Docklands Boat Show a great success

by Event media on 13 Feb 2007 The 2007 Docklands Boat Show presented by Club Marine and hosted by NewQuay Marina and Waterfront City was a resounding success by every measure – weather, attendances and very strong buyer interest, especially among the big boats.

More than 70,000 people visited Docklands during the Show, with 28,000 on Saturday making it almost as busy as New Year’s Eve, the precinct’s biggest night of the year.

Glittering under clear blue Melbourne skies were more than 150 boats along the Promenade, plus a wide array of boating equipment and accessories in marquees and the air conditioned Waterfront City Pavilion.

The main measure of the Show’s substantial growth was the 103 boats on the water, more than twice as many as two years ago.

Part of the attraction for the record crowds was the opportunity to see a lot of boats and boating equipment at no cost, as the on-land exhibits were all in public space.

Even so, around a tenth of the total crowd paid to go onto the marinas, enticed by more brands and more variety of boats than ever shown before at Docklands.

While sales were strong for the on-land exhibits, it was the on-water boats which generally stunned their exhibitors with the level of buyer interest they generated.

Among the big boats making their first appearance at the Show were two brands which proved that classic styling still has a place among the sleek curves which dominate the top end of the market.

Dean Leigh-Smith from Gold Coast Marinas was delighted with the response to the Alaska Motor Yachts 53 Sedan he brought to Docklands en route to its new owner in Tasmania.

'We have been getting a great response to the boat,' he said.

'I had one customer say ‘when I drew boats as a kid, this was the boat I would draw’.

'The baby boomers love this style of boat and they are here ready to write cheques – there is definitely a big-boat market here in Melbourne.'

Chris Szewezuk from Auspicious Boat Sales was so pleased with the response to her Mainship Pilot 34 Rumrunner that she has already laid claim to the same marina berth for next year’s Show.

'I can’t wait to come back next year, and I really hope we get the same spot – although next year we plan to have two boats, a Pilot and a Trawler.

'Thanks to the publicity the Show organisers got for us in advance, we actually had several very strong inquiries before we even got to Melbourne.'

Notable among the brands making their Docklands show debut was Maritimo, which had a 60 Flybridge displayed by its recently appointed broker, Aussie Boat Sales.

Scott O’Hare from Aussie Boat Sales said more than 1,000 people took advantage of Maritimo’s open-boat policy, and strong sales were expected.

'The Maritimo people have a lot of experience in this business, and if they don’t sell six boats as a result of this show, they’ll be surprised,' he said.

'It was the same with Deep V, which we also had here for the first time – it’s going so well we can hardly believe it, especially the 31 Express.

'That boat was designed specially for Victorian waters, in direct response to the booming growth in boating in Melbourne.

'All the new marinas here are generating big demand for boats, and it’s not just power boats, as our Delphia yachts from Poland are sold out well into next year.'

Equally enthusiastic was long-established Docklands exhibitor Darren Finkelstein from St Kilda Boat Sales, who sold both of the Caribbeans he showed this year.

'The venue was great and the weather was great – this Show really highlighted Melbourne as a great boating city,' he said.

'I think this Show could really become the boat show for Melbourne.'

Marina exhibitors were not the only ones doing well, as several land-based exhibitors could attest.

Not least of them was Corporate Fishing Carters proprietor and recently elected BIA Victoria president Gordon Howlett, who has built up something of a record for making early sales at both the major Melbourne boat shows.

'We made our first sale just five minutes after the Show opened – a Cook Island fishing holiday which we sold to a Canadian pilot who’s out here flying the ‘Elvis’ firefighting helicopters,' he said.

'He wasn’t here to look at any particular boats, but he was interested in fishing, so he came down for a look – and then bought a holiday.

'That’s what is so good about the Docklands Boat Show: it attracts huge crowds because people don’t have to pay to get in, so it’s a great way to bring in customers for many of our products and services.

'It’s also a tremendous way for large numbers of the general public to learn about boating, which is an important part of the BIA’s objective in staging this Show.'

Although most exhibitors were looking for sales, at least one was looking for distributors rather than to retail their product on the day.

John Meng of Surfango Australia received the first air-freight samples of Surfango jet-powered surfboards and kayaks just days before the Show, and is keen to establish his distribution and retail network in the next few months.

He is bringing in three Surfango models which are designed in America and assembled in China using a purpose-built 50 cc jet motor built in South Korea.

'We have had lots of interest at the Show, and the Surfango is already a bit hit in America and Canada,' he said.

'The Australian and New Zealand markets are too big for us to sell direct with the expected demand, so we are looking for distributors and even retailers.'

With such a large and diverse crowd at the Show, interest was strong across the whole spectrum of equipment, accessories, services and special attractions on offer at Docklands.

Flathead Fred enjoyed his traditional strong following, Cupcake the Clown did a brisk business with balloons, and the Savage 'Just Add Water' boat rides reported such strong demand they 'could have been running four boats and still had a queue of people waiting for their turn'.

If further evidence were needed of Melbourne’s burgeoning interest in big boats, and the Docklands Boat Show’s ability to capture that interest, it came from an exhibitor who launched her business just a few months before last year’s Show.

Joy King of Leisure Boating Club Melbourne said the Docklands show was an essential and integral part of her marketing strategy.

'Last year was our first year here, and it has been so worthwhile coming back,' she said.

'There is real brand recognition – we get people saying ‘oh, that’s that mob; I remember them – it’s a fantastic idea’ when they see us.

'People are really taking to the idea of joining our club rather than buying a boat outright, especially people who are new to boating.

'There are lots of people in Melbourne who are looking to take up the boating lifestyle, and this is the perfect introduction for them.

'It’s good for the industry too, because not only do we buy boats for the club, but it’s not uncommon for our members to eventually buy their own boats as well.'

http://www.biavic.com.au