2014 New England Boat Show

GusMan · 03-03-2014, 07:31 AM

I too hit the Boston boat show this weekend and enjoyed it. It was busy on Saturday afternoon, but the crowds were mostly manageable.

I was interested in looking at smallish bowriders (21 feet or less) amd got to look at quite a few manufacturers: SeaRay, Cobalt, Four Winns, Monterrey, Crownline, Bryant, Stingray, Rinker, Chapparall and few others.

I was surprised (and apparently not paying attention) that Winnisquam Marine is no longer selling Four Winns, but chatted with them about their Crownlines. The folks at Melvin Village Marine were very helpful with the Four Winns models. I was also stunned at how expensive the Chapparall was... granted it was a 22 or 23 foot model, but at 68K it seemed even more pricey than the Cobalts!

Any current thoughts on bowrider models in general? Quality, ride, price???

All in all... a nice way to kill an afternoon....

Cheers...

Gusman

codeman671 · 03-03-2014, 09:20 AM

We were there Saturday afternoon. Stopped by to say hi to the guys at Eastern Boats, then spent our afternoon looking at pontoons. For the price I really liked the looks of the Aqua Patio AP240CB, but its no Premier...

My kids loved the quad ski display.

Rich · 03-03-2014, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GusMan

I was also stunned at how expensive the Chapparall was...

Speaking of stunned.... did you look at the price of the Hackercraft(s) that were on display!?!?

Beautiful boats for sure, but you don't get much of a boat for the money (in relative terms).

Shortstop · 03-03-2014, 11:58 AM

We went yesterday. I thought the most interesting was the solar powered. They had a 33' and 41ish' The 33' was about $330k (I think) and could run for 4 hours at 5 knots. They said top speed was ~15 knots under motor power. It also had a VW Passat diesel. Interesting cabin features, like a transom that laid down making for a large aft and a kitchen placed in that aft section. I expected a huge bank of batteries, but was shown the only battery is a single high tech battery about twice the size of my car battery. The battery cost about $10k and should last 10 years, but with Teslas push, battery prices are expected to fall. Boat has a 600 mile cruise range under 'normal' conditions. 33' was the smallest they make. I expect we will see this solar concept grow as tech advances and they can start getting adequate speeds. I did the math and with the gas I could save - the boat would pay itself off in 57 years, I'll only be 148 then...

dave603 · 03-03-2014, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shortstop

We went yesterday. I thought the most interesting was the solar powered. They had a 33' and 41ish' The 33' was about $330k (I think) and could run for 4 hours at 5 knots. They said top speed was ~15 knots under motor power. It also had a VW Passat diesel. Interesting cabin features, like a transom that laid down making for a large aft and a kitchen placed in that aft section. I expected a huge bank of batteries, but was shown the only battery is a single high tech battery about twice the size of my car battery. The battery cost about $10k and should last 10 years, but with Teslas push, battery prices are expected to fall. Boat has a 600 mile cruise range under 'normal' conditions. 33' was the smallest they make. I expect we will see this solar concept grow as tech advances and they can start getting adequate speeds. I did the math and with the gas I could save - the boat would pay itself off in 57 years, I'll only be 148 then...

We went the opening weekend, and you could not get near those two boats the line was too long.
I did go on one of the Tug style boats there and on the largest one, the whole roof, other than the upper control station was solar panels.

rrr · 03-05-2014, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shortstop

We went yesterday. I thought the most interesting was the solar powered. They had a 33' and 41ish' The 33' was about $330k (I think) and could run for 4 hours at 5 knots. They said top speed was ~15 knots under motor power. It also had a VW Passat diesel. Interesting cabin features, like a transom that laid down making for a large aft and a kitchen placed in that aft section. I expected a huge bank of batteries, but was shown the only battery is a single high tech battery about twice the size of my car battery. The battery cost about $10k and should last 10 years, but with Teslas push, battery prices are expected to fall. Boat has a 600 mile cruise range under 'normal' conditions. 33' was the smallest they make. I expect we will see this solar concept grow as tech advances and they can start getting adequate speeds. I did the math and with the gas I could save - the boat would pay itself off in 57 years, I'll only be 148 then...

I'm impressed that at 91 you were wandering around the boat show! good for you!

Lakeboater · 03-05-2014, 11:18 AM

rrr, I was thinking the same thing.
IMO the wood Bennington did not look very appealing at all. The salesman there seemed to agree with me. I guess, to me, it doesn't make sense to have a wood covered pontoon boat.

codeman671 · 03-04-2014, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich

Speaking of stunned.... did you look at the price of the Hackercraft(s) that were on display!?!?

Beautiful boats for sure, but you don't get much of a boat for the money (in relative terms).

What about the Hackercraft Edition Bennington Pontoon? Ridiculous....There is one on Ebay right now that looks similar to the one that was at the show. $139k for the one on Ebay????

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bennington-2...wer_Motorboats

Happy Gourmand · 03-04-2014, 03:09 PM

That looks like a pretty sweet ride!

chasedawg · 03-04-2014, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by codeman671

What about the Hackercraft Edition Bennington Pontoon? Ridiculous....There is one on Ebay right now that looks similar to the one that was at the show. $139k for the one on Ebay????

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bennington-2...wer_Motorboats

It was amazing the positive comments about the Bennington Woodie while I was at the show. Hackercraft is excited about the Bennington opportunity and Goodhue Hawkins partnership on Winni.

From what I understand from the results of the Boston show there will be several new Hackercrafts on Winni this summer including Bennington Woodie. The Hackercrafts at the show were priced very competitively if you were to compare the pricing of other woodie manufactures .
Goodhue Hawkins is the first Hackercraft dealer in the country. Congratulations Goodhue Hawkins! That is a great recognition by Hackercraft that Winnipesaukee has the greatest potential for future Hackercraft boat sales.Those who have a passion for a wooden boats like Garwood or Hackercraft there is no better boat for them.

Good luck Channel Marine and Goodhue Hawkins in your new woodie venture.

03-03-2014, 11:58 AM	#4
Shortstop Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 25 Thanks: 5 Thanked 14 Times in 5 Posts	Let the sun shine in! We went yesterday. I thought the most interesting was the solar powered. They had a 33' and 41ish' The 33' was about $330k (I think) and could run for 4 hours at 5 knots. They said top speed was ~15 knots under motor power. It also had a VW Passat diesel. Interesting cabin features, like a transom that laid down making for a large aft and a kitchen placed in that aft section. I expected a huge bank of batteries, but was shown the only battery is a single high tech battery about twice the size of my car battery. The battery cost about $10k and should last 10 years, but with Teslas push, battery prices are expected to fall. Boat has a 600 mile cruise range under 'normal' conditions. 33' was the smallest they make. I expect we will see this solar concept grow as tech advances and they can start getting adequate speeds. I did the math and with the gas I could save - the boat would pay itself off in 57 years, I'll only be 148 then...

03-04-2014, 03:09 PM	#9
Happy Gourmand Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Ruskin FL Posts: 1,027 Thanks: 188 Thanked 322 Times in 179 Posts	Hackercraft That looks like a pretty sweet ride!

03-03-2014, 07:31 AM	#1
GusMan Senior Member Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 135 Thanks: 1 Thanked 45 Times in 26 Posts	I too hit the Boston boat show this weekend and enjoyed it. It was busy on Saturday afternoon, but the crowds were mostly manageable. I was interested in looking at smallish bowriders (21 feet or less) amd got to look at quite a few manufacturers: SeaRay, Cobalt, Four Winns, Monterrey, Crownline, Bryant, Stingray, Rinker, Chapparall and few others. I was surprised (and apparently not paying attention) that Winnisquam Marine is no longer selling Four Winns, but chatted with them about their Crownlines. The folks at Melvin Village Marine were very helpful with the Four Winns models. I was also stunned at how expensive the Chapparall was... granted it was a 22 or 23 foot model, but at 68K it seemed even more pricey than the Cobalts! Any current thoughts on bowrider models in general? Quality, ride, price??? All in all... a nice way to kill an afternoon.... Cheers... Gusman

03-03-2014, 09:20 AM	#2
codeman671 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 3,552 Thanks: 222 Thanked 837 Times in 505 Posts	We were there Saturday afternoon. Stopped by to say hi to the guys at Eastern Boats, then spent our afternoon looking at pontoons. For the price I really liked the looks of the Aqua Patio AP240CB, but its no Premier... My kids loved the quad ski display.

03-05-2014, 11:18 AM	#7
Lakeboater Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 394 Thanks: 20 Thanked 131 Times in 94 Posts	rrr, I was thinking the same thing. IMO the wood Bennington did not look very appealing at all. The salesman there seemed to agree with me. I guess, to me, it doesn't make sense to have a wood covered pontoon boat.

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