Cape Town Boat Show

We found a special treat while recently on vacation in South Africa. The Cape Town Boat Show coincided with our final day in the city. Did we go? The better question is -- could we possibly resist?

The show featured indoor space in the Civic Center and boats in the water at the V&A Waterfront. Overall, I would say that the show is smaller than the Baltimore Boat Show but the in-water part showcased larger boats than we can see at the Baltimore show. We did find a couple vendors with intriguing products.

We are constantly having to clean build-up out of our grey water tanks. These guys provide a pump that sends it directly overboard avoiding the middleman.

Dirty hull? Clean it with a remote control robot. While I don't thing this handy gadget would work too well on the tough barnacles that attack our hull in the Chesapeake Bay, it is a cool idea.

Catamarans were the main focus of the in-water part of the show. We see some catamarans at the big Annapolis Power Boat Show, and perhaps a few more at TrawlerFest, but they don't seem to be a focus in this part of the States.

While these may seem silly, we made a couple observations about the boats in the show. 1) We wondered, since the driver's side of South African cars is opposite of the driver's side in American cars, would the captain's seat also be placed on the opposite side?

Answer: No. Looks like boats are made the same wherever you go.

2) Would boat length be measured in meters rather than feet.

Answer: Yes and no. In the picture below, the boat is still called a 620 (62 feet) but the length specification first lists meters.

You may be wondering why we would think boats would be any different in South Africa. People in the U.S. buy foreign made boats all the time and they look just like the boats made in the States. Yes, that is true. However, if you buy a Volkswagen in the U.S. the driver's side will be on the left. If you buy the same model Volkswagen in South Africa, the driver's side will be on the right. Same car, different configuration.

One final interesting observation -- Prices are prominently displayed at every boat show we have attended in the U.S. The number is in large, bold font, sometimes on brightly colored paper. Prices were not as obvious for the boats in this show. Some boats had prices, but most did not. Which is better? I don't know.

We did find reference to home (top left corner):

And, wouldn't you love to spend a lazy afternoon here?

Anyone else attended both a U.S. and foreign boat show? What other similarities and differences have you found?

The Boat Show

Every year we venture down to Annapolis for the United States Powerboat Show. The oldest powerboat exhibition in the country, 2013 marked its 42nd year and I highly recommend the show even to non-boaters. I find it fascinating to see how different boat manufacturers use limited space in smart, creative, and luxurious ways. Obviously we were not looking for a new boat but we still had plenty to look at (and spend money on).

We arrived on Friday before the 10am start of the show and found others waiting to enter.

One of the first places we stopped was a mattress vendor. This was an important stop for me because I'm tired of an uncomfortable mattress that belonged to someone else. We tried out the options and put a down payment on a new mattress before leaving the show (more on that once our new mattress arrives).

There are vendors with boat lines of every color imaginable. The sales lady tried to get my attention by pointing out the pink lines; she apparently did not know that I don't do pink. I did suggest that she market the pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

You can pick the perfect lettering for your vessel's name (every girl likes options).

There are shiny anchors for both boats...

And your jewelry collection. Rather than having an anchor weigh me down, I chose a silver flip flop pendant so I can comfortably wear the summer shoe in the middle of winter.

How about a new grill?

Or a life raft? (I like to pretend that the little raft is for pets.)

But don't worry, pets aren't forgotten here.

There are folding bicycles for traveling around new marinas.

And some vendors will do anything to get you to talk to them.

Perhaps having something that only floats isn't enough for you.

There are multiple places to find a little "liquid courage" as you decide on the perfect boat for you.

And, of course, there are boats. Boats on land...

Boats with beautiful green hulls...

And gigantic catamarans available for charter.

For old times sake, we lingered for a bit near the Regals.

The newest boat feature we are seeing is a retractable sun shade. Very smart.

We walked away with a new mattress, propane engine for our zodiac, flip flop pendant, and mini dehumidifier pouches for our hanging lockers. Until next year...

Trawler Fest

When you live at a marina you see everything related to events, from setup to crowds to cleanup. Harborview Marina hosted Trawler Fest this past weekend and the I and K docks were filled with boats for the show.

 

We were out of town most of the weekend but I had a little time to talk to vendors.

And I had to scope out boats. This catamaran was definitely my favorite. I didn't get a chance to board her but I heard she had four staterooms! I've never even lived in a house with four bedrooms.

Doug and I attended Trawler Fest in 2010 when we were first starting research for a live-aboard boat. Back then, we wanted the following amenities in our boat:

*2 1/2 staterooms: one for us, one for guests, and one for storage. Go ahead and laugh, but if we are still working while living on a boat, we can't just live in shorts and t-shirts, we need room for work clothes. We were successful here. Our Carver has a Master Stateroom, Guest Stateroom, and Kids Stateroom (which we use for storage and the cat's litter box).

*2 separate living areas: an example is a salon and a helm station with extra seating. We love each other but we also need to be able to get away from each other. Success here, too. We love our salon and helm sitting areas.

*A decent galley. One of the boats we looked at has a full side-by-side refrigerator! No side-by-side refrigerator but a huge galley (at least for a boat our size).

*A patio: we want an outdoor living space that is close to the water level. We had to compromise on this one. We couldn't find a boat with a "patio" and a suitable inside layout but we do have an aft deck that we like to call our Florida room.

*Ways to go green: how fuel efficient is the boat? is there a potential for solar panels to run the electric? We haven't looked into this very much yet. We believe there is the possibility for solar panels on the hardtop in the future.

*Something we can actually afford!!! Phew - so glad this one was true.

 

So, while we didn't end up in Trawler we were on the right track back in 2010.

This week, MTOA is here and we are looking forward to the Powerboat Show and our annual clam bake.

Trawler Shopping

Doug and I attended Trawler Fest this Sunday in the Inner Harbor. Yes, we are die-hard boat fanatics - we attended a boat show in the rain. We are truly starting to research potential live-aboard boats.

The wonderful thing about trawlers - lots and lots and lots of space!

The not so good thing - they typically go very slow. I don't mean to make fun of trawlers, but when you are accustomed to cruising at 30-35 kt it's difficult to imagine only going 8 kt.

What are we looking for:

*2 1/2 staterooms: one for us, one for guests, and one for storage. Go ahead and laugh, but if we are still working while living on a boat, we can't just live in shorts and t-shirts, we need room for work clothes.

*2 separate living areas: an example is a salon and a helm station with extra seating. We love each other but we also need to be able to get away from each other.

*A decent galley. One of the boats we looked at has a full side-by-side refrigerator!

*A patio: we want an outdoor living space that is close to the water level.

*Ways to go green: how fuel effecient is the boat? is there a potential for solar panels to run the electric?

*Something we can actually afford!!!

We did find three boats of interest. I'm not saying they are in our price range, but one can always hope to win the lottery.

The Fleming 55 Pilothouse Motoryacht

The Manta 44 Powercat. One of the catamaran dealers did mention that we need to consider where we plan on keeping the boat. There are only so many shipyards that can pull a 21 ft beam boat out of the water.

The Maine Cat P-47