Since its earliest days in Osage Beach, Mo., I’ve always thought of Performance Boat Center as an ongoing boat show. On one end of the expansive property you have a fine showroom full of white-hot new hardware. Across the way at the docks, there are dozens of pre-owned boats of all relevant makes and models.
And that’s just the stuff you can see at a glance. Performance Boat Center has a slew of storage facilities housing powerboats, from V-bottom monsters to family-oriented pontoons, for sale.
Just spend a few hours there—as I will during the MTI, Performance Powerboats and Sunsation Boats dealership’s upcoming Fall Fun Run—and you’ve been to a boat show of the most intimate yet expansive kind.
Brett Manire and Mark Waddington, the two visionary dudes behind Performance Boat Center, have long known this. But a couple of years back, they decided to make it “official”—if you will with spring and fall boat shows.
The fall version is on tap this weekend. And it promises to be another winner with new and pre-owned offerings from the aforementioned lines it carries as well as and pre-owned models from the likes of Cigarette Racing Team, Mystic Powerboats, Outerlimits Offshore Powerboats, Skater Powerboats and others.
“We’ll be offering lots of demo rides, and all in-stock inventory will have deals,” Manire said. “Plus, we’ll offer free two-year maintenance for any used boat we own.”
In the odd chance—and I mean odd given the passion of go-fast boat fans—you get bored exploring the hardware or just get hungry, the Lakeside Bar Grill is a very short walk from Performance Boat Center headquarters.
Today is the first official day of spring. The current weather in Osage Beach is 77 degrees and partly cloudy. The weekend weather forecast looks excellent.
Of course, that can change by the time Friday rolls around. Fall is a fickle season.
But who cares? You’ll be spending time at an excellent boat show—and one that never seems to end.