Friday, December 12, 2008

A Few Photos from the Boat Show

I spent four days last week working at the St. Petersburg Strictly Sail Boat Show, as mentioned in my previous post. Practically all of that time was spent on board the Boatsmith Tiki 30, Abaco, as David and I were busy each day from open to close answering questions and showing folks around on the only Wharram catamaran in the show. I did manage to take a few quick walks around and see some of the other boats on display that caught my interest. First, the photo below is a look into the cockpit of Abaco. I took many more photos of the details of various parts of this boat. For those who are interested in seeing more, I've posted them in an online gallery here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/teaksmith/BoatsmithTiki30AtStPetersburgBoatShow#

Below is a Com-Pac Yachts Sun Cat. I've always liked the high quality trailerable pocket cruisers offered by Com-Pac.

Below is an Aere' Inflatable Catamaran developed and marketed by Dan Kunz, a long-time Wharram cat enthusiast based in the Keys who currently owns a Tangaroa. The Aere' catamaran stores in three bags and can be taken anywhere. More info is available at:

http://www.aere.us/

This unusual catamaran looks like it would be more at home in space than on the sea. It looks like it would be fun to sail. It's called a Spydra Cat 21. More info and photos at:

http://www.starshipcatamarans.com/html/spydra_21.html

The Sea Pearl 21, of course, is one of the better known trailerable beach cruisers built in Florida. These boats have a huge following and many have been used for long distance expeditions.

On the upper end of seaworthy trailerable monohulls, the Seaward 26 is a good-looking and well-found shallow draft yacht that can be taken most anywhere.

The Rhodes 22 is another highly-regarded pocket cruiser that has a devoted following.

Among the prettiest boats at the show were the Norse Boat trailer sailors with their lapstrake hulls and traditional wood trim. Custom cockpit tents turn these small boats into camp cruisers.

There were many others, of course, mostly the larger models offered by Catalina, Hunter, Beneteau, Island Packet and other production builders. The trend among these builders is as always to maximize the accomodations for a given length and isolate the crew from the elements of sea, wind and sun. Despite the popularity of these concepts, our open deck Tiki 30 with its low freeboard and rakish lines attracted a lot of attention from folks who could just sense that it was a good seaworthy boat at first glance.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Strictly Sail Boat Show in St. Petersburg, FL

I'm heading to the Tampa Bay area tomorrow so I can work with my friend, David Halladay, of Boatsmith at the Strictly Sail Boat Show in St. Petersburg. The show begins on Thursday at noon and goes through Sunday. David will be exhibiting Abaco, his Wharram Tiki 30 that is documented in Pro-Built Tiki 30. I'm quite sure his Tiki 30 will be the only Wharram catamaran present among many factory-built, fiberglass sailing vessels. I'm not sure what kind of reaction we will get among the general boating public, but I expect we will be quite busy answering questions for the 4-day duration of the show.

David has done a lot of work and added many refining touches to the boat since taking it to the Mystic Wooden Boat show this past summer. All systems are now installed, as well as many cruising necessities such as the bimini. I can't wait to spend some time hanging out on board. David and I are also looking forward to visiting with Reuel Parker again, as he plans to attend as well. For anyone close enough to make the trip, this is a good chance to have a look at a Tiki 30, as well as many other boat designs that will be on display.

DIRECTIONS:

Take Interstate 275 into St. Petersburg. Exit on Interstate 175-
Exit 22 and continue to its end at the traffic light. Proceed
forward four traffic lights. The fourth light is First Street.
Turn left on First Street. The Mahaffey Theater and the show
grounds will be on your right-hand side. Plenty of on-site
parking is available at the municipal parking garages and
airport surrounding show grounds. The parking fee is $5.

Thurs. Dec 4 — 12 noon-6 p.m.
Fri. Dec 5 — 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
Sat. Dec 6 — 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
Sun. Dec 7 — 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Adults $10
Children (6-15) $5
Under 6 FREE
$2 off each ticket purchased online

GENERAL SHOW INFORMATION

This year, the St. Petersburg Boat show and Strictly Sail
merged to create one large show for all power and sailboats
in downtown St. Petersburg. Show Management puts on
this show and has been doing so for many years—along
with many other boat shows throughout the South. There
will be docks dedicated to sailboats only, and Latitudes and
Attitudes magazine will be putting on their traditional
Cruisers Bash on Saturday evening after the show at 7 p.m.

In-the-water sailboat displays will have dockage for 50-
plus boats. Brokerage sailboats will also be on display. This
is besides the many on-land sailboat displays. Along with
these boats will be over 200 in-water powerboats and more
on land.

For more info check out the event website: http://www.showmanagement.com/

"A boat is freedom, not just a way to reach a goal."
Bernard Moitessier - A Sea Vagabond's World

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