With little time to waste and no small-talk game, I approach the Fort Lauderdale and Miami boat shows with a basic coverage plan. Get in, observe, get out, write and publish. Because the real work—knowing what’s coming in advance—is done long before any show begins.
The Hardin Marine/CP Performance display trailer always has a remarkable assortment of high performance marine parts and accessories.
Next February at the Miami affair, for example, I’ll see everything I need to Wednesday morning in the convention center, hit the invitational Mercury Racing demo event in Coconut Grove that afternoon, move on to enjoy Nor-Tech’s annual evening convention-center celebration and then head back to Sarasota Thursday morning. I’ll return to Miami—OK, Doral—Saturday evening for the second-year Angle of Attack Marine open-house.
But that’s almost six months from now. The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show opens exactly one week from today.
Still, the plan remains much the same.
So Wednesday, October 25, is “Preview Day,” which means admission costs more but there are fewer people on the docks at Bahia Mar Marina and Yachting Center home of the high-performance powerboat segment, is always my day. For much of the mid-morning and early afternoon, exhibitors spend their time catching up with one another. They have time to chat.
Because would-be boat buyers are fewer and farther between on Wednesday, a mid-week happening with a higher ticket price.
That makes it a great day—strike that, the best day—for the potential buyers who show up. The buyer-to-salesperson ratio favors the buyer. As a buyer, you won’t lack for attention when you want it.
And the sales-folks are in ever finer spirits than usual because the happenings of Key West, Fla., begin the following week. It’s not so much that they’re eager to return to complete two-plus weeks on the road. It’s that they know the season—and boating seasons appear to be getting longer and longer every year—is almost over.
So the Fort Lauderdale show mood is particularly celebratory.
Which is why Wednesday also makes excellent sense on the social/industry level. Deep Impact Custom Boats has its second-year Fort Lauderdale show celebration set to begin at 6 p.m. that night. Would-be guests (click here to RSVP for the event.) will be surrounded by everything the company offers including its new 449 Poker Run Edition and latest 499 center consoles.
Just a short stroll away, Nor-Tech also will be hosting its Fort Lauderdale customer/vendor appreciation event. Want to meet a Nor-Tech dealer? You can meet all of them at this annual affair.
Of course, if you’re in the market for a high-performance center console or catamaran—or even a V-bottom sportboat—you should spend more than one day walking the Bahia Mar docks. From Cigarette to MTI to Performance Powerboats to Concept Boats, almost every relevant brand will be represented in Fort Lauderdale next week. The event is a one-stop shop of sorts, which is the point of boat shows in general, and it’s a big shop.
But I’m not a buyer, just a guy who writes about boats, the people who love them and the events they enjoy. So get in, get out and get back to work will forever remain my boat-show coverage mantra.
See you next week. At least if you’re there Wednesday.