CTS - 2000 Austin Boat Show

The Austin Boat Show came to Austin's Convention Center again this year on January 27-30, 2000. I attended the show on Saturday, January 29. Except for the small change in placement of a few of the dealers and the kid's fishing pond, I really didn't notice much difference between this year and last. No new boat dealers or marine supply vendors to speak of (except West Marine's booth). So, I will not bore you with photographs that look almost identical to last year's. I entertained myself by photographing the different outboard motors; these "big boys" are not something you'd hang off the stern of your sailboat..

The "Accessory Showcase" area just outside the main exhibit hall had the usual fishing guides, sailing schools (Corpus Christi Sailing Center and the Texas Sailing Academy), waterski accessories, prop welding specialists, and marina representatives. Even the roof rain-gutter vendor returned. The Texas Parks & Wildlife and Coast Guard also had manned booths.

The main exhibit hall was packed with the usual powerboat dealers showing the same powerboats. I cannot be certain, but the high-performance powerboats seemed to be somewhat fewer this year. Could it be because of the LCRA's upcoming 92 decibel noise restriction on Lake Travis? The powerboats could be generally broken down into high-performance, runabout, ski/wakeboard, fishing, cabin cruiser, pontoon, and PWC (personal water craft). Maybe its because I am no longer interested in powerboats, but they are all starting to look the same. Take a look at the floor of the convention center. Looks almost like a car dealer's lot . . . many boats are almost exactly the same except for color or minor changes in accessories. And, what about quality? I'm sure there have been many improvements during the last few years, but gone are the natural materials . . . namely, teak. Fiberglass, plastic and vinyl are the low-maintenance materials of the day. And, not just on the exteriors where you would expect to see them. I was surprised to see stuffed vinyl bulkhead coverings, poor quality hardware and other cheap materials on the large (expensive) cabin cruisers. I was especially disappointed in the 38' SeaRay. What happened to the fine woods (teak, mahogany, cherry) and comfortable fabrics? This is one area where sailboats today have the powerboats beat.

And what about sailboats? They were not well represented again this year. Sail & Ski (the local Hunter dealer) had not one sailboat on the floor. The Sailboat Shop was the only dealer in attendance to show sailboats and his were limited to a Sunfish, Hobie catamaran, Catalina 16.5, a few of the small polyethelene Escapes and three or four plastic kayaks. They did have brochures on Catalinas ranging in size from the 22MKII to the 30MKIII, but I'd rather step aboard the real thing.

Why don't the local sailboat dealers display a few of their models over 20'? Although last year was my first year to attend the boat show in almost a decade, I do remember seeing the larger sailboats represented years ago. I suspect the economics play a large part. Sailboats are not favored as much as powerboats (especially in Austin) and the dealers typically have to purchase boats from the manufacturer to show them at boat shows. Is it surprising that the small volume sailboat dealerships in Austin choose not to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in boats just to show them at the annual boat show? No.

Data supplied by the National Marine Manufacturer's Association (NMMA) tells the real story. Registered sailboats (nation-wide in 1999) totaled 1,696,000 or about 10% of all recreational boats owned. While sailboat sales have never matched those for powerboats, sailboat sales as a percentage of total boat sales have dropped from 17% in 1980 to 4% in 1998. Surprisingly, the NMMA estimates 27,800 sailboats will be sold in 1999 (an increase of 43% over 1998 sales . . . no explanation given). I doubt these expectations were reached.

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The hard, cold reality is that sailing just isn't as popular as powerboating. Sailboats are still being built by a number of manufacturers including Catalina, Hunter, Beneteau, Hake (Seaward), ComPac, Tartan, Jeanneau, and Pacific Seacraft. And, of course, there are the custom and semi-custom built boats such as the Hinckleys, the Aldens, Ted Hood's Little Harbors, and Sam L. Morse Co.'s Bristol Channel Cutters. But, if you want to step aboard any of these boats before you buy, you're going to have to attend one of the larger national boat shows such as the Strictly Sail shows in Chicago, Miami, and Hartford (CT) or the Annapolis Boat Show (MD) or even the Houston In-the-Water Boat Show held in Kemah/Clear Lake each fall. Most of the boats listed above are not even represented by Austin dealers. [Note: If you want to read about and see beautiful photographs of the many custom boats available today, you need to purchase Ferenc Maté's "The World's Best Sailboats: A Survey" © 1986 published by Albatross Publishing. This would be a great book to own for "shopping" purposes after you win the lotto.]

So, what will it take to make our local boat show more "sailing" oriented? Maybe if the nouveau riche in Austin start spending their money on sailboats instead of off-shore racing boats, our sailboat dealerships will be able to make a better showing at the Austin Boat Show. Until then, don't expect many changes.

[MTM - 02/01/00]