On Sun, 30 Jan 2005 17:45:04 GMT, Larry W4CSC wrote:

It's the reason I don't go to the boatshow. How stupid to pay $8 for a
ticket and $4 for parking to see nothing but dealers trying to sell me
something. If they want to sell me a house, I don't have to pay to ride
around in the real estate company's SUV. Why do I have to pay to look at
boats?....(c;

I never pay. I go to the "media office" and tell them I'm doing a
story for the local rag and should be let in with a media pass.
Alternatively, I say I'm a volunteer for my yacht club's info booth.

Like you, I won't pay to shop. Frequently, I'm just there to sneer at
the Catabens and Dugregors anyway. I did see a nice Hanse 41, but it
had too much "gracious living" space versus proper stowage and
tankage. Maybe it's good for offshore, but you'd die of thirst and run
out of fuel...

But the crappiness of current boats for anything but 15 knots on sunny
days is another story entirely.

Let's say boat shows are not great places to see proper boats,
excepting the latest class dinghies and the J-boats, which I always
enjoy for their commitment to going fast over going de luxe.

R.