Though it never attracted much in the way of high-performance boats built east of Arizona, the Los Angeles County Boat Show was once an important showcase for local builders including Advantage, Eliminator, Commander Cobra, DCB, E-Ticket Hallett, Nordic, Shockwave and other go-fast boat brands, some of which are no longer in existence. But last weekend’s event at the Fairplex in Pomona, Calif., did show positive signs according to several exhibitors including insurance and finance man Devin Wozencraft.
Wozencraft and his crew were back this year after a four-year hiatus.

“After being absent for multiple years during the pandemic, the show promoters are working hard to bring it back stronger each year,” he said. “It was nice to be back as it gave us a chance to visit with many people locally from our Southern California office
“On the performance-boat side, Eliminator, Cobra, Shockwave others had a nice showing,” he continued.

In addition to models from go-fast boat builders, the L.A. Boat Show has long attracted a strong contingent of tow-sports boats and pontoon models. Among the pontoon-boat builders who exhibited at the event last weekend was Michigan-based Avalon, which had a Mercury Racing outboard-engine-powered model or two in the mix.
Though she couldn’t be there, Miranda Doan, the company’s director of marketing, said overall she was pleased with the outcome.
“There some good, quality buyers there and we sold a few boats, even though the traffic was a little slow,” she explained.
Some of the lower-than-hoped-for turnout last weekend could well be explained by the recent Southern California wildfires. Natural disasters have a way of disrupting weekend plans that once seemed important.
Still, Wozencraft was pleased with what he saw and he is cautiously optimistic for the event’s future.
“It’s not the show it used to be years back” he said. “But it was good.”
