Rain No Bane As Thousands View a Variety of Vessels
By Lori Becker, The Palm Beach Post, Fla.
Mar. 23–For the first time in five years, the Palm Beach Boat Show opened Thursday without a downpour.
Clouds hovered much of the day, but the rain stayed away as thousands of showgoers roamed the docks to check out the more than 1,000 vessels on display.
“We’re always interested in what’s out here,” said Bill DeSantis, who was browsing the show with his wife, Sue. “Got to keep the dream going.” The North Palm Beach couple, both 54, bought a 23-foot Contender three years ago, so they aren’t shopping for another boat. But they always come to look at the myriad gadgets and new models, they said.
And there’s a lot to see.
The four-day event showcases more than $300 million worth of boats and accessories at two locations. From the in-water display along Flagler Drive to the expansive floor of the Palm Beach County Convention Center, the show features a wide cross-section of the boating industry.
An expected 40,000 showgoers will find vessels for every use and pocketbook, from the entry-level family runabouts to high-tech sportfishing boats, from inflatable dinghies to luxury superyachts.
But Todd Sims has a boat unlike any other in the show.
An all-electric vessel, the Lear 204 is powered by six 8D batteries. It will cruise for 10 hours at 5 mph. Owners just plug it into a standard 110-volt outlet to recharge.
“That charge is only going to cost you $1,” said Sims, 43, vice president of Boynton Beach-based EPower Marine, the only Florida dealer for the boat. “It’s equivalent to running your dryer.” The 20-foot vessel is the brainchild of Shanda Lear-Baylor, daughter of Lear Jet founder Bill Lear. It’s made in Newport Beach, Calif., and is new to the Florida market.
The ultra-quiet vessel is ideal for cruising on lakes and protected waterways, Sims said. It costs between $50,000 and $65,000, depending on whether buyers opt for the soft top or the patent-pending retractable hardtop with a rear hatch.
Sims touts the boat as environmentally friendly and cost-efficient.
“It’s a very easy boat to use and run,” he said.
For those with a bigger budget, the largest vessel in this year’s show is a 1989 Curt-C, a 145-foot Australian yacht built by NQEA Shipyards.
Berthed at Rybovich in West Palm Beach, the yacht has five staterooms, six full-time crew members and an assortment of extras, including two kayaks, two sailing dinghies and an on-deck gym.
It’s for sale at just shy of $11 million. Or you can charter the vessel for a week, for $85,000 plus expenses.
“For the Palm Beach show, we expect to have a more qualified group of buyers just because of the locality,” said Ken Bracewell, 34, the vessel’s captain of two years.
A steady crowd admired the supersized yachts Thursday, as the show drew about 80 boats that were longer than 80 feet, all brokerage vessels. But the regional show is more than glitz.
The 22-year-old show, owned by the Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County, has become a huge sales weekend for area dealers, with some generating as much as 30 percent of their annual sales during the four-day gathering.
However, this year’s show opens with a tentative air.
Boat sales have been down about 6 percent nationally the past two years, according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association in Chicago. The small and mid-size boat markets have been hit the hardest, with industry insiders pointing to a weak economy and ailing real estate market.
Many showgoers Thursday said they were there to browse, not buy.
“Nobody’s buying. Nobody’s selling,” said Dominick Pugliese, 70, of North Palm Beach, who owns two boats. “But you’ve always got to look. There’s always something new.”
IF YOU GO:
–What: 22nd annual Palm Beach Boat Show
–Display: More than $300 million worth of boats and accessories
–Locations: Downtown West Palm Beach along Flagler Drive between Banyan and Fern streets; Palm Beach County Convention Center, 650 Okeechobee Blvd.
–Hours: Today and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
–Tickets: Adults, $12; children ages 6 to 12, $4; under 6, free Parking: Municipal lots and garages, convention center, CityPlace garage. Free shuttle buses will run between show sites. Showgoers can come by boat and dock just south of the in-water display.
–Information: (954) 764-7642 or (800) 940-7642; www.showmanagement.com
BY THE NUMBERS:
–550. The number of exhibitors at the show.
–80. The dollars, in millions, of sales expected to be made by those exhibitors.
–40,000. The number of people expected to attend the show over its four days.
–1,000. The number of boats on display, both in water and on land.
–145. The length in feet of the largest vessel at the show.
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Copyright (c) 2007, The Palm Beach Post, Fla.
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