New England Boat Show 2010..Boston
 

Well, it's time for spring fever to start! The "Great New England Boat Show," in Boston this year is February 20th throught the 28th. "Please Lord, let me hit the lottery this year! I need a new boat!"...LOL
"The Eagle"

Amen to that... Anyone have any thoughts on good deals onolder used boats at the show? I know in the past I have seen most Marins's bring in their new boat lines but will also have a bulletin board of their in stock used/trade ins on hand. Considering the economy, I wonder if I can steal something used if I do most of the negotiating at the show?

thoughts anyone?

Thanks

Try northeastmarineliquidators.com, they are in CT and sell repos. They are all from NE and even list if they were in fresh or salt water. They have a few from Winni.

Probably not.

Most of those used boats on the "bulletin boards" are brokerage or consignment sales so the actual purchase price needs to be agreed to by the owner. You can present an offer to the dealer or marina staff but they need to run it past the seller.

If anything, used boats may even sell at a higher price at a boat show than they would typically because they are still seen as a more affordable alternative to a new boat.

The boat show can be a good opportunity to look at different configurations and layouts to see what works best for you and your family. Then, armed with that knowledge, you can look for a used boat that meets those same requirements. Also, there may be promotional financing rates available from lenders at a boat show that may be worth taking advantage of.

This year the New England Boat Show in Boston is the week after the MA school vacation week: http://www.newenglandboatshow.com/

If you wait until March/April you will see a lot of boats hitting the market. Many of those sellers who held out for Spring are going to get a shock when they compare the 2009 book values to 2010.

If you want your best deal at the boat show, try and find the dealer with a leftover that has the options you can live with.....

And as what was mentioned above, if you intend to finance and have good credit the rates are excellent for boats right now.

that is good they are not overlapping with the Miami show. Last year many dealers / booths were under stocked and under manned. They said this was the case because they had most of their attention turned down there. I hope to go on the final weekend.. Anyone up for meeting up?

If I am back up from FL I will.

Very Disappointing!!
 

We went to the Boston boat show this past Sat with some friends (as we do every year) and we were all very disappointed with the show. They had maybe half the vendors they did last year. They only used half of the floor space (the other half of the main floor was tarped off for another trade show going on at the same time). There were no high performance boats and not a lot of foot traffic on sat night opening weekend. We were talking on the ride down what we thought the show would be like this year but boy what a disappointment. We should have skipped the show and went straight to dinner. Saw my sales guy and he said he was ready to go home on day two lol

Could this be another sign of things to come at the lake this summer??

I went there on sat. What a waste of time.

We also went on Saturday and found that it was smaller in size with fewer booths. Looking at the new boats, electronics, custom craftsmen, and other vendors is always exciting. Fewer of everything but how many booths can you really look at.

I did find a generous bar tender that stated she "hated to pour a weak drink" to which I replied " I don't appriciate drinking a weak drink". We hit it off instantly and I discovered that all in Massachusetts are not bad. :emb:

Wife and I went on Saturday. Had a great time, no trffic in or out and only $2 to park. Saw all the boats we wanted to see with no lines or waiting. Only disappointment was that Pursuit did not have a Drummond Runner on display (or we missed it). Always wanted to tour one of those.

We went specifically to look at a Ranger Tugs R29. Fell in love with it, really cool boat. Hope to buy a used one in a few years.

With the economy's effect on boating I can't really see the Dealers justifying the expenses incurred to go to the show. As a businessman who participates in Trade Shows it's no surprise to me it's slow, last year we passed on one of our major Trade Shows and the feedback from people who went was we didn't miss much.

Fact or Fiction?
 

I am going to the show later today. I have no reason to doubt anything written here so far and actually kind of expected it, however...
Fox news is at the boat show this morning and interviewed the show manager who went on to explain that sales were up 20% on the first day alone from previous shows and he sees little to no effect of a bad economy. When asked by Doug Meehan "are people really buying boats here or are they just here to kick the tires?" he assured Doug that there is a whole lot of buying going on...

Truth or Propaganda?

Will post again tonight after the show...

Sensing a Local Tug...
 

Last year, Soundings magazine had a special issue devoted to "recreational" tugs.

A Ranger Tugs R29 would an excellent consideration for the worst weather that Lake Winnipesaukee could throw at a boat. :) (And a good choice for fuel economy). :cool:

The displacement-type wake is a problem: Those accustomed to getting a friendly wave returned might experience a difference. :eek2:

http://www.rangertugs.com/r/images/r29_main_img.jpg

Myself, I'd choose a local "tug", made in Tilton. (Eastern Boat Co. News)

:look:

A guy I know at one of the displays said "If the money spent this past weekend is any indication, the recession is ending soon. I think people are just sick of doing nothing."

Show
 

I worked one of the booths on Sunday. We were very busy, and I spoke to a number of serious boat buyers. One of the dealers is doing a "every time a boat sells, we ring a bell" thing, the bell rung a number of times on Sunday. During the day, the place was slammed, I had a customer tell me that the parking lots were full.

I think we'll sell boats this week.

I went to the show on Saturday and it was very busy with lots of people. The show is much smaller than last year a way smaller than 2 years ago. Being smaller was a disappointment - it is nice to see all those $250K + boats but more small cruisers & cuddy's would have been nice. Four Winns had only 1 33' cruiser and the rest were bow riders and deck boats and that theme played out with most of the major brands we see at the lake.

I talked with a couple of boat dealers and most said it was better than it had been last year. So hopefully things will better for the dealers in 2010.

I was by Sea Ray's Florida plant a few weeks ago and they have their largest facility of 2 in the area up for sale. The other facility had activity but almost no boats out in the lot when compared to lots of them as seen on previuos trips to the area in years past.

back from the boat show
 

Well we are back from the boat show... The place was pretty empty, I thought. Every dealer we talked to said it was standing room only over the weekend and they are way up on sales. Many, many boats at the show had "sold" signs on them. Maybe its an advertising gimmick but it looked pretty convincing to me.

Recession? What recession?

Check out the Vista Funship from Long Lake Marina. Its the pontoon (or tritoon, I forget) with the second floor and the water slide... That would be fun for Braun Bay...$43k is a kinda pricey though

I've heard many tales of increased sales this month. The irony is that holdovers are gone, and many are trying to get their volume up for a second order of 2010 models. Interestingly, prices are way up, as compared with last years fire sale prices, but also MSRP prices continue their steady rise.

The very same 2008 holdover I could have had for below everyone's cost last spring, is now $45,000 more as a new 2010 model :eek: Not unexpected though, hopefully they all do well and hold together.

If I get one, it won't be for Winnipesaukee. It's too much boat for someone who lives so near such a small lake, in my opinion. I'd rather have a smaller and faster boat with more cockpit and less cabin for Winnipesaukee; my current boat is perfect for my Winni needs. The R29 would be for exploring much larger waters with several consecutive overnight stays on board. I picture having one of those and a 1-ton diesel truck to haul it all over North America, visiting lots of really cool boating places during retirement.

I went to the show today with my 2 boys and one of their friends. The show was about 25% smaller than last year (which was already 25% smaller than the year before that) but it was packed!

We were there from 11:00 - 3:00. I said hi to a few vendors I know, impressed the lady at the Sea Tow booth with my 1-handed bowline tying ability, fed the boys some overpriced hamburgers and bought myself a new Gill rain jacket.

Lots of people walking the aisles, lots of boats with sold tags on them, lots of used boats marked sale pending on the dealer bulletin boards. Several Winnipesaukee area delers in attendance. I had already received an email from Shep Brown's (where I purchased my boat) that they were not participating.

Maybe the economy is turning, maybe not, things looked pretty good at the boat show today, however.

I really like these Ranger Tugs.

We are currently trying to sell our place near the Weirs and once that is sold, the 2007 Sea Ray 270 SLX is next. Once these transactions are complete, we are likely to buy one of these Ranger 29 Tugs and run it in the ocean out of NH or northern Mass. Great boat, but not one for the lake, too big a wake.

Anyone interested in the boat can PM me.

R2B

A lot of clever design features in that Ranger eh? Hard to believe it's only 29 feet long. One of my favorite features was the built-in fenders on the swim platform. That's simply brilliant. I also appreciated the way the cabin was designed with a bent path from the rear enty way to master stateroom to maximize versatility of the galley and dinette/rear berth. I don't think I've ever seen a boat cabin designed like that, instead there's often a lot of compromise made to make it straight for no real reason. The genset maintenance looks like it might be tough.

http://www.rangertugs.com/r/images/r...90312-4459.jpg

http://www.rangertugs.com/photos/ima...ger29_plan.jpg

Ranger Tug
 

Last summer while tied up at wolfboro town docks, I had the oppertunity to go aboard a ranger tug by its very gracious capt. I was deeply Impressed with Its quality.construction and layout. He docks it In merideth at a marina over by Rt. 25.

Its a very Impressive vessel. Also It has bow thrusters but yes It does put up a large wake.

:D

I'd have to agree with the Ranger not being ideal for Winni. On a lake where you can't be really be on the hook for overnighting, it's kind of a waste. I could definitely see putting down the intracoastal and doing some exploration. Over here, the Ranger Tug would be a great weekender, and something to take through the locks and down to NYC for a nice long cruise.

As for sales? This is no longer the era of home equity loans and inflated prices. Designers have been working hard, and have come up with some great new designs for this model year. You'll pay for it. While some deals are around, in general, boats cost more now than they did in 2007. Dealers are not stocked with tons of models, and are there to sell what they have to people with cash, and/or real credit.

2009 was the year for those with cash to buy boats relatively cheap. For those looking to move up, trades will probably be much better, but the gap between your trade and the new boat will be wider. Such is the world of expensive toys :rolleye2:

Ranger Tugs...
 

The Y-Landing is a dealer for them and have a couple of different models there. I took a tour of one and it was very cool, well designed, and a whole lot of boat in a tight package! Someone on the other side of Pine has the 21' version with a canopy that is cute and a perfect island transport.

I do agree with others, that it would be a fun the 25' or 29' to take into some remote areas, do some exploring, and live aboard...

looking forward to ice-out -PIG