Seattle Boat Show Blog

Boat brokers’ take on second day of show

by Deborah Bach on 31/01/10 at 8:32 am

It’s too early to tell how this year’s boat show will shake out, but dealers say they’re encouraged by what they’re seen so far. Here’s what a few had to say yesterday:

Bill Baker, Bake’s Marine in Issaquah
“This is different from last year—people are actually buying. It started for us with VIP night. It had a totally different feel this year. Last year it was a party and our customers were pleased to have been invited and felt special and thanked us and had a great time. But that was it. This year our booth was busy and they were asking questions about the boats and stayed longer. We’ve already sold boats and taken four or five deposits in the first two days of the show. Last year we sold a total of six to eight boats in the entire 10 days of the show.”

Mike Burns, Smokercraft
“We’re up 10 to 12 percent for the first two days of the show. And it’s more widespread than last year. Last year, it was pretty much all utility boats. This year it’s across the range of product. And really good quality of people.”

Alan Bohling, Seattle Boat Company
“It’s definitely a more positive feeling than last year. It’s still premature to guess how we will end up at the close of the show, but we are selling boats and we are seeing more interest in the more expensive boats than we have seen in a long time.”

Alex Barry, western regional manager, Cobalt
“This is my third show for the season and the best show I’ve seen so far in terms of the quality or people and the attitude of people.”

Mark Helgen, Lake Union SeaRay
“For the first two days of the show, we are up in units sold compared to last year. And we’re seeing good activity in all segments. We’ve also seen an uptick with young families with smaller cruiser boats, 24 to 28 feet.”