- Joined
- Jan 19, 2008
- Messages
- 281
- Reaction score
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- Points
- 18
Here are some observations from the Northeast Boat Show in Boston this past weekend. Luckily it was Valentine’s Day so my wife went with me – she said it was the best present I could give her (she's always been a better fisherman than me).
• Crowds were nonexistent. Might have been because it was Valentine’s Day.
• This is a very subjective call, but most of the vendors seemed really disengaged. Almost like they felt it was a waste of time. This was true from the biggest boats down to the little booth folks. Actually felt sorry for the loan people.
• Albemarle was present and their reps said that rumors of their demise were greatly exaggerated.
• The Rampage 30 had the best interior of any fishing boat I’ve seen. Very nice with a perfect blend of comfort and practicality. But, out on deck the same old mistakes were apparent. Not a lot of tackle storage. I’m 6’ but had to stand on the gunwales to reach the hard top rod holders and would need scaffolding to reach the center ones. Helm seats looked like they were stolen from an old skiff.
As for the GW booth, they had just about every boat they make on display.
• This was our second visit on a Chesapeake and it’s just not our cup of tea. Compared to the Marlin…well, actually there is no comparison. Everything we like about the Marlin came up short on the Chesapeake. Of course, the Marlin is a much bigger boat despite the center line similarities.
• Oddly, the Marlin on display was a 2008 with twin 250’s still controlled manually. The very knowledgeable and helpful rep, Bob Freeman of Baert marine, told me the 2009’s have fly by wire controls. To me that’s an enormous improvement.
• All of the lighting on even the 2009’s remains incandescent, with no plans that I heard of to move to LED. I’m sure GW will move to LEDs like everyone else but can’t understand why it hasn’t yet been done. Here in Maine any improvement in the ability to be seen is a welcome feature.
• The new 30’ Tournament is awesome. It has more storage and open space than my house. I think it’s the best all around boat without a cabin that I’ve ever seen. It has to be a wonderful ride for a large family or group of friends.
• About the only thing I don't love about GW is the helm seating. I'm not a big fan of Whalers but they have much more comfortable seats than GW.
Under six weeks now for splashing the boat. Very jealous of all you folks down south (which of course is almost everyone compared to me).
Larry
• Crowds were nonexistent. Might have been because it was Valentine’s Day.
• This is a very subjective call, but most of the vendors seemed really disengaged. Almost like they felt it was a waste of time. This was true from the biggest boats down to the little booth folks. Actually felt sorry for the loan people.
• Albemarle was present and their reps said that rumors of their demise were greatly exaggerated.
• The Rampage 30 had the best interior of any fishing boat I’ve seen. Very nice with a perfect blend of comfort and practicality. But, out on deck the same old mistakes were apparent. Not a lot of tackle storage. I’m 6’ but had to stand on the gunwales to reach the hard top rod holders and would need scaffolding to reach the center ones. Helm seats looked like they were stolen from an old skiff.
As for the GW booth, they had just about every boat they make on display.
• This was our second visit on a Chesapeake and it’s just not our cup of tea. Compared to the Marlin…well, actually there is no comparison. Everything we like about the Marlin came up short on the Chesapeake. Of course, the Marlin is a much bigger boat despite the center line similarities.
• Oddly, the Marlin on display was a 2008 with twin 250’s still controlled manually. The very knowledgeable and helpful rep, Bob Freeman of Baert marine, told me the 2009’s have fly by wire controls. To me that’s an enormous improvement.
• All of the lighting on even the 2009’s remains incandescent, with no plans that I heard of to move to LED. I’m sure GW will move to LEDs like everyone else but can’t understand why it hasn’t yet been done. Here in Maine any improvement in the ability to be seen is a welcome feature.
• The new 30’ Tournament is awesome. It has more storage and open space than my house. I think it’s the best all around boat without a cabin that I’ve ever seen. It has to be a wonderful ride for a large family or group of friends.
• About the only thing I don't love about GW is the helm seating. I'm not a big fan of Whalers but they have much more comfortable seats than GW.
Under six weeks now for splashing the boat. Very jealous of all you folks down south (which of course is almost everyone compared to me).
Larry