Seattle Boat Show Blog

February 5, 2010, 10:33 AM

A plane for do-it-yourselfers

by Deborah Bach

Fresh out of boat projects? Looking for a new DIY experience?

One of the most unusual displays at this year’s boat show is The Sportsman, a trailerable kit plane that can be equipped with floats. According to manufacturer Glasair Aviation, based in Arlington, Wash., the planes can haul more than 300 pounds of gear, from golf clubs to fishing rods.

The Sportsman, a kit plane that can be built in two weeks.

Here’s the catch: If you want one, you’ll have to build it yourself. Under the guidance of Glasair employees, buyers spend two weeks—10-hour days, six days a week—building their planes at the company’s hangar.

“You’re doing the work. You’re not just sitting there drinking coffee,” says Nigel Mott, Glasair’s finance manager.

The company, in business since 1980, has sold more than 100 of the planes so far, mostly to “high net worth individuals” like doctors and entrepreneurs, Mott says.

The planes start at $162,000, or $200,000 with floats. Check out the plane at the company’s booth, West 66, at Qwest Field Event Center, or on its website.

(By the way, we were just kidding about running out of boat projects. We know that never actually happens.)

February 5, 2010, 10:05 AM

Musing on boating blogs

by Marty McOmber

Deborah and I conducted our first seminar on boat blogging yesterday at the Seattle Boat Show.  Our audience was relatively small but certainly engaged, and we had a great time offering a few tips and ticks we’ve learned over the past year of running Three Sheets Northwest, as well as during our former lives as newspaper reporters.

In case you missed our presentation and would like to see our PowerPoint, you can download it here.  Of course, it does not come with our witty back and forth, but it does have a few of the basics on creating a good boating blog, writing well and using multimedia.

We’re happy to present at other venues as well.  So if you are looking for a short talk for your yacht club or other organization about setting up (or improving) a boating blog, shoot us a note.

February 3, 2010, 5:53 PM

Don’t miss Three Sheets’ seminar on boat blogging

by Marty McOmber

Deborah and I will be leading a seminar on blogging about boats this Thursday at the Boat Show tomorrow. We’ll be starting at 7 p.m. on the Green stage. Come say hello!

Our presentation is titled “Keel Blogging: Tips on creating a great boating blog.”

We plan to cover: why to blog about boating; how to go about setting up a blog; how to write effectively; how to use photos and video; and, of course, the many great Northwest boating blogs out there today.

So if you have been thinking of trying your hand at blogging (or learing a few more tricks) this is the seminar for you.

See you tonight.

February 3, 2010, 8:49 AM

Showgoers loosen grip on wallets

by Deborah Bach

Seattle Boat Show organizers and exhibitors reported a strong start to the region’s premier annual boating event, with higher attendance and showgoers who were not just looking, but actually buying.

Attendance was up 23 percent over last year for the first four days of the show at Lake Union, while the indoor portion of the show at Qwest Field Event Center drew 24.5 percent more attendees than last year, including a preview VIP night held both years.

The weekend was busy at both sites, and both experienced something highly unusual: a line of people waiting to get in on Monday morning. The mood at the show is a sharp contrast from last year’s, marked by lower spending and low morale as the nation struggled through a prolonged recession. During the first three days of this year’s show, small retailers to big boat dealers noticed a more upbeat, energetic atmosphere. 

“There’s definitely a different energy than there was last year,” said John Thorburn, director of communications and marketing for the Northwest Marine Trade Association. “People are excited about getting out on the water and finding their next boat or their next set of electronics.”

Solid attendance and sales were reported during the first weekend of the Seattle Boat Show.

That excitement is reportedly translating into sales. Though dealers were characteristically reticent to talk numbers or specifics, several said they’ve sold boats during the first few days of the show, which ends on Saturday. Those included Tim Klontz at Boat Country, who would only say the company has sold several boats, including some cash sales.

“It’s been quite a bit busier than it was last year,” he said. “The buyers have been quite enthusiastic about owning boats sooner and getting out on the water quicker.”

The buyers have included Canadians, who are turning up in higher numbers than anticipated, following the cancelation of this year’s Vancouver Boat Show. Bonnie Bergquist, who manages the Lake Union part of the show, said weekend attendees included large numbers of people from north of the border.

“There’s no way to quantify it, but almost every person I talked with or checked ID was Canadian,” she said. “There were so many Canadians over the weekend.”

Show organizers are also encouraged by the number of five-day show passes sold this year. Bergquist said sales of the $24 passes— which include admission, parking for a day, a magazine subscription, a cup of chowder and an appetizer—have been so high that she may need to have more printed.

“We’ve had so many people purchasing the multi-day tickets, which means they’re not just here to browse. They’re here to buy,” she said.

Among the show’s various promotions were several $500 cash prizes. One $500 winner ended up buying a $35,000 boat, Thorburn said—suggesting a renewed confidence among consumers as the economy recovers. 

“There’s a lot more excitement this year,” Thorburn said. “Boaters have really come out for the show.”

Though organizers and dealers are buoyed by what is shaping up to be a much more promising show than last year’s, with four more days to go, no one was quite ready to wave the victory flag yet.

“I don’t want to be the guy wearing the rose-colored glasses,” Thorburn said. “But I’m having a hard time hearing anything negative about the show.”

February 2, 2010, 3:00 PM

Win tickets to the Boat Show

by Admin

What better way to enjoy the Seattle Boat Show than to see it for free? Three Sheets Northwest has found ourselves in possession of ten—count ‘em, 10—pairs of tickets.

So we are going do what we do best: give them away for free.

How can you get in on this incredible deal? Simple: just shoot us an email with a few sentences about why you like the Seattle Boat Show. We’ll not only give you the tickets, we will post your response on our Big Boat Show Blog. Easy huh?

First 10 people who respond will get the tickets. Only one set of tickets per entry. Hey, what’s not to like?

Update: We have winners! Still have tickets left to give away, but please act quickly.

Here’s what our winners say about the Seattle Boat Show:

Craig Bauml wrote:

We went to the boat show in Seattle two years ago and loved it.Our boys had a blast browsing the great boats and new gear.Coming down from vancouver island to Seattle is always a treat for our family.We will be there this Saturday to enjoy your beautiful city.
Take care.

Angela Barnard wrote:

I have never been to the Boat Show but I’m already excited about it! My boyfriend and I are green to sailing but have already fallen in love with our 5-year plan to live on a boat. We are making small strides to get there and can use all the help we can get! The seminars at the Boat Show look fantastic and I really hope to hear some of them.

Garry Greth wrote:

I really do need to go to the boat show…

Really!! I just purchased a new (very tired) Santa Cruz 33, that needs lots of love. I keep getting in trouble at work trying to research the re-fit online!

Even better, your very well written article on the local boatyards has me all lathered, up and as a contributing member to PSA, I would like to have a word with them in person.. I would imagine they might be at the boat show. If the answer is no, then a really nasty email is in order!
thanks for the great coverage!

Bruce Rawlins wrote:

I live in Eastern Washington. Land locked. So the Seattle Boat Show is an Oasis, particularly during the winter months when only my dreams set my afloat. Last year was my first year attending. And I am praying the pass will be clear this coming weekend.

Fingers crossed for you Bruce.

February 2, 2010, 1:52 PM

Dealers hope to entice price-conscious buyers

by Deborah Bach

Seeing the big yachts moored at marinas around Puget Sound, it’s easy to assume boating is only for those with deep pockets.

But boat dealers at the Seattle Boat Show are hoping to convey a different message to showgoers: that boating is more accessible than they might realize.

“I think that there are people who pass off boating without really understanding the access and affordability of it,” said Mark Helgen, vice president of sales for Lake Union Sea Ray.

“Sometimes you have to put them in front of it and say, ‘You can do this for less than going out for dinner once a month and take your family to all kinds of places.”

Lake Union Sea Ray’s display includes boats that can be financed starting at $149 a month, and other exhibitors have taken a similar approach—Sterling Boats, Day Island Boat Works, Boat Country and others are showing powerboats that can be financed for $250 a month or less. One offering in Boat Country’s display, a 14-foot Smoker Craft, is just $95 a month.

Lee Ann Kooley, an owner of Tacoma-based Day Island Boat Works, said an increasing number of banks are lowering the threshold for a 20-year boat loan from $75,000 down to boats selling for $50,000, which can substantially reduce the monthly payments.

“The opportunity is there and it’s more affordable, because the banks are becoming more lenient on the terms,” she said.

A showgoer gets some information at the Gig Harbor Boat Works booth.

Some of the lower-priced boats at the show include surplus inventory that dealers found themselves stuck with when the economy tanked and are anxious to clear out. Other lower-priced watercraft include kayaks starting at $250 at LFS Marine and Outdoor, and do-it-yourself wooden and fiberglass kit boats at Fine Edge priced at $945 to $3,900.

Gig Harbor Boat Works sells reproductions of vintage small craft that can be used for rowing and sailing or be equipped with an outboard motor. Rowboats start at around $5,500 and sailboats range from $10,000 to $18,000.

Though the boat show also features multi-million dollar yachts of up to 143 feet, the smallest boats are the truest representation of what boating looks like both locally and nationally. They are the type of boats found in garages and backyards from Anacortes to Aberdeen, boats that sit under tarps over the winter and don’t have hired crews or chefs.

Boats 26 feet and under account for about 90 percent of sales in Washington annually, according to the Northwest Marine Trade Association. Nationally, that number jumps to 95 percent.

A recently released 2008 study by the National Marine Manufacturers Association found that the vast majority of boaters are middle class, with about 75 percent having a household income under $100,000. The average price of a new boat in 2008 was $13,201, while the average price of a new boat, engine and trailer package was $29,388.

“You can own a trailerable boat, be an average working guy and go enjoy it on the weekends, waterskiing at the lake or fishing with family and friends,” said Tim Klontz, a salesman at Boat Country. “It is affordable.”

Boat show organizers and exhibitors are hoping that message of accessibility can help turn showgoers into buyers. Kooley said her company switched up its display this year and put a lower-priced boat front and center in an effort to entice price-conscious shoppers.

“We put a more affordable boat in the front of our booth, rather than one of the flashier ones that we have,” she said. “That seems to draw people in with a price point that’s lower and more affordable.”

February 1, 2010, 11:05 PM

Best of boat show

by Deborah Bach

At a packed bar in Pioneer Square, the Northwest Marine Trade Association tonight announced the boat show’s five most outstanding exhibitors.

The awards were given out at an after-show party at FX McRory’s, where exhibitors celebrated what by all accounts has been a solid start to the nine-day show.

“This is a spirited room and we’re having a spirited show with strong attendance this year,” show manager Brad Vickers told the crowd. “We wish we could have an award for each and every one of you.”

The winners were chosen by an independent judge who works for Seafair and included the following:

• Best Display of Technology – Raymarine (located in exhibit space Concourse 2232)
• Best Accessory Display – Revere Supply Company (Concourse 2418)
• Best Show Staff – Islands Marine Center (West 35)
• Best Boat Display – Lake Union Bayliner (West 52)
• Best Boat Display – Ranger Tugs (West 30)

Below are photos of the award-winning exhibits:

February 1, 2010, 4:44 PM

Boat BBQ mess? Here’s a creative solution

by Marty McOmber

We ran into the couple behind Cleaner Cook at last year’s show. They were just getting started selling their BBQ skirts for boats. Seemed like one of those great solutions to an annoying little problem on board. This year, they added a line of BBQ sauce. It’s worth a stop by their booth in the East Hall just for the yummy samples.

I’m partial to the plain black skirt. But they have fancier designs as well. Anyone out there have one of these yet?

February 1, 2010, 11:11 AM

Cool crab trap

by Marty McOmber

Yesterday we came across what must be one of the coolest gadgets at the Seattle Boat Show—a collapsible, lightweight crab pot that folds up into a slim nylon bag with a shoulder strap.

Made by Stow-B-Low, based in Des Moines, Wash., the Crab Pod®, which costs around $110 with weights, is the brilliant invention of a former commercial fisherman named Jamie Harju.

Demonstrating the traps, company owner Richard Meyers pointed out their benefits: the PVC they’re made of won’t rust or scratch your boat, and the pyramid shape, with four points and a slightly raised center, allows them to hold on the ocean floor.

While traditional crab pots can tip over and allow crabs to escape, Meyers said, Stow-B-Low will remain upright – increasing the chances of hauling up some of the tasty crustaceans. More crab? I’m sold.

You can check out the pots in the east hall, between the red and green seminar stages, or get additional information on the company’s website.

January 31, 2010, 9:24 AM

Sailor and author Janna Cawrse Esarey speaking at show

by Deborah Bach

In 2003, novice sailor Janna Cawrse Esarey got married and embarked on a most unusual honeymoon, a two-year voyage by sailboat across the Pacific Ocean. She details the experience in her honest, vivid and highly entertaining memoir “The Motion of the Ocean: 1 Small Boat, 2 Average Lovers, and a Woman’s Search for the Meaning of Wife.” Cawrse Esarey, now 38 and a mother of two daughters aged 1 and 3, will be speaking at the Seattle Boat Show today and tomorrow, Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. Information about her seminars is available here.

Seattle sailor and author Janna Cawrse Esarey

When you and your husband set out across the Pacific, did you know you’d write a book about it?
No. I was very opposed to writing a book about our sailing adventure. I love sailing for the travel and the experience and the magic of sailing, but I’m not into sailing in a technical way. I really felt like there’s (already) so many wonderful books about sailing adventures that are really more travelogues. About three-quarters of the way through our trip I was working hard on my novel and Graeme turned to me and said, ‘You know, you might want to focus more on the here and now and what we’re seeing every day.’

He encouraged me to write about our adventures, and the angle he suggested was writing about relationships. That’s when I got really excited about it. I felt like I could really be speaking to women and talking to my girlfriends about what my relationship was going through. It was going through a lot of the things their relationships were going through—they just didn’t have a keel under them.

A two-year honeymoon sailing across the Pacific sounds idyllic. Was the reality different than you’d anticipated?
Absolutely. When you’re just getting married, you really have these kind of glossy ideas of love, at least I did. And then there’s the hard reality of what it’s like to have a partnership with someone every day. And so there were these two parts—the honeymoon and the new marriage—but there was also just the fact that sailing is such hard work. So many things break and so many things go wrong that there are continual trials.

It can kind of take the romance out of it, but then you have these moments that are more romantic than you can ever imagine. It was absolutely harder, but it was also better, I’d say. A lot of people told us before we left that if our marriage can survive this, it can survive anything. When they first said that, I kind of scoffed. But now, looking back, I do think it was a very intense way to start a partnership.

Read the rest of Three Sheets’ interview with Cawrse Esarey here.