John wrote:

Go for a pair of the boating sneakers. If they want you to take them
off to board their boat, simply say no thanks, and leave. Their is no
good reason for them to ask you to remove clean boating shoes. If more
people simply refused to take their boating shoes off, they would
change their minds, they need people to buy their products. No
lookers, no customers.

The production builders like Catalina, Hunter and Bendytoe don't worry
about shoes but the ones I really want to visit and leave drool spots on
the settee are usually privately owned and loaned to the builder for the
show. It takes a lot of guts to let 10,000-15,000 people wander through
your boat so I have no objection to honoring their wishes.

My motives may be a bit different than most attendees. I am not there
to buy. I am there to check out details and steal ideas. :-) That does
have a down side though. After visiting a Hinkely a couple of years
back I came home and ripped out all the steam bent cabinet edges and
rebuilt them in thinner veneers. :-0

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com