Boat and Fishing Show dates?

I finally got a chance to see the mods on the Seasport Commander that will be showcased at the Seattle Boat Show

Mods included:

1) swapping out the existing (cheesy) canvas aft deck cover for solid fiberglass
2) pulling all the stainless rails off the gunnels and installing Burnewiin mounts
3) extensive woodwork in the galley/wheelhouse to create usable storage space… and a spice rack specifically installed for …wait for it…to hold my collection of Tomic plugs and spoons

The galley table was admittedly a vanity project but before the pimping job, it looked like what you’d find in a $50 a night motel so I’m glad I got it done

The lithium conversion will be after the show

I’m there 4 February… look forward to seeing any SFBC guys who make the trip down… the Commander will be at the Master Marine exhibit in the indoor part of the show

Safe travels!
Beauty
 
Looks like we will be at the Seattle show Friday afternoon through Sunday (3-5) and Friday afternoon through Saturday (10/11). Hope we get a chance to meet some of you northerners. Maybe chat about swapping a fishing trip???
 
I'll be there off and on. If you see a guy wearing a Grand Slam Bucktails t-shirt, that's me. Please stop me and say hi. I won't be at a booth (have worked my section at outdoor emporium previous years).

Howard
 
Middle aged musings from the Vancouver Boat Show tonight. For the first show since 2020, it was okay.

Saw Gary from Scotty, thanked him for all the great warranty service and free parts they provide, he was gracious about it.

Never seen so many Tohatsu engines, not sure why but upper concourse was filled with them.

Harbour Chandler and Steveston have the most gear for sale, HC has some rock bottom clearout prices on all kinds of gear and equipment, Steveston too, and a good deal on Danielson crab trap, lead line and legal float, $54 I think. They don’t want to pack this stuff home, so now is your chance for price reductions. PNT too with lots of gear.

So many outboard powered boats now, hardly any stern drives, mind you the big boats are at the on-water show.

North River makes a very well put together boat. Liquid Metal needs to fire their fab and welding crew, rippled and wavy down the sides like crazy. Grady has a line of boats aimed at recreational boaters, no reasonable way to mount a kicker as discussed here before. Stabi Craft are expensive, they need to be proven here. 600 Mercury’s are as ridiculous in person as you can imagine. 17 hands high. I have a multi-day pass so will go again and do some research for a member currently out of town that has a boat in mind.

More after my subsequent visit. Get out and support your hobby.

As luck would have it, ran into a member while I was there. Say hello to @Bill 310. He’s the tall dude, did that great build thread on a Jaxon Craft awhile ago.



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Here is a photo of the new Merc V12 600hp, my wife is 5’ 4”. The boat the engines were on was on sale for $1.3 m plus fit up.

Over 50% of the new fishing boats are aluminum and I didn’t see a boat 18 ft and above that was under $100K plus fit up. A lot of smaller boats have boat show specials but have been rigged with smaller engines to low the price. A good friend of mine who owns a large boat store said boats he was sell three years ago for $90K are now $120K. He also said aluminum fishing boat sales are way up over the last 5 years

I liked the new ABD aluminum boats made in North Van. They have nice hull designs and finishing is great. They are sold out of the Port Boat House and a 24 ft has a beam of 9.5ft. Cost $250K+-. Here is a photo.

For fiberglass boat their prices are way up too. A new 24 ft Osprey rigged with a 300hp; kicker basic electronic is now $294K plus taxes.

The upper walkway with the marine supply supplier is the same old stuff and most things that are a good deal are old or over stocked items. I found I can purchase most of the stuff cheaper at the stores. There were lots of suppliers not selling stuff but providing good info on their products.
 

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I liked the new ABD aluminum boats made in North Van. They have nice hull designs and finishing is great. They are sold out of the Port Boat House and a 24 ft has a beam of 9.5ft. Cost $250K+-. Here is a photo.

Yes, the ABD boats looked well built plus the pricing seemed a better deal. The big centre console with twin 115’s was a nice package.

The scale of that Merc 600 is hard to believe unless you’ve seen one.

There are some good deals to be had with gear. These boots that were talked about are a great price right now.

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Stabi Craft 2250 Supercab trim tab size is intriguing. Maybe the flotation pontoon style only needs this amount? I asked if it was just for boat shows and consumers crawling around but they said it’s standard. Manufacturing is still in New Zealand, US fab plant not at operating level yet says the salesperson.

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The Axopar rep did not want to engage in a discussion about waves coming over the bow. He insists he has owned five and never had a problem and they wouldn’t have sold 160 locally if there was an issue. But he did inadvertently tell me that the bottom runs all the way to the front like a canoe, because I did ask him if it was hard to trim up the bow with the motors to get it to ride a bit higher for wave conditions. I didn’t have any luck in getting his email so I could send him some Haulover Inlet videos.


The must have lure for 2023

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Yes, the ABD boats looked well built plus the pricing seemed a better deal. The big centre console with twin 115’s was a nice package.

The scale of that Merc 600 is hard to believe unless you’ve seen one.

There are some good deals to be had with gear. These boots that were talked about are a great price right now.

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Any photos of the cc?
 
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