This is not meant to be a full review of the Miami Boat Show for that would take days to cover and pages to write about. I did spend about five hours today at the main location and at the power boat location. I did not attempt to get to the in-water sailing location. I ran out of gas after five hours. Thankfully the fatigue from my chemo therapy last year is behind me but I do not have yet the stamina that I used to.
First let me say with few exceptions that if you have been to this show in the past five + years or so that you did not miss much if you did not make it this year. Even many of the major exhibitors reserve the same floor space year after year. And a plastic boat is a plastic boat. They don't change much year in and year out. For example I gave a quick look at a 23' Everglades center console fisherman on my way out and the hull design and layout are pretty much the same as my 21 year old Wellcraft. A plastic boat is a plastic boat.
One thing did stand out a tad and that was the engines. It seemed to me that the dealers and manufacturers are convinced that the market is ripe for multiple huge engines. The V-8s were common place. The multiple V-6 and V-8s were all over the place. I saw several boats that were rigged with five 350 hp engines. Four 300s were common place. I got a kick out of one rig at the power boat location. It had a measly two 300s on the transom and a sign with the rigs specifications in the cockpit. One of the bullets on the sign read - "Optimal fuel economy" - Imagine that -600 ponies on the back getting great fuel economy.
My last note was the vast number of scantily clad females with tremendous silicone implants and thick pancake make-up. Far from being attractive or sexy many of them looked as if they had been around the block a few to many times - or had been to too many boat shows.
First let me say with few exceptions that if you have been to this show in the past five + years or so that you did not miss much if you did not make it this year. Even many of the major exhibitors reserve the same floor space year after year. And a plastic boat is a plastic boat. They don't change much year in and year out. For example I gave a quick look at a 23' Everglades center console fisherman on my way out and the hull design and layout are pretty much the same as my 21 year old Wellcraft. A plastic boat is a plastic boat.
One thing did stand out a tad and that was the engines. It seemed to me that the dealers and manufacturers are convinced that the market is ripe for multiple huge engines. The V-8s were common place. The multiple V-6 and V-8s were all over the place. I saw several boats that were rigged with five 350 hp engines. Four 300s were common place. I got a kick out of one rig at the power boat location. It had a measly two 300s on the transom and a sign with the rigs specifications in the cockpit. One of the bullets on the sign read - "Optimal fuel economy" - Imagine that -600 ponies on the back getting great fuel economy.
My last note was the vast number of scantily clad females with tremendous silicone implants and thick pancake make-up. Far from being attractive or sexy many of them looked as if they had been around the block a few to many times - or had been to too many boat shows.