SMOOTH SAILING
Big weekend boat show starts Friday
QUEENSBURY, N.Y. » Twenty-two dealers, 35 vendors, 175 boats and one door to put them all through.
Plus 4,000 visitors who will be scrambling through entrances for this weekend’s Great Upstate New York Boat Show in Queensbury, the largest event of its kind between New York and Montreal.
The three-day show, at the massive Adirondack Sports Complex Dome, opens at 11 a.m. Friday and runs through 5 p.m. Sunday with a variety of features including contests and seminars.
“If you’re going to buy a boat this is the place to buy it,” said Tom Carringi, owner of Point Breeze Marina on Saratoga Lake. “You have all the top dealers in the area. It’s a fantastic year. We’ve already topped our sales from any other year. In addition to an improved economy, a lot of people have retired and want to have fun with their families, grandchildren and kids.”
“Last year was a nice summer, but we only had two days above 90 degrees . This year we’re going to break the record by far,” he said optimistically.
Point Breeze has 22 craft on display including pontoons, Glastron fiberglass deck boats and several different types of fishing
boats. The highest priced model is a $100,000 Crownline deck boat, although Crownline cruisers back at the Point Breeze showroom fetch up to $250,000, Carringi said.
“The problem everybody has this year is that factories are oversold,” he said. “You won’t be able to order anything after April. If you do order it in April you won’t get it until July.”
The show is organized by the Eastern New York Marine Trades Association, which covers an area from Canada to the Mid-Hudson Valley.
Buyers come from throughout upstate New York, New England, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
“There’s a little bit of everything here such as bowriders, ski boats and wakeboard boats,” Executive Director Joel Holden said. “There’s even a couple of rowboats. So it’s large and small.”
Pontoon boats are the hottest sellers.
“They’ve been really popular lately,” Holden said. “The designs and layouts have been pretty amazing. It seems to be more than half the market in this area right now.”
Last year, 170 boats overall were purchased at the show and Holden said he’s anticipating even more sales in 2018.
“All the other shows have been trending upward,” he said. “We’re expecting to see a 6-7 percent increase this year. Dealers are under one roof and fighting for the business. They’re offering the best manufacturer rebates and discounts.” For hours, directions and more information including a schedule of events go to: thegreatupstateboatshow. com.