Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 21, 1993 TAG: 9302210084
SECTION: BOAT SHOW PAGE: BS-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
JUST ADD WATER FOR FUN
Never mind the fact that the boating industry has had to pilot through some rough economic water the past several seasons.The Southwest Virginia Boat Show is being launched not only with enthusiasm but with a surprising number of innovative new craft and new trends, the kind you'd expect to be born of good times, not lean.
Here's a look at the nautical highlights of the show, which opens Friday and runs through Sunday at the Roanoke Civic Center:
Two major manufacturers, Bayliner and Sea Ray, are out with boats that might be the missing link between personal watercraft and runabouts. If you'd like to play some one-upmanship with the crowd buzzing about in water-scooter, jet-ski type rigs, this is your chance.
The Bayliner Jazz will be in the Bay Roc Marina and Yacht Club display, and the Sea Rayder will be shown by Smith Mountain Yacht Club.
Just over 13 feet in length and powered with a lake-scorching 90-h.p. jet engine, the two boats offer the quick, end-swapping performance of a personal water craft. Yet they will haul three passengers side-by-side at speeds up to 40 mph, and keep them dry while doing it.
"It is a real performer," said George Welch, of Bay Roc. "It will turn on a dime."
Others boat makers are certain to climb aboard this trend. The craft come with motor attatched and matching trailer. You just add water for fun.
The 1993 show may have as many center console boats as it does bass boats, the latter having dominated the fishing scene in this region for two decades. One thing fueling the trend is interest in striped bass fishing, and another is the fact that growing numbers of anglers are discovering the room and comfort that a beamy center console offers. The boats also can be trailered to the coast for saltwater action.
Among the major dealers showing center console boats for the first time are Advantage Marine, with the Red-Fin line; Bay Roc Marina and Yacht Club with Aquasport; Hughes Marine with Sea Pro; and Smith Mountain Yacht Club with Laguna by Sea Ray.
Fishing still is quoted as the No. 1 reason people give for buying a boat.
Some boating experts believe the day will come when lakes like Smith Mountain will have as many personal watercraft sizzling across them as they do all other type craft combined. For certain, their number has had startling growth since Gio's began selling the Kawasaki Jet Ski out of its motorcycle shop on Williamson Road in 1978.
Now, just about every boat dealer - and a good many motorcycle shops - handle a personal watercraft line, and that includes major new additions to the field this year: Advantage Marine with the Tigershark line, Beacon Marine with Wave Runner and Conrad Brothers Marine with Polaris and Wetjet.
Deck boats cruised onto the boating scene in the mid-'70s - remember the Viking - then faded. Well, they are back. "In a slightly different form," said Ed Graves, whose Valley Marine Center will show the aluminum Lowe.
The original idea remains, and that is to combine the roomy interior of a pontoon boat with the looks, feel and speed of a runabout. But the new offerings tend to be less boxy looking.
One of the most innovative is the Leisure Cat 26, manufactured by Regal Marine and shown by Magnum Marine. It is built around a high-performance, catamaran deep-V hull for a smooth, solid ride even in rough water. Buck Wood, the owner of Magnum Marine, spotted one at the Chicago boat show and figured it would be ideal for a wake-ravaged weekend on Smith Mountain. He bought one for himself.
Magnum also will be displaying Play Craft deck boats; Bay Rock Marina and Yacht Club will show the 26-foot-long, 8-foot-wide Rendezvous; Webster Marine Center will return to the show with Hurricane deck boats, after selling 25 units last year.
Deck boats rapidly are becoming to boating what mini-vans are to the automobile business.
Runabouts, long the bread-and-butter craft of the boating business, were among the hardest hit during the recession. Dealers hope this will be a turn-around year for the runabout. So expect some sleek models splashed with bright colors to highlight their lineup. Dealers are looking for trades, as well as for people shopping for their first boat.
"I think this will be the year the runabout will start selling again, much better than the last four years," said Graves, whose duties included boat show chairman.
Pontoon boats, along with bass boats, weathered the economic storm better than any other craft.
"Last year we sold out of our '92 pontoons," said Pete Jordan of Webster Marine Center. "There was no recession of pontoons at Smith Mountain Lake. If I'd had a yard full of pontoons, I'd be a very wealthy man."
Nearly every dealer in the show will display pontoons, and that will include Paradise Boating, a new dealership that has grown out of Camper's Paradise on Smith Mountain. Dick Arnold, who's always allocated space for a hefty-size Sea Ray cruiser, is making room for pontoons for the first time. He will handle the Crest line.
Dave Condon, of American Marine & Sail Supply, will be back with the Hunter water ballast sailboats he introduced to the region at last year's show. He expects to display a 19- and 23-footer.
And, yes, the idea caught on. A water-ballast boat lacks a set keel, which means it can be launched easily and operated in fairly shallow water.
"It is lightweight, it sits low on the trailer and it will float right off the trailer," said Condon, who helped design the craft.
Once afloat, a valve draws in water for ballast. At the end of the day you can drain out the ballast and take the boat home, avoiding a mooring fee.
The most innovative offering in marine power this year is electronic fuel injection for stern drive engines. Both OMC and MerCruiser have it, and it is certain to be a standard just a few seasons down the line.