Pontoon & Deck Boat

Boat shows can be kind of a wintertime addiction for me. I like the smell of the fiberglass and the activity a show offers. I also think it keeps me motivated and excited about the upcoming boating season. Or maybe boat shows are a boat manufacturer "conspiracy" to keep us buying new boats. Hmm… Anyway, back in February I checked out what I consider to be one of the "super bowls" of boat shows, The Miami International Boat Show. I used to go regularly, give a few presentations and drool over the boats, imagining my next 80's era Miami Vice cigarette style boat. Unfortunately, I was only able to go for the weekend this year. I would like to have attended all week because there is just too much to see in one or two days. Actually, I am not sure you can see all of it in five days, but I gave it a good boater's attempt. The Miami show like most shows is a great way to shop all the things a boater needs. You can look at boats, engines and accessories all in one location. It saves you days of searching the Internet and driving to different dealers. One thing I found interesting, besides all the really cool gadgets, is the size of the boats and the engines at the show. Sure, there are small boats like inflatable rigids and fishing boats under 20 feet, but most of the attention at the show is on "big" boats and engines. Which brings up what is a "big boat" anyway? When I was growing up in central Iowa, our big boats were about 20 feet. There were a few bigger boats on the lake every now and then but not as common as they are now. Personally, I'm thinking "big" is over 26 feet. Why? The rules in insurance often change at 26, such as how far off shore you can go and if you need a survey or training courses. There are also a few changes with the Coast Guard and some of the state laws when a watercraft is longer than 26 feet. Therefore, that seems to be where the "big" boat category starts. If you go to the boat shows (or read some of the other magazine reviews), it would appear the main boat market is 30- to 40-foot and even 50-foot boats. I was amazed how many over 30-foot sailboats were on display in Miami. And not just sailboats. The number of over 30-foot cruisers and sport fishing boats, wow! From what you see at the show no one is buying a 20-footer any more. To go with those "big" boats are big engines. Mercury, Honda, Evinrude, Suzuki and Yamaha are all putting out new high horsepower outboards. Oh, and outboard manufacturer Seven Marine has the 527 and 627 engines powered by a V8 engine block. Yes, you read that correctly: 527 and 627 horsepower outboard engines. I am an outboard fan but I have to say, where will the horsepower race stop? Back to the boat size, all these big "show boats" give the image of a market that is leaving us small boat owners behind. So before getting caught up in "big boat show fever" let me share a few statistics. I might have shared this in the past but here it is again. The 2015 National Marina Manufacturers' Association's (NMMA) report released January 4, 2017, estimated that there are over 12.1 million boats in the U.S. In 2015 that included over 238,000 NEW powerboats sold and over 958,000 pre-owned boats sold. That is a huge number of boats. Which makes sense when you start going to the boat shows; look around, there are hundreds if not thousands of people shopping for boats. But from the NMMA report it was also discovered that almost 95 percent of boats on the water (powerboats, personal watercraft, and sailboats) in the U.S. are small in size at less than 26 feet in length and are boats that can be trailered by a vehicle to local waterways." That is good news to me. I feel good that as an owner of a 20-foot pontoon I am part of the majority. I do like horsepower and it would be cool to have a pontoon powered by the Seven Marine 627 horsepower outboard. However, they say the outboard alone starts at $70,000, but just think how much pontoon you can buy for the price of just one outboard. Staying In 'Toon Boating tips and observations with Sky Smith What Do You Consider To Be A Big Boat? By Sky Smith www.pdbmagazine.com Pontoon & Deck Boat May 2018 54

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