The Boat Show

[PinHead]

I did go along for a short time this arvo. I do owe Scott Mitchell an apology..all the bloody boats there are overpriced not just yours Scott. I did not get the chance to talk to Scott..he was busy eating lollies at the desk with the Haines gals. I did catch up with Bill Corten..always great to have a chat with a true gentleman.
I cannot believe some of the prices that are on the price tags there...I know I would not think about a bigger boat with the prices quoted there.

Best bang for buck..2101 Striper...89K
345 Whaler Conquest..549k..aweome boat.

[burleygu]

maybe i shouldnt go there to buy a couple of new hds's??? should i even bother?

[littlemac]

hey pin head, how much were the lollies and did they sell them in bulk haha

cheers

brett

[Tangles]

so how many motors on the whaler?

[Spaniard_King]

so how many motors on the whaler?

3 Verado's 2 fities

Caught up with Smithy this morning, seem to be a lot less than usual. Seemed to be well spread out. Did't see anything worth mention.

[Smithy]

Did about 3 laps in 3 hours and was over it by then. Probably first time ever. Talks were not just fishing talks, they were boating talks with yachties and stuff doing some of the presos. Caught up with Garry and Willo, Frankoo, Kitty Katt Wayne, Matty Fraser shopping for his new motor and a few other familiar faces on their regular stands. Had a good chat to the TMQ boys and the prices on their bullet proof autopilots have come way down to a level where they are the same as Coursemasters etc. They are definately on the shopping list.

[Scott Mitchell]

I did go along for a short time this arvo. I do owe Scott Mitchell an apology..all the bloody boats there are overpriced not just yours Scott. I did not get the chance to talk to Scott..he was busy eating lollies at the desk with the Haines gals. I did catch up with Bill Corten..always great to have a chat with a true gentleman.
I cannot believe some of the prices that are on the price tags there...I know I would not think about a bigger boat with the prices quoted there.

Best bang for buck..2101 Striper...89K
345 Whaler Conquest..549k..aweome boat.

Thanks for your feedback Pinhead - shame we missed each other again :P

There are some great buys available - especially electronics - I purchased a new 55lb ipilot for a mate for $1750- ;)

Please introduce yourself if you make it in - Scotto

[charleville]

It was not that long ago that I attended all of these boating shows each year and sat glued to every word from the seminar presenters, taking copious notes.

Unfortunately, I find that there is now not enough in the seminar programs to attract me and to justify the $31 cost of the entry and parking. This is especially true of this show since it has less of a fishing focus. Also, there is usually a bit of the "same old, same old" feeling in relation to the exhibitors. Then, when Whitworths run a 15% off sale to coincide with the show, it hardly seems worth the effort to go, so I am not going yet again.





.

[matt fraser]

It was worthwhile for me this year as I was actually shopping, and it was great place to gather information and prices from a host of different dealers.

I would have been happy to pay $31 for the day, but all Convention centre carparks were full by 11.30am and I had to park in Southbank carpark - $36..... bend over, thank you very much! plus $16 entry to show. The carparks weren't full with Boat show patrons, as it was pretty empty. I dare say it will be easier to get a park there on the weekend than weekdays.

I don't know why BIAQ keep running it there, I dare say it's more expensive for exhibitors too. I'd love to see it back at the RNA.

Cheers,

Matt

[charleville]

I don't know why BIAQ keep running it there, I dare say it's more expensive for exhibitors too. I'd love to see it back at the RNA.



Agreed. I suspect that 98% of people go by car and the RNA has plenty of space for parking at $10.

Other shows like the Working with Wood Show seem to do very well at the RNA.

.

[Boat Hog]

Best bang for buck..2101 Striper...89K


They are a great boat at that price Pinhead, but it's a 3 month wait when you order one.

Good thing I ordered one 2 months ago8-).

One month to go ... Woo Hooo.... ;D;D

Cheers,

[PinHead]

you won't be disappointed BH..have had one and loved it.
Cunninghams have 3 coming over now.

[Axl]

I went up today to have a look at the Formosa MK3 c/c range. Ended up settling on the 5.5m with a 115h/p 2 yammy stroke I was originaly going there for the 5.2m with a 90. They are a nice looking rig to me they look very strong and tough with a huge beam. My budget wont let me go for one of the true plate boats so the Formosa 5.5m c/c at the price I was qouted will do eveything I need, now to sell my current rig and seal the deal I cant wait.

[Blusta]

RNA for me

[fisho8]

Was there this afternoon had a good look around at the tinny pacakges in the 4.0-4.2 catagory. Going to go a Stacer 420 Rampage with a 30hp 3 cylinder Yami 2 stroke and Garmin sounder. Big Al's bait and Tackle were selling Gulp Plastics 4 for $20.00 thought that was a good buy. Had a talk to the guys at Sunfish aswell. Plenty of really nice boats there and plenty of people to. The boys at the Northside marine display introduced me to Neville Whittley and I had a good talk to him real nice bloke. I do agree it would be better at the RNA as everyone was really crammed in there I would say the Cunnighams display was one of the biggest there. The Lady who owned Blue Fin Boats got very angry at me for taking photo's on one of their boats saying that I better not be taking photo's to copy it which I found very rude. I laughed at her and said I was thinking of buying this boat and taking some pics to show the missus I pulled out my business card and showed her that I did not work for any boat builder and that I worked for an Insurance Company told her she can stick her boat where the sun don't shine and walked away. Other than that I had a great afternoon.

[AnthonyL]

I would think if you were taking pics it would be a good thing as you must have been interested. I know when we were there last year we took pics of all the boats we were interested in so we could go through them later at home as they can start to look a lot alike.

Very rude of the bluefin rep to do that and not a good business move.

[fisho8]

Seems it did not come across that way to her Anthony She stated to me She was the Owner of Blue Fin Boats......Seeing the Owner of the Brand/Business carrying on like that disspointed me a bit because I do like the Bluefin Brands. Their loss really.

[Skusto]

Was there this afternoon had a good look around at the tinny pacakges in the 4.0-4.2 catagory. Going to go a Stacer 420 Rampage with a 30hp 3 cylinder Yami 2 stroke and Garmin sounder. Big Al's bait and Tackle were selling Gulp Plastics 4 for $20.00 thought that was a good buy. Had a talk to the guys at Sunfish aswell. Plenty of really nice boats there and plenty of people to. The boys at the Northside marine display introduced me to Neville Whittley and I had a good talk to him real nice bloke. I do agree it would be better at the RNA as everyone was really crammed in there I would say the Cunnighams display was one of the biggest there. The Lady who owned Blue Fin Boats got very angry at me for taking photo's on one of their boats saying that I better not be taking photo's to copy it which I found very rude. I laughed at her and said I was thinking of buying this boat and taking some pics to show the missus I pulled out my business card and showed her that I did not work for any boat builder and that I worked for an Insurance Company told her she can stick her boat where the sun don't shine and walked away. Other than that I had a great afternoon.

hi have a 420 rampage with a 40 2 stroke on it and its a great tinny well set up does 50 ks with one person have fun with your new toy
bevan

[AnthonyL]

Seems it did not come across that way to her Anthony She stated to me She was the Owner of Blue Fin Boats......Seeing the Owner of the Brand/Business carrying on like that disspointed me a bit because I do like the Bluefin Brands. Their loss really.

Yes their loss for sure, plenty of other good boats around. Do bluefin have their own stand?

I used to have one and was happy with it other than the floor rotting out as it didnt have marine ply in it but i dont know if they are fitted by the builder or dealer.

[fisho8]

Yeah Bevan I am going for a run in one this week with Jason (Salesman) with the 40hp on the back. We are taking some rods with us to and will be throwing a line in to. Just want to watch the $$ the bank manager has set me a budget haha if you know what I mean.::)

[fisho8]

Yes their loss for sure, plenty of other good boats around. Do bluefin have their own stand?

I used to have one and was happy with it other than the floor rotting out as it didnt have marine ply in it but i dont know if they are fitted by the builder or dealer.

No Anthony not that I saw anyway they were with Broardwater Boating so I assume they sell them along with the Quinny's.

[bluefin59]

Agreed. I suspect that 98% of people go by car and the RNA has plenty of space for parking at $10.

Other shows like the Working with Wood Show seem to do very well at the RNA.

.


The industrial pavilion that is being redeveloped at the moment will be 11,000 sq mt of exhibition centre and car parking so it may swing that way in the future you would think ,its a massive area now that everything is gone but the facade . And they started hauling rock and fill out this week .Matt

[thelump]

Yeah lots of nice boats and lots of people. Did buy a Flueger overhead from Big Als for 95 clams. Thought that was alright value.

[Lovey80]

I headed to the show yesterday and I have to agree with pinhead. Most of these boats are so so so over priced. Half of them probably wont be around when the show comes around next year or the year after. Some shockingly poor quality on some of these plate boats, if this is the quality of boat they bring to the show, to show the masses their product, I would hate to see the result of an ordered one. Of all the boats there (compared to others) I would have to say that the sailfish 21 footer was the best buy. At 89k for that model with twin 75Hondas and change out of 100k with twin 90 Vtecs, hard top and anchor winch I thought was a decent price.

I happened to stop in at the DPI tent and get a brochure about the green zones. It seems who ever they put on yesterday morning is just as bigger moron as the people that actually did the zoning. After quizzing him on the zone in the "paddock" and after we both agreed that Rec Fishers had no reason to anchor in the paddock as it is pretty much a sand desert bottom and fishers only chase pelagic in that area during summer....his previous response that DPI were NOT overlapping DPI mandate because they were protecting habitat not fish directly change to one of words to the effect of "if ya don't do somethin mate there will be nothing left" So after we came to a logical agreement that fishers towing a lure through the paddock or spinning for tuna/mackerel were not damaging habbitat in any way shape or form I asked the logical question, "so why is it a green zone with a total fishing ban, instead of a purple sone where fishing is allowed but anchoring is not"? His response was "well they had to pick a colour didn't they mate"..... At that point I walked away shaking my head wondering if he actually was aware that different zone other than full no take are even an option or if he was just saying they just picked "green" as the colour.

With idiots like this at the EPI no wonder it is a corrupt, useless institution.

[Fishbait]

I went up today to have a look at the Formosa MK3 c/c range. Ended up settling on the 5.5m with a 115h/p 2 yammy stroke I was originaly going there for the 5.2m with a 90. They are a nice looking rig to me they look very strong and tough with a huge beam. My budget wont let me go for one of the true plate boats so the Formosa 5.5m c/c at the price I was qouted will do eveything I need, now to sell my current rig and seal the deal I cant wait.
Congratulations - I saw these boats at the show as well, very nice and well finished off - very beamy boat - i wish you all the best with it mate, Darren.

[winston]

Well Guys, I thought there were a couple of standouts at the boatshow. The 5.7 m yellowfin with a lot of kit including trim tabs on a dual axle aluminium trailer at $60 K was exceptional value. The Brooker 4.1 centre console at ~12k was great. I should also admit that my decision to buy a Stessl 5.6 m half cabin at last years show was confirmed to be the correct choice. This is the right boat at the right price for me. Cheers Winston.

[Greg P]

Went Friday after work for an hour or so. It was ok and a few nice boats. The voyager cat looked nice but I have read a few horror stories about that guy.

Couple of interesting boat catches there - the Barcatcher and the one on the larger Surtees built trailers looked excellent - so simple



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[scoota]

The Barcrusher catch looked the goods to me Greg.
Parking was a joke on Thursday with 15 minutes driving round at 10.15am to find a spot on the lower carpark and the displays pretty well spread out and hardly anyone there.
If we didn't have the RACQ two for one I think the value just ain't there considering the lack of dealers and manufacturers.
Did enjoy my first look at the Evolution 552 a very impressive boat of the year in its class considering the competion. OMM look like ther making a quality product and the Surtees and Barcrushers always impress me but as for the rest they seemed overpriced or lacked quality.
Won't be racing back next year...

Scoota...

[Moonlighter]

Went Friday after work for an hour or so. It was ok and a few nice boats. The voyager cat looked nice but I have read a few horror stories about that guy.

Couple of interesting boat catches there - the Barcatcher and the one on the larger Surtees built trailers looked excellent - so simple



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I didnt bother going this year - reports were that exhibitors numbers were down and there wasnt anything that I was looking to buy.

I can vouch for the Surtees boat catch - they work an absolute treat and the design and operation is simplicity itself. But as far as I know you can only get them on a Surtees Trailer, are not available to my knowledge as a separate purchase.

As for the BC version, now that Surtees previous sales Manager works for them, no doubt they have come up with their "own" version of that, too.

Cheers

ML

[craigie]

Got around in a couple of hours Sunday Arvo.

Think I'll be keeping my current rig for a few more years yet........

I did fall in love with the blinged up 2100 Tournament Centre Console, hmm the flexiteak floor looked awesome !!
Having said that, it' full price tag of over 80k would buy a lot of boat from the States at the moment !!!!

Spoke to a couple of exibitors, they were saying things were very slow."........

Cheers
Craigie

[AnthonyL]

We went in for a couple of hours yesterday and it looked the most quiet I have ever seen it.

[lethal098]

I spent all day there yesterday and 3 hours on Saturday afternoon. No i wasnt looking at boats I was fundraising for the Coastguard and blowing up all those life rings.

Most of the Guys i spoke to over the weekend said it was very quiet all round, late Saturday afternoon it was a ghost town, i walked around haveing a squiz and very quiet indeed, there were more exhibitors than public there.

Glad it didnt cost me anything thats for sure.

Cheers Lee

[Coontakinta]

Unfortunately, I find that there is now not enough in the seminar programs to attract me and to justify the $31 cost of the entry and parking. This is especially true of this show since it has less of a fishing focus. Also, there is usually a bit of the "same old, same old" feeling in relation to the exhibitors. Then, when Whitworths run a 15% off sale to coincide with the show, it hardly seems worth the effort to go, so I am not going yet again.


Interesting read & comments in previous pages.
Interesting because the talk is much the same when discussing our boat show in Adelaide, with many suggesting that the interstate product is far superior to that which we are dished up.
I was interested to read that the cost of entry is very similar, with $15 being the asking price for our show & the offer of two for one's on week days.
Ours too was moved from the show grounds to a CBD location for many years making access & parking expensive & difficult. Only this year the show was again returned to the showgrounds helping to keep the cost of visiting down.
Like Charlie suggests, ours too seems to be much of the same year in year out with little or no emphasis on fishing, although I guess it is a "Boat Show" & not a fishing & boating show.
If some promoter could make the shows cheaper to enter as a family, have boats more in more realistic price range for said families, mixed in with some dedicated fishing talk & deals, in a venue more conducive to better access & facilities I think they would increase the numbers walking through the door quite significantly.

[copie]

Well i went on saturday and spent almost 4 hours there, we go almost every year and yes i enjoyed it and would have stayed longer but work got in the way of that.
Having said that i think a lot more could be there and people would be more interested. I am a general boating family and fisher inshore and offshore. I would like to see more tackle (quality) and more boat bits, stailess work like targa and bait board makers, canopy and trimmers, fibre glass restores and repairers and more electronics bits. Just my opinion.
Mark.

[littlemac]

the only thing that got my attention was the 5600 sailfish reef runner-sweet looking thing

cheers

brett

[smclaren]

I got there on Friday arvo and took a customer along (who is a boat nut). He is actually at the start of a wooden boat build project, so the display and demo from the Wooden Boat Club in the foyer area was a real highlight for him.

The highlight for me was the new Cruise Craft 595 Outsider on display. The new hull design and new length should be a winner when the economy comes good and blokes start buying boats again. Perfect size for most punters wanting to fish safely & comfortably outside. I actually liked the brown colour too ... but my customer reckoned it looked like crap ('scuz the pun). Hopefully someone will buy one and write a report on it on Ausfish.

Good to see Lifestyle Boats from Caloundra there ... a small builder still swinging in tough times !

The general Vibe of the show was flat ... but Friday arvo's are never a good indication.