New England Boat Show

[lgusto]

Visited the New England Boat Show boat show in Boston with the Admiral yesterday. Not a whole lot new to see but it was good to crawl around on some boats instead of shovel snow for a while. Our favorite this year was the 37' Boston Whaler Outrage - truly a remarkable fishing platform. For some reason it seems much better in terms of layout than the GW Canyon.

As posted by others, the sticker prices are ridiculous, almost like the dealers are whistling past the graveyard hoping no one notices the economy. A new Gulfstream with a single 300 for $122k? Even though negotiations will likely bring the boat back into five figures it's a horrible starting point. A new 360 Express with twin 350s is $425k. Bet it sells for under $350k though.

Anyway, it was fun to contemplate the next boat once the economy comes back - perhaps 2012? Looking forward to splash on April 1.

 

[townvet]

Larry,

Good to see you at the show yesterday. Just as a matter of correction and to support your point...the Express 360 they had at the show listed for $522,000. I would guess it will sell in the high $400's.

One factor that drove me to buy our new 360 this year was the realization that prices will never come down lower than they have been over the last few years. Boat dealers want to sell boats but need to make a profit in order to stay in business. Of course I would have loved to pay $100,000 less for our boat...but with current interest rates and the current state of the boating industry I felt I needed to strike while the iron was hot so to speak.

What struck me at the boat show was the utter lack of professionalism from the sales staffs of most boat manufacturers. Grady once again stood out as having an exceptionally well trained and professional staff. Sea ray, robalo,mjm, and even Boston Whaler were underwhelming in their knowledge of their products and very underwhlming in their ability to make you feel welcome on their boats.

Price not withstanding, Grady reaffirmed my comfort and especially made me look good in front of my wife for deciding to stay within the Grady line. Kudos to Grady, the sales people and the factory reps for once again behaving in a manner befitting a top quality product line.

 

[lgusto]

Thanks for the correction, I'm sure it was just my brain refusing to accept that high an number.

Agreed that Grady's personnel are excellent, any anything that make us look good in front of the wife is a great bonus.....

 

[capeguy]

What boats did they have? Marlin, 33 express? Chesapeake?

 

[lgusto]

None of those models. As I understand, the big and the little are selling in this economy but nothing in the middle.

They had just about every small model, every dual console, a Gulfstream, a Canyon and the 360.

David, did I miss anything?

 

[townvet]

Larry,

I climbed aboard the Gulfstream, the fisherman 23 the Canyon 336 and the 360. I was really concentrating on the 360 trying to get a feel for where all the hidden gems were so I was not paying much attention to the rest of the line.

On another note...I couldn't get any attention from the guys selling Zodiac inflatable boats. I hope their bag of Doritos was more important than trying to sell me a dinghy.

 

[megabytes]

$500K up and $50K down are the boats which are selling this Winter according to sources at the boat show.

 

[Fishtales]

Hi,
Made it in last Thursday evening - it was totally dead. Great to go on anyboat you want with zero wait.

Observations
My friend was comparing the 21Hydra Sport to the Grady 208. I must stay Hydra was the ticket for him - he didn't buy but if he were, it wasn't going to be the GW.

- Hydra had a great high windshield - actually better than the GW, a very nice layout, not as many built-ins as the GW, but a nice console head, cooler front seat versus the molded GW, very nice helm with more room for electronics, the folding seat on the GW is metal on metal on the sides where they pivot and already had scraped off the paint - bad design if you ask me, the Hyrdra has a better design, F150 yami 4stroke on the Hydra versus the F250 on the GW. The hardtop on the Hydra is all glass very nicely done, the GW has this paper thin waxed canvas top or something - really seems cheap and leaves you with a feeling that GW might be skimping in some areas. Even with this, a price of 47K versus 81K for the GW. He left thinking the smaller GWs are just too expensive. $80K for a 21 footer - something is seriously wrong guys.

- The 360 was there. Twin 350s on it. I really love that boat, except for one thing - the helm. Full glass enclosure - not as bad on it as I thought, but still on the outside looks funny to me. Decent ventillation, but I wonder how it is in hot weather. In cold, it must be a champ.
I talked to some of the sales men and most think that the 305, 330 and some even the 360 is just too tight with that center helm chair and the massive chair on the 360 is plain stupid if you ask me. I would never buy any one of these center helm boats period like 5lbs of shite in a 3lb bag. One of the dealers has a 330 (not there) with a different center helm configuration to improve space. If I can get a pic, I'll share.

- The 307 Tournament was there. Not a fishing boat, but I have to say for a family ride it offers more than you would think (hard top, full enclosure you can button down in the snot, you can get it with a grill - forget it and get the fishing package). With the hard top rod holders and a few add ons, it really is a versatile boat that can family cruise and even fish. Same hull as the rest of the 30 footers. Not for me, but I the salesmen said this style and the big ones are selling.

- Now for the bad news. The Pursuits were there (sorry to say my next boat if I hit the lotto) - great helm design, huge lounger in the helm area that looks like it could sit 4 guys and great access past the captain to get to the cabin. Very thick/strong transom door - they figured this one out. The Pursuit has the Edson wheel, not the China Schmidts like GW and the fit/finish was very good. Molded hardtop features and glass but still didn't look as funny to me as the 360 with the full glass enclosure.
The 37' Whaler was there and they have done some homework. Again, a nice thick transom door and awesome high transom - no way a wave is going over that. The trip 300 Verados did look tight though. I'm not a fan of the in-deck fish boxes on the Whaler, but the access to to the bildge is like something I've not seen in this class boat before. You could remove the FP Diesel gen right out and access to all other things is great. A huge storage bin under the front seating area, that could hold a ton of stuff.

All in all, not a bad show. Going again on Sun with my two boys as this is a yearly event so they can climb all over boats and we can all be in mantown together and get our Spring juices goind.

 

[townvet]

The center helm chair on the 360 seems to have plenty of room for me and I am 6'3 and pushing 300. Maybe I can fit because my wallet is so thin after making my first 360 payment.

Just kidding. The 360 is still my favorite boat. All the others had their string factors...some even stronger...but in the end trying to buy from Pursuit or BW was like trying to pull teeth. I did not need to beg to spend 1/2 a million dollars...I wanted to be treated better than that. For me the buying experience and the after sales experience still made the 360 my top choice. 8)

 

[lgusto]

We like the quality of the Pursuits, perhaps even a bit better than the Gradys. But in the end the Pursuits, for us, were just a little too pretty for the fishing we do (and want to be known for). Some boats look better with blood all over them, some don't.

 

[megabytes]

The last two times I purchased a boat (272 in 97 and 300 in 03) the Pursuits didn't come close to the GWs by my criteria. The Offshore series however was a major redesign and they are awesome. There are several key features I prefer on the GWs but Pursuit has some great areas as well. The cabins are gorgeous. I have and continue to mention several features to the GW folks in hope they will adopt them. The Pursuit bilge access and finish are second to none. Ditto for the windshields and non-skid.

As for prices, folks often claim GWs are overpriced but check out Pursuit, BW, some others. The OS315 was $275 at the show which was well above the GW 305.

And lastly, I too find the center helm cumbersome for bridge access. Long live the Marlin! :goodjob

 

[HDGWJOE]

- One of the dealers has a 330 (not there) with a different center helm configuration to improve space. If I can get a pic, I'll share.

If you could get your hands on a pic I'd love to see it. Also agree about the Whaler... it really surprised me at the NY show. My only concern was the price tag... seemed "under priced" (if there is such a thing these days) for a Whaler when comparing against other competitors in same loa range. That makes me wonder about what corners were cut.