Boat Show Season
It’s time to get ready for the 53rd Annual Fort Myers Boat Show. This year the event will be November 13th – 16th downtown Fort Myers at Centennial Park. According to the organizers it will have 100 boat manufactures and almost 200 marine vendors.
For those who love boats there is nothing like looking at the new models and gadgets. Technology for boating gets better each year with new innovations being introduced constantly. There is no better place to explore the evolving world of boating.
Years ago, I wouldn’t miss a boat show. Living in the suburbs of Chicago the big annual show was held in McCormick Place on the lakefront. The exhibit halls were filled with boats of all kinds, and I always felt like a kid in a candy store.
By the 2000 I was living in Dallas and went to my last big boat show, and it just wasn’t the same. I had sold my boat the year before and thought about looking for a new one, but I found boating in and around Dallas just wasn’t the same. Then my career took a turn, and I moved to Atlanta, then Minneapolis, and then back to Atlanta. Doing consulting work meant I was on the road way too much leaving little time to get out on the water.
Seventeen years later I ended up in Cape Coral, a boater’s paradise. Thoughts of buying another boat crossed my mind, but boating is different here. I have spent a lot of time on the water on other peoples’ boats and discovered there is just no single right boat for our waters.
One of my new neighbors was not shy about sharing his experiences in trying to find the right boat. He moved here from a Connecticut and boated in Long Island Sound. In Cape Coral most of his neighbors had center console boats in the 22-to-26-foot range sitting at their docks. Thinking that was the “right” boat to get he bought one. But he quickly found out after the purchase it was not the best choice for him and his wife to share the boating experience here.
Shortly after deliver of his new boat he took his wife to one of the popular waterfront restaurants in Estero Bay. At the time that place had high fixed docks and at low tide there was no easy way to get from the deck of the boat to the dock. His wife had to stand on the gunwale and then turn and sit on the dock. Then repeat the process when leaving.
After they got back to the house, he was so proud that he was able to get to and from the restaurant safely. As he was cleaning up the boat and putting everything away, he couldn’t wait to head out on their next adventure. Walking into the house he started to tell his wife where he was thinking of going. He barely got the words out of his mouth when she declared, “I am never getting on that boat again!”
She continued to tell him in colorful terms how she didn’t enjoy the bumpy ride and hated the experience of getting on and off the boat at the destination. Further she didn’t like the lack of seating for guests and a few other items. Thus ended the adventure with boat number one.
Boat number two was a deck boat with a door on the side along with plenty of seating for friends. Unfortunately, it didn’t solve the ride issue as his wife didn’t like the bumpy ride when going fast. Plus, there was a lacked any shade making hot days miserable. Despite it being a “new” boat, it had engine issues that the dealer could not resolve. So, it was time to say goodbye to boat number two and beginning the search for boat number three.
This time clearly knowing what his wife criteria for a boat was he narrowed his choice and bought a pontoon with a soft top. He became captain of the “Good Ship Margaritaville” and could be found cruising the canals with his wife, her friends, and a pitcher of colorful adult beverages. Moral of the story “happy wife, happy life.”
The lesson for others is you really need to consider what you are going to do with boat once you get. Buy the wrong boat and it can quickly turn into a “Lift Queen” from lack of use. When asked by new boaters what kind of boat I would recommend, I suggest that they consider joining a boat club for a year. Try all the boats they have and see if they work for the type of boating they do the most.
If you are going to the Fort Myers Boat Show look for members from the four local United States Power Squadrons | America’s Boating Clubs. Members from Cape Coral, San Carlos, Sanibel/Captiva, or Fort Myers will be staffing booths T2 & T3 in the Caloosa Sound Convention Center during the show. These clubs have been part of the community since 1954. Their members have a wealth of local knowledge to share with attendees.
Members of United States Power Squadrons | America’s Boating Club can be found throughout the country engaging in social activities, community service projects including a lifejacket loaner program and Vessel Safety Checks. Each club offers a variety of boating classes and seminars. If you stop by tell them, you heard about them in the Nautical Mile Magazine.
Stay safe on the water!
Thomas E. Dawson
Cape Coral, Florida
Tomas E. Dawson has been teaching safe boating at the Cape Coral Sail and Power Squadron in SW Florida since 2018. Dawson developed and is teaching a local waters seminar that discusses boating in Lee County. The seminar is offered during snow-bird season starting again on October14th. You reserve your seat by signing up for the seminar on line at ccsaps.org. Clicking on the Events/Seminars button to find all upcoming dates and signup. A book based on the seminar, “Barret Bonden’s Local Knowledge Recommended” is available on Amazon along with i WSn Thomas E. Dawson has been teaching safe boating at the Cape Coral Sail and Power Squadron isince 2018. Dawson developed and is teaching a local waters seminar that discusses boating in Lee County. The seminar is offered during snow-bird season starting again on October14th. You reserve your seat by signing up for the seminar on line at ccsaps.org. Clicking on the Events/Seminars button to find all upcoming dates and signup. A book based on the seminar, “Barret Bonden’s Local Knowledge Recommended” is available on Amazon along with i WSn Thomas E. Dawson has been teaching safe boating at the Cape Coral Sail and Power Squadron isince 2018. Dawson developed and is teaching a local waters seminar that discusses boating in Lee County. The seminar is offered during snow-bird season starting again on October14th. You reserve your seat by signing up for the seminar on line at ccsaps.org. Clicking on the Events/Seminars button to find all upcoming dates and signup. A book based on the seminar, “Barret Bonden’s Local Knowledge Recommended” is available on Amazon along with “Safe Boating in Southwest Florida, Cape Coral Edition.”
