...

I think being able to get a very thorough look into the boats really helped me understand the lay out of boats and solidify what I will be looking for when I get my first boat.

All in all, it was an amazing day. Saw everything I wanted to see, worth every penny I paid for admission. Met a lot of great folks and actually came home with a lot of reading material (and little trinkets the vendors where giving away)!

[David M]

Boat shows are indeed educational if you do them right...and you did it right. Last year my wife and I flew across the country to go to that show to look at big cats. You bet it was worth it! We also saw Washington DC and the Naval Academy for the first time. I really liked the town of Annapolis as well. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[witzgall]

Flashutt,

so what boats did you like?

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by flashmutt007

she just went up top to wait and chat with the folks who where on the boat with us.... It's like she was embarrassed or something…go figure...

I can relate.

Some salesmen/women on some boats did not really want me to stick my nose into all those little holes either - go figure. As sales people some of them did not know their products well either.

Then there were the other visitors that did not like seeing my butt sticking up in the air while they were doing their quick ohh-ahh of the wonderfully coordinated mattress cover and flower arrangement tour.

[flashmutt007]

Originally Posted by witzgall

Flashmutt,

so what boats did you like?

Witzgall - That's a loaded question...

If I say I like AB&C, then war will be declared on the folks who like DE&F... and the battle of which boat is better will have begun!

It might be just as good as the mono vs. cat battle that wages on in these pages...

Oh what the heck, I liked the Jeanneau 39 that was at the show....My wife liked the Hunter 36... Neither of us were fond of the Benneteau's.... and were neutral on the Catalinas that we saw.

[speciald@ocens.]

Please buy a boat but do it fast. Both Catalina and Hunter are in economic distress.

[sabray]

Originally Posted by flashmutt007

Witzgall - That's a loaded question...

If I say I like AB&C, then war will be declared on the folks who like DE&F... and the battle of which boat is better will have begun!

It might be just as good as the mono vs. cat battle that wages on in these pages...

Oh what the heck, I liked the Jeanneau 39 that was at the show....My wife liked the Hunter 36... Neither of us were fond of the Benneteau's.... and were neutral on the Catalinas that we saw.

Oh god now you can tell us what you saw fir anchors, ligntening protection and a new gadget thAt links all constances and vowels ais,ssb,gps,nmea,VHF. Did the solo goat sailor have a booth

[virginia boy]

Originally Posted by flashmutt007

All in all, it was an amazing day. Saw everything I wanted to see, worth every penny I paid for admission. Met a lot of great folks and actually came home with a lot of reading material (and little trinkets the vendors where giving away)!

My wife and I went to the Annapolis boat show and all I got was this lousy pen.
Actually , I had a blast! We saw Jimmy Cornell give a little seminar and saw Beth Leonard hawking her wares out in the hotel lobby. Books that is.

[aboutgone]

we went to the show and all i got was a set of fowl weather gear,ssb and ant. tuner,sextant,sewing machine,compass. and some of the best oysters on the half shell i have ever eaten..felt like my birthday.............oh yeah.....the pain killers at pusser's weren't bad either..............LOL

[witzgall]

Yeah, I liked the Jeanneau 39 as well. I was surprised to like the Hunter 39 - their newer styling is nice, and they look less production than ever.

Chris - not shopping for a boat, just checkin' them out.

Originally Posted by flashmutt007

Witzgall - That's a loaded question...

If I say I like AB&C, then war will be declared on the folks who like DE&F... and the battle of which boat is better will have begun!

It might be just as good as the mono vs. cat battle that wages on in these pages...

Oh what the heck, I liked the Jeanneau 39 that was at the show....My wife liked the Hunter 36... Neither of us were fond of the Benneteau's.... and were neutral on the Catalinas that we saw.

[sneuman]

Originally Posted by David M

Boat shows are indeed educational if you do them right...and you did it right. Last year my wife and I flew across the country to go to that show to look at big cats. You bet it was worth it! We also saw Washington DC and the Naval Academy for the first time. I really liked the town of Annapolis as well. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Yep. I learn a lot by talking to the vendors. I find that if you can ask intelligent questions, they're usually very helpful even if they know you're not going to buy. In exchange, I am always quick to step back when a potential "paying customer" enters the fray.

I did less of the walk-on thing this year, as I am not in the market. I did go aboard a few of the oddballs, like the Wharram 30, however, as well as the Crealocks, a Valiant 42 and the ginormous Tayana 64.

[cabo_sailor]

We went as well and although we had a good time our impression is that the show had declined a bit from the last one we went to several years ago. Vendors that were almost always there were missing such as Shadetree or makers of the Fatty Knees dinghy.

As I said, we had a good time and the only complaint was our impression that all the local restaurants seem to have pulled out their boat show menus to run up some ridiculous prices. C'mon $2.75 for a glass of orange juice with breakfast? Or $9 for a cup of coffee and a croissant?

Rich

[Badsanta]

If you got there that early you should have gone to Chick & Ruth's Delly for breakfast 165 main street, For a real cruisers treat! I always stop there first. then the Fleet Reserve for lunch and the Double TT diner on my way out. Be there next year!

[David M]

Originally Posted by cabo_sailor

We went as well and although we had a good time our impression is that the show had declined a bit from the last one we went to several years ago. Vendors that were almost always there were missing such as Shadetree or makers of the Fatty Knees dinghy.

As I said, we had a good time and the only complaint was our impression that all the local restaurants seem to have pulled out their boat show menus to run up some ridiculous prices. C'mon $2.75 for a glass of orange juice with breakfast? Or $9 for a cup of coffee and a croissant?

Rich

Someone from Annapolis must have gone to the San Francisco to see what they should charge the tourists.

[James S]

I'm so envious...I have owned boats most of my life...I love all boats and everything to do with boating.....and have never been to a boat show!
I travel all the time and have had three (the maximum allowed) extensions to my current passport and have never in my 50+ years managed to make it to a show.
Great posts….thanks.