Baltimore Boat Show - sail fest

[foursailing]

Anyone familar with the Baltimore boat show this week?  Sounds like they've added a Sail Fest section.  Was wondering if it was worth the 2+ hour drive from central NJ.

Always found a boat show to lift the spirits during the cold winter months.

[Steve Sayian]

Bill,

Was your boat previously in Lake Winnipesaukee, New hampshire under the name of Air Power?

I remembered the hull number and looked it up on the database.

Steve

[crieders]

we checked it out and I believe that Catalina is not showing there

[foursailing]

Steve - Yeah, bought her about a year and a half ago.   Why do you ask - did you look at her before you purchased yours?

Cliff - Were there a lot of sailing related vendors at the show? Per my previous post, I'm looking for some new sails and wondering if their were any sail makers at the show.

Thanks,

Bill

[Ken Juul]

Found on the Scuttlebut web site.

FILLING THE MID-ATLANTIC BOAT SHOW VOID
It has been a fairly tough run for the mid-Atlantic, mid-winter sailboat show
effort. This is a shame, really, because these shows offer the industry a
valuable opportunity to connect with potential customers in an otherwise slow
period, and they offer sailors unprecedented access to seminars and industry
experts. After a decade or so of shows in Atlantic City, most of which seemed
to coincide with major meteorological Winter Events, a pair of shows in
Philadelphia filled the void in recent years. The Philadelphia shows were
held in a very strong location but yet another ill-timed Winter Event gummed
things up in 2005 and a show-less gap year followed in 2006. The momentum was
slowed. The 2007 edition was decent but... a change is gonna come.

Baltimore, and the well-located Baltimore Convention Center, has long been
viewed as a strong potential site of a mid-winter sailboat show and in recent
months, industry leaders, led by the National Marine Manufacturers
Association (NMMA) and including regional marine industry leaders such as
Dana Scott and Mary Ewenson from SpinSheet and PropTalk magazines,
brainstormed a plan to piggyback a large "Sailfest" component to the existing
Baltimore Boat Show. The big event is set for January 23-27, where an
additional 50,000 square feet have been dedicated to the sailing component of
the show. – Floatline, read on:
http://www.floatline.com/floatline/2008/01/baltimore-boat.html

[Jon Schneider]

I have to say that as much as I love boat-hopping, to have another boat show in the Baltimore/Annapolis area seems like economic folly to me.  Plus, if you do the math, they're claiming that this "expanded" show will now be about 300,000 square feet; that's about a third larger than the average suburban supermarket.  My marina makes a more interesting showcase and it's about as much space.  They're going to have 600 stinkpots.  And then a bunch of crap like "marinized" mops and the like, plus a bunch of coolers and fly-fishing vests.  My bet is that they'll display about 50 sailboats, most of which will be of the Sunfish variety.  The industry should consolidate into four primary shows: Annapolis, Chicago, St. Pete, and SF; and then save the rest of its money for product development or cost reduction. 

What would be really cool would be if some smart brokers got together and put on mega regional used boat shows.  That would do more to increase the frequency of sales both in the used marketplace as well as the new market (by giving current boat owners a way to trade out).

[Steve Sayian]

Hi Bill,

No I didn't look at the boat.
We bought ours in Dec '05.
I just noticed the hull # as it is 2 away from mine and I read the writeup in the Database for her when she was Air Power.

Best of luck w/her.

If you're ever up in the Boston area, give a shout.

Steve

[foursailing]

Thanks Steve - will do!

[crieders]

Bill check out
Somerset Sails website. They make an interesting combo of radial and cross cut sails that I have been satisfied with and the price is right. I also bought a-sym sails from them and even a used working jib that can be hanked on. Ask for Martin who answers the phone day and night.

[Jon Schneider]

FYI, as opposed to my speculation about the Baltimore show earlier, here's an excerpt from a fellow (non-Catalina) sailor who just toured the Baltimore show and had a pleasant time. 

Ed, a Pearson owner, had this to say about his afternoon at the Baltimore show: "I toured the Baltimore show today and the layout of the show is GREATLY improved and logical, for once. Most, if not all, of the usual brands of outboard and I/O boats are represented by the local upper bay dealers. Beneteau, Catalina, Hunter, C&C, and Island Packet all have boats on display. MSI had a notable display of inflatable tenders. There seemed to be a shortage of accessory suppliers there but with other shows taking place I guess this could be expected. I did not see any sail lofts represented but I may have missed them. The RC sailing pond was getting a fair amount of attention and was set up nicely. The four primary electronics shops in the area are all represented, too. There were at least four Boaters World booths? You couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting one.
Traffic was dismal but this is the trend all shows are seeing so I would not take exception to it. Traffic certainly equaled the week days of the NYBS. The weekend is sure to provide a much healthier gate for the show promoters and vendors. It wasn't a bad way to kill a cold snowy afternoon and worth the saw-buck to get in. If for nothing else, it's a good excuse to be within a couple blocks of the fine restaurants of Baltimore's Little Italy around supper-time."