Boat show blues? Not here!

Pipe_Dream

Pipe_Dream

God
A friend and I spent a few hours Saturday at the boat show in Savannah.  It was a combined in-water and indoor show at the convention center on the Savannah River.  I haven’t been to a boat show in many years, and went more out of curiosity than anything else.

More than anything it confirmed to me that I did the right thing doing the re-power and re-fit on the Pipe Dream in 2004.  For one thing, the prices on new boats 20’ and up – WOW!   :o  For another, none of them really tugged at me aesthetically.

Basically I do 3 things on my boat: daycruise, fish and float, in no particular order, and many times all in the same trip.  By “float” I mean anchoring in a secluded creek or cove and swimming, reading, eating and drinking the day away.  The V-20 does all those very well, and still LOOKS like a semi-classic boat.  Granted, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  But as far as I was concerned, there was NOTHING at that show that looked as nice as the PD.

I just had to tell you all how I feel about this.  I know I’m preaching to the choir.  BTW, I wore my V-20 sweatshirt but not a soul said anything to me about it.  Probably had their eyes burned by looking at the price tags on those new boats.   ;D
 
Hey Pipe, sounds like a good time at the boat show...but w/predictable results...once you've had a V20, NOTHING else will do!! ;) ;D...and you're right; our boats have as ''classic'' a design as ever floated...I still like your idea of leavin' off the logo and lettin' 'em GUESS 8) 8) 8)

Thanks for sharin'... :D...
 
thats the samwe way I feel. I have looked and have ot found anythingn that has all that my v20 has.
Some boats have some things but none have all the things I want.
And ther prices are way way out of my range!! I will have my v20 for a long time to come and thats not a bad thing!! ;)
 
I don't even have a car payment, let alone a boat payment! Gas costs enough by itself. Gas is my "payment". I'd really have to be raking it in to go with a different boat.
 
You know there is another side of the coin. When I moved from Virginia to Florida I gave up my shop. I had 600 sq ft that I could put my V20 in and stand up at the helm and not whack my head on the ceiling. I had got so busy with packing and moving I got behind on the project. Once I got the boat to Fla, I found I was spending way more a month than my new boat payment is now. I never got to take the boat out here 'cause I was always working on it. Since I got the new boat I have probably 50 hours on the water, not bad for weekends only and usually just 1 day a weekend. I have no complaints with my V20. It's what I will compare all other boats to the rest of my boating life. And it was 23 years old when I got rid of it. The fella at the dealer where I traded in my boat is going to keep it and do a MJ special. He is gonna pull the I/O and fix the hole and hang a bracket. He has a great starting point with my old boat.
 
50 hours...you a DAWG!!...I got about 10 THIS YEAR!!...oh well the stripers ain't bitin' anyway...

But, hey DAWG...I am glad for ya!!! ;) ;D ;D ;D...how far to the ramp for you??...
 
Oh my now I have choices to make


Wife kids mortgage college tuition cold weather high stress job bills

VS

Warm weather , retirement good fishin all year low stress job

HMMM?
 
I too went to the boat show recently in Los Angeles. It was a real eye opener. The prices were out of sight for anything that would give the same utility as the V20. Many of the boats that I looked had spongy decks. They were bad enough that if I were buying any of the boats used, I would think that there was dry rot damage. I'm 6'2 and 210 lbs and can jump on my 82 V20 and it's solid as a rock. The only boats to compare were the Grady's and Whaler's at 50K a pop.
It was amusing to look at all the different kinds of boats available. There is one for every purpose. There was even one with a built in blender in the bow lounge! Good for mixing up the chum I guess? I would look at the boats and ask myself "would I want to bring a stuck albacore or bluefin on board?". The answer was usually a big no way.
One thing that I did learn at the boat show was that I am really satisfied with my V20 and my Skipjack. They are both paid for, mechanicaly sound, and do everything that I want out of a boat.

BassOMaticII
On the left coast in search of Whales
 
Bass, I noticed the same thing about the spongy decks. Even on the Grady 22 Tournament the floor felt a little spongy. The only new boat I would be interested in to replace my V20 would be the Sea Hunt 22 DC, thats a nice boat. And one other thing, has anyone noticed that alot of the new boats dont have any access to the gas tank?
 
I did see one at the New Jersey boat show last week, my friend and I were shopping, mostly for him, he has the money :-/ the Robalo 25' W/A Cuddy with hardtop and enclosure was fabulous with twin 150 Yammi 4strokes. The design was built to fish and do it well. Access to everything mechanical is wide open and the fit and finish was better than anything else at the show which included basically all the major manufactures. We had looked at everything for close to four hours and their were a lot of great boats but the thought put into that design and the quality of workmanship was superb. And price wise they were right in the middle among the top quality boats like regulator etc etc.
 
Something interesting was how it had the built in platform for the engines and full transom, but the platform itself had a bevel built into it so that when you would be backing down on a fish or just backing into waves it provided the back of the boat with lift actually lifting the engines up.
 
I have got a dollar or 2 saved, but I can tell you, if I was forced to buy a new boat to fish in, I would quit fishing. The prices are beyond comprehension. I can go buy a new loaded F250 diesel for what a new center console costs.  As close as I come to a new boat will be to re-power an old one with a new engine. I stare in amazement when I go to work (on a boat) and see all these 50-150K boats out riding around Panama City.  It seems that some how the boat buying public has been connvinced that you MUST have 50kts, built in head, stainless fold away cleats, and a hydraulic retractable electronics box to go 2 miles out and trol for kingfish.  I take care of and capt a boat for a guy, it is a 2005 grady 330 express.  he used it 8 times last yr.  we caught maybe 25 fish (keepers) those are some very very very expensive seafood dinners. Some where in the neighborhood of $18,000 a plate.
 
Thats because like you I and probably most others here we are working guys with families to take care of. When you make multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars a year or more you don't see things the same way. God bless them but they live in a different world.
 
I hear ya guys. I was reluctant to buy a new boat, but with trading in my V20 I got my new boat for under $23,000 - boat, motor and trailer. I was gonna drop another $500 - $600 on the outdrive, then i really needed a new trailer. And still would have had plenty of stuff left to do. I passed by many 30K and up boats, my new one just happened to be on sale at the end of the model year. Originally my boast "listed" at $32,000
 
Thanks Phester, If I could have found a V20 CC with a seadrive or bracket, I would have jumped all over it, but I would have missed out on some skinny water fishing - got my first snook and my first pompano today. Had to drag 'em out of the mangroves on 6lb test line!
 
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