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CENTRAL VIRGINA’S LARGEST BOAT SHOW OPENS JAN. 11 WITH POWER AND SAILBOATS UP TO 43 FEET
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
RICHMOND, VA – The 4th Annual MAC Events Virginia Boat Show – Richmond will feature a wide range of watercraft that include offshore express cruisers up to 42 feet, cruising sailboats and a variety of sport boats that address family-boating needs when it opens January 11 at the Greater Richmond Convention Center.
“This show has the distinction of being the largest indoor boat show in central Virginia and the exhibits demonstrate the wide range of pleasure boating in the region,” said show director Kevin McLaughlin, vice president of MAC Events. “The show also is the only one that offers both power boats and sailboats, including several fully rigged models.”
The Convention Center offers a convenient location covering 5½ city blocks in the heart of the capital city. The three-day show will fill the convention center’s more than 178,000 square feet of exhibit space. Parking is easy with adjoining decks that can accommodate 1,540 vehicles and almost 4,600 additional parking spaces within a six-block radius.
“In addition to being a beautiful new facility, the Greater Richmond Convention Center is the only indoor venue in the region with room to handle the more than 250 boats on exhibit and it is the only exhibition space large enough to accommodate the big boats at the show such as the new 42-foot Silverton Convertible Cruiser and the Hunter 36 cruising sailboat,” McLaughlin said.
The Sportsman’s Magazine, Virginia’s largest outdoors publication, will present fishing seminars throughout the three-day show. The area’s top anglers cover tips and techniques that work in the region’s rivers, bays and lakes as well as offshore. The Sportsman also will offer free fishing classes for kids on Saturday and Sunday.
MAC Events recently acquired the Bassarama Fishing Show from Tangier Productions Inc. of Fredericksburg and is incorporating it into the Richmond Boat Show.
“The addition of the Bassarama Show brings in a number of local vendors specializing in fishing gear, boating accessories, marinas and varied services, and will add an extra dimension for fishermen to our show,” McLaughlin said. “The fusion of these two events has created a more comprehensive show.”
But the main attraction remains the extraordinary variety of boats that will fill the exhibition hall.
The show’s 250 boats represent a variety of models and prices in every segment of boating, from cruisers to sport boats as well as state-of-the-art fishing boats, houseboats, bass boats, both power and sailing catamarans, rigid-hull inflatables and personal watercraft. The manufacturers represented include Boston Whaler, Cruiser Yachts, Carolina Classic, Regal Boats, C-Hawk, Pro-Line, Baja, Fountain, Ranger, Sea Ray, Polar, Judge Yachts, Silverton, Gecko, Sugar Sand Jet Boats, Glacier Bay Catamarans, Bennington, Monterey, Grand Banks, Albin and many more.
Master Marine of Williamsburg will exhibit express cruisers by Regal Boats, including the 38-foot 3760 Regal as well as its little sisters, the 3360 Regal and 3060 Regal.
The 3760 Regal is a high-performance luxury express yacht with aggressive styling married to Regal's OceanTrac® Hull design that delivers speeds of 50 mph. With a 12-foot 2-inch beam and 19-degree dead rise in the bow the 3760 delivers a comfortable offshore ride with smooth handling even in heavy conditions. Options include a hardtop and a European aft sundeck.
The Richmond Boat Show features a wide range of craft ideal for family boating lifestyles and budgets. The exhibit of Adams & Durvin Marine of Richmond will include Bryant Boats’ new 21-foot bowrider as well as the popular Polar 23 walk-around.
“The 21-foot bowrider is a more affordable Bryant, although it still is a custom boat,” said sales manager Richard Allen. “This boat appeals to upscale boaters, particularly those living on lakes. It retails around $45,000 but we will have it available at a substantial discount for the show.”
The Polar 23, with twin Honda 135-hp engines, garners a lot of attention at boat shows, according to Allen, because its features give the Polar 23 cruising capability as well as fishing agility. Creature comforts include six-foot headroom, a microwave and a refrigerator as well as a porcelain bowl vacuum-flush head and dockside power hookup.
“You fish off it without losing the creature comforts. I usually sell out of this boat early in the season,” Allen said. While it normally lists in the $70,000s, Adams & Durvin will offer the Polar 23 in the $60,000s at the Richmond Boat Show.
Norton Yachts of Deltaville will demonstrate the ease of boat handling and comfort available to cruising sailors with its exhibit of the updated Hunter 36. Hunter added a full cherry interior with Corian countertops while maintaining the ambiance of natural light below and the sailboat maker continues to refine the large sloop’s handling characteristics. Priced around $150,000, the Hunter 36 will be available with a special incentive for the show.
“This model has always been a runaway success,” said Carolyn Norton Schmalenberger of Norton Yachts. “We have an innovative cockpit traveler arch to simplify the handling of the mainsail and it is reached easily from the Helm. The boat is set up for short-handed cruisers. One person can sail this boat. The Hunter also is a very fast boat so you can get there.”
The show also offers dozens of booth exhibitors covering marine accessories and services as well as boating apparel, fishing tackle, boatlifts and marinas.
The show again will feature the Hawg Trough, a 45-foot glass tank that holds 5,500 gallons of water and allows spectators to see large bass strike lures and try to avoid being caught.
Billed as the largest mobile aquarium in the world, the Hawg Trough is a great teaching tool.
“This is a big boat show and it presents an opportunity to crawl around more boats in a few hours than you could examine in two or three days of driving from one dealer to another,” McLaughlin said. “Plus, dealers really sharpen their pencils to make a sale when they know you can talk to their competition just a few exhibits away.”
The 4th Annual MAC Events Boat Show – Richmond will be open Friday, Jan. 11, from 1:00 pm to 9:00 pm, Saturday, Jan. 12, from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm, and on Sunday, Jan. 13, from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm. Admission is $8.00 for adults and $6.00 for children 12 through 17. Children 11 and under are admitted free. Seniors can take advantage of a Friday special admission price of $6.00 and couples can take advantage of two-for-one date-night admission after 6:00 pm on Friday and Saturday.
The Richmond Boat Show is produced by MAC Events, a nationally recognized producer of high-quality business-to-consumer trade shows in a variety of industries and markets since 1968. The Spring Lake, NJ-based family-owned company produces approximately 20 recreational vehicle, home, boat and flower & garden shows a year throughout New Jersey, Rhode Island and Virginia and is a source of market research for the recreational vehicle, boating and home improvement industries.
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