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As luck would have it, my wife needed to attend a conference in Miami this past weekend and the host hotel was only a few blocks from the convention center

I expected the boat show to be big but wasn't prepared for the scope of the event. The show not only took up the whole floor space of the convention center, but about a third of the boats were outside being shown on the grounds, and different areas of the convention center were dedicated solely to items such as engines, electronics, etc... and I didn't even visit the marina slips where the yachts were shown, though I drove by them on the way home with jaws agape...

Will share just a few pics I took as I walked around the grounds and through the center. First few pics show a small fraction of the center from the skywalk...




Triple and quadruple setups appeared to be the order of the day





Coming from a guy running a 90 on a 22' boat, anyone who knows me knows I like running on the lighter/more economical side... but I must admit this boat's looks did catch my eye.



On the other extreme of the multi-motor madness, Evinrude was showing a single 55hp motor w/tiller handle that was actually getting lustful looks. The black ops looks and design didn't hurt. Multi-fuel engine designed for extreme conditions... didn't check on pricing but guessing it costs a pretty penny



These don't do much for me (don't like the lack of "fishability" in the designs ), but there were a ton of 'em available too...



Last but not least, one nice little shearwater/sterling boat... picture doesn't do it justice as it really was one sweet boat.



Showing my true colors, I walked away only a few bucks lighter... found a boat lettering operation on-site that was doing some brisk business and they agreed to beat prices I had found online... next time anyone sees me on the water, the yellow panga will have this on her sides!

I looked in my Closet to see if i had enough cash, and it looks like I would be a little low to go to that show.

Can't wait to see it. You should post some pics once you get it on.

What was that on the prop of the Evinrude motor?

Clearly we are heading for a recession...

Congrats on the name tag Thanks for postin!

Reel Slow wrote:Clearly we are heading for a recession...

Thats because Suber is hording all the cash

great post..........I love the look of the shearwater sterling boat

Barhopr wrote:

Reel Slow wrote:Clearly we are heading for a recession...

Thats because Suber is hording all the cash

Yep, he's too smart to spend it on a boat - with a motor that is

Good Times, the evinrude in the photo is their "jet" model but they also have a prop model too... here's some brief scoop on the models:

Evinrude MFE are the only outboards to provide sufficient horsepower capable of running on multiple fuels including aviation fuels (JP-4, JP-5, JP-8, Jet-A and Jet-B), kerosene, standard gasoline and, in an emergency, diesel fuels. This fuel flexibility meets the U.S. military requirement to remove gasoline from shipboard use... The Evinrude MFE engines are designed for mission flexibility allowing special operations forces to be transported via aircraft or ship without requiring the fuel tanks to be purged and cleaned before deployment. The fuel selection can be changed with the simple flip of a switch, without compromising performance. The two-cylinder 55-hp engine is rope started with a convenient break-down tiller steering arm and is available in two models; a propeller model (E55MRL) and a jet propulsion model (E55MJRL). They include built-in de-watering capabilities necessary when operated in extreme environments. A customized military design enables stealth operation including minimal engine noise, ultra-low emissions, a wrap-around assist handle that is capable of fitting through a 30-inch submarine tube, tilt-assist strap for easy lifting and carrying, and a matte black finish.

By the way, for those of you on the board that like the skinny water boats, did see another model at the show I had not seen before and it had quite an interesting design... believe it was a 16' boat put out by "Chaos Boatworks". Interesting thing about it was that it had the typical skinny profile shared by many of the shallow boats, with the exception of a wide and somewhat rounded fore-deck. Odd look and sure it adds a few ounces but couldn't help but wonder if it wouldn't add a tiny degree of dryness to the boat's ride the way the boat transitioned from a v-front to the wide deck... will be interested to know if anyone else on the board has seen the model. Kicking myself for not having taken a good photo, as even the Chaos Boatworks' own website doesn't really show a great picture.

Finally, Suber definitely should have gone in my place in consideration of his closet of cash! I spent most of the trip walking around with only a $2 bill in my wallet (saved it about a month ago after receiving it as change).

Found a few low-res pics (of boats being sold on boattrader.com) that show the large rounded fore-deck of the chaos 16' boat I described in my last post.






It's such an odd looking design it grabs the attention... just can't decide if it's in a good way or bad Still, would think that the larger footspace would offer a few positives for the trade-off it might give away in a wee bit more material weight - one being a dry ride, another being the large casting area, and possibly even a bit more storage space (tiny bit more since the round area doesn't go down much before transferring into the "v"). Again, no personal interest from my standpoint as I'm plenty happy with my current Panga... just sharing for those of you that have interest in the dedicated skinny-water boats. Also curious to hear if anyone on the board has ever been on one & to hear any opinions.

Finally got around to installing the boat lettering I purchased at the show. Boat FINALLY named (this about a year after my putting a poll up on the board!)...




Now having attended my first BBF social and publicly sharing pics of the named boat, so much for anonymity! If you see me out on the water, don't follow me as I rarely catch any fish and have no idea what I'm doing

Just one funny note to add on the boat lettering, as I shared in post above the lettering was the only money I spent at the show and I found the lettering at about 1/3 the cost of any other places/sites I had checked. If you look closely at the lettering you'll see it's full of "chipped" spots. Turns out I just got EXTREMELY lucky, as when the lettering folks were etching the lettering, the machine took about 10 fold the time to etch the chips versus the straight lettering they did on most other orders they were working on that day. Owner said I was one lucky man, as they would never offer that font again without dramatically increasing price They did their best to hide the end results as I think they were scared to death someone else would see the style and ask how much I paid I tried to offer them a little extra for the trouble, but the owner said they had missed their promised completion time for me to pick up the work and they would stick by their promised quote with a valuable lesson gained on their end related to the font in question

BBG

That lettering loks GREAT on your boat. I really like the name too! Hope to see you on the water!

That looks good BBG. We'll be looking for ya.

Thats a flair that is used on a lot of those 60' and 72' Super Sport type boats. A lot of NC boats are made like that too.

Nice looking boat!