This years Richmond Boat show was hosted at the Richmond Raceway just a couple blocks off of interstate 95. Getting down there was a breeze, 2 hours flew right by and we were there. The accommodations were nice, plenty of free parking, shuttle buses to transport us between the buildings, and plenty of signs to guide you around. All in all, it was really a great event.
Since we're wakeboarders, we were only really interested in the following exhibitors: Chessie Marine, Cutting Edge Watersports, North Atlantic Marine Group, Performance Boats, Ski Boats Unlimited, and Southern Ski Boats.
Chessie Marine - Charlottesville, VA and Elkton, MD
Chessie Marine wins the A+ sales man award for the day. It only took Carson Thompson (Carson on DCWake.com) about 5 seconds to ask if Sivodd and I were from DCWake.com, and this without any mention of a website, names, or any other identifying information. Additionally, Carson made 5 extra credit points by correctly pronouncing "Sivodd".
On display for Chessie Marine were a Super Air Nautique 216 TE (Team Edition), and Black Centurion Avalanche with Storm I and Graphics Package, and a White Centurion Air Warrior. I was surprised to not see the Blue Malibu 247 from the Baltimore show, but was subsequently informed that yesterday (Saturday) was the setup day for the Washington Boat show, so most of their boats and gear were being setup at the DC Convention Center. None the less, Carson answered all my questions regarding the Centurions including available options, hull design, sales practices, and crunched down some numbers to give me an idea of how much ramen I would be eating a week should we purchase a new boat. It was a great boat sales experience, but more importantly, I learned some about what FreeStyle has going on. They're opening a new shop at Lake Anna this season and have been having great success with their wakeboard school (also located at Lake Anna). They're working on getting a pro to sign up as an instructor, identity has yet to be confirmed. I think we can look forward to some good things in the future from Chessie and FreeStyle, hopefully using DCWake.com to help drive up awareness.
Thanks again to the Chessie/FreeStyle crew, specifically Carson for the time he spent with us and the knowledge shared.
If you're interested in Talking to Carson about the latest from Chessie/FreeStyle here is the contact information:
Carson Thompson -
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Cutting Edge Watersports - Chesapeake, VA
Cutting Edge gets the A+ award for having the hottest boat on the block. If you checked out our photos from the Virginia Beach Boat Show, you probably already know what I'm talking about; that's right, the HOT PINK MALIBU 247. This boat is the ultimate princess boat, PINK EVERYWHERE!!! I don't know how well Malibu does with sales on this color option, but that boat is a great marketing tool, everyone was stopping to basque in its awkwardness.
Jimmy Lane was the man on the floor, very knowledgeable in all things Malibu, short winded and to the point when answering my questions, and was happy to joke around about "Pretty in Pink". I was thrilled to see that Cutting Edge had taken the time to put price sheets on each of the boats outlining the specific options in the demo model, MSRP price tag, and Boat Show price tag. I was blown away by some of the prices: 2006 Malibu XTI ride edition: $41k, 2006 Malibu LSV: $44k (didn't see the tag myself, but when I asked how much more the V drive was from the XTI, Jimmy said a couple thousand), and a 2006 Malibu 247 (this one was blue) whose price tag I didn't even look at.
I enjoyed the boats from Cutting Edge and appreciated that they had displayed all the pricing and option information clearly on every boat.
If you're interested in talking to Jimmy about Malibus, here is the contact information:
Jimmy Lane -
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North Atlantic Marine Group - Annapolis, MD, Ocean City, MD, Woodbridge, VA, Virginia Beach, VA.
I want to start by saying that the folks from the NAMG in Woodbridge, VA. are among the best people I've ever met. I have experience with the sales department, the service department, and the special events team and they have all done a terrific job. I didn't really get to talk to anyone even though I was the only one looking around and there was obviously someone working there, I do enjoy looking at those Tiges. This company really puts a lot of effort into designing and building these boats. The lines are perfect, the build is extremely solid, and the plush interiors must make for a great day on the water.
Performance Boats - Boonsboro, MD. / Nautical Marine
Performance Boats is our local dealer for Supras and Moombas, although the Moomba booth was maned by Nautical Marine. They win the A+ for killer display. In the first hall, they had a deep red Supra Launch 21v, loaded with every option in the book. This boat was cherried out, and at $43k probably the best one of the best deals we came across. The sales rep there from Skiers Choice (whose name escapes me) was very nice and knowledgeable, specifically in the differences between the Supra and Moomba lines. We talked about hull differences, fuel injected vs. carbureted engine options, overall build quality, and to top it all off, he was very interested in DCWake.com.
The Moomba portion of their booth was located in the newest (therefore, nicest) wing of the show. On the floor they had a red Mobius XLV (wow, that's a big boat), an LSV, and Outback V, and a regular Outback. Being the proud owner of a 99 Outback, it is amazing to see how far these boats have come in the past 7 years. Everything about the look and feel of each boat was comparable to same class boats from other companies. It was also interesting to see all the boats together in one place. You can really see how Moomba can offer their introductory boats at a lower price. I'm not saying they're skimping by any means, they just know what bare bones are needed to have a great time out on the water.
I think that the best in show award goes to the Supra/Moomba display for visual appeal, and great experience.
Ski Boats Unlimited - Chesapeake, VA.
Ski Boats Unlimited had a very nice setup. They were also located in the newest wing. Always love seeing the orange X1 up in the air. Sivodd snapped a few pictures from their booth, but Mastercrafts are out of our price range, and it was getting late, so we moved on.
Southern Ski Boats - Colonial Heights, VA.
Southern Ski Boats are the local Gekko and MB Sports dealership. They must have won the lottery or something because their location in the show was such that 99.9% of the people who attended the show passed in front of their display. To top it off, they had Cobe Mickicich there chatting it up with people, and selling boats. Didn't get to chat with him as he was helping some other customers, but I did get a chance to check out the new line of MB Sports boats. I really enjoy it when the dealerships have prices displayed, I know that nothing is set in stone, but I can get a general idea of whether I could even afford any of them. Southern Ski Boats came through, and to my great surprise, the MB Sports boats were very competitive. On the floor they had a red B52, a yellow 240V Deck Boat, and a white 230V - all beautiful boats. One of the sales reps was really interested in DCWake.com and specifically what technology I was using to run it. Leave it up to me to have the first person I talked to at the show be a computer geek. But it was great, he was a really nice guy, knew lots about his boats, and was there to have a good time.
Richmond really put on a good show. We really enjoyed our time out there. Thank you to all the people who took the time to talk to us, and we look forward to seeing you next weekend for the Washington DC Boat Show.
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