Want to Live on a Boat? Attend a Boat Show.
So, you have heard it – people actually do replace their land house with a boat.
How do they do it? Are they all crazy? Is this some sort of a new cult?
One of the best ways to help you understand this urge pulling us all to the big, deep blue, is to attend a boat show. There are a few, every year, in the US.
What can a boat show do for you?
Whether you have a boat, or are just shopping, or are not even there yet – the exhibit of everything boating related will nourish that adventurous spirit we all have.
We attended our first boat show way before we were ready to buy and live on a boat ourselves. The dream of sailing to see the world had set in, but we still had our two houses, with two mortgages and three kids in public schools.
This sailboat fest was such a fun and useful experience, we ended up attending again, and again, and again in Miami, even after we had moved on our first boat.
Climb Aboard Beautiful Boats.
Naturally, there will be boats there. Lots of them. We have been lost a couple of times, with interiors and features flooding our memories, “Didn’t we tour that one already?”
The best way to see the difference between a catamaran and a monohull, is to tour one of each. A boat show will offer many sizes and styles – one will have your name your name written all over her. You will know it.
Keep in mind, you have to remove your shoes, to tour a boat. So, bring your best socks. You do not need special boating shoes, better not risk loosing them. We have dropped a couple in the water.
Get a Feel of the Space you Need.
Perhaps the idea of becoming a sailor, or a liveaboard has already found its way into your dreams.
Before making appointments with brokers or drive for hours to realize that great deal is missing 70% of its listing glory (we have done it), attend a boat show instead.
Those selling by owner, you need this post!
Tour both monohulls and catamarans, even if you know what you prefer.
Will you be comfortable in the salon below? Can you stand upright? Joe is 6’4″ and his height made shopping for our second boat a challenge.
Does the cockpit have enough space to sit and have a drink with friends? How many heads are there? Where is the helm?
Sit at the helm, can you actually see your surroundings from there? It is not a car, you do not need to see what is right in front of you, but you do need good visibility.
How about the bow? Can you walk from the cockpit to the bow, or is there barely enough room?
Take a few pictures, you will not remember every boat you climbed on later on.
Meet Your Favorite Cruisers.
Guest speakers and cruising YouTube stars are always at boat shows. You might be following some of them already.
They present, inspire, answer questions and pose for photos. Most of all, they are all quite approachable and make that dream you might be dreaming a lot more tangible.
The October Annapolis Boat Show of 2023, has a nice constellation of favorite cruisers to inspire and offer insights. Check them out here:
Cruisers Creating Content – Annapolis Boat Shows
If they can do it, so can you.
Chat with Like-Minded Boaters(to-be).
Apart from a few captains rushing to grab a discount and leave, boat shows are overflowing with salt-life lovers.
Not everyone is there to be a liveaboard, but all share a love for boats. Some are just dreaming, others are shopping, yet others are planning a tropical vacation.
How can you tell who has a boat?
People who own boats are all going to be at the vendors selling boat parts and equipment. For the most part.
We loved jumping aboard boats, because it was fun, but once we had our own, we were really there to get some good deals on parts and gadgets, or to see what’s new.
Get Great Deals on Parts and Gadgets
From kayaks, through pumps, gear and bracelets – two days are never enough.
We purchased both our first life raft and our first dinghy at a boat show.
Boat shows are excellent places to shop for gifts for boaters too. What to buy? Read my super useful post:
51 Classic Gifts for Boaters (Cruisers Approved 2023
Vendors offer nice discounts, and you can ask all of your questions, see the products in real life (we mostly browse the internet these days).
It can get a bit crowded, but if you mean business, so do they. If you do not, they still do. You might be the one entering your credit card number a week later.
Tour the Ones a Bit out of Reach.
You might not be on the market for the 70+ft yachts (if you are, call me, I want to be your friend), but hop aboard anyway. There is always a boat (or two) with a long line of dreamers in front.
On the water, we all marvel at the same sunset. You might just find yourself sipping wine with your 70+ (that’s feet) neighbor in the anchorage, at the desolate tropical island you just hiked.
We have. Twice. Amazing people, by the way.
See What’s New in the Boating World
Tour the latest models and see how they improved (or messed up). You are bound to hear the good old, “They don’t make them like they used to.”
Apart from boats, boating vendors will have their latest new and improved gadgets and tools. Those are quite fascinating, and special boat-show discounts will probably be lined up in front of you.
Tour the Town
The two largest boat shows in the US are in Annapolis and in Miami, twice per year.
The towns could not be any more different. Each is worth visiting.
We love Old Town, in Annapolis, a walkable distance from the show. The entire area is full of history, great restaurants and places to stay. I can write off the boat show as a social studies field trip for my kids, any day.
Miami hardly needs a sales pitch. We are not fans of downtown, but the parks next to the water are out of this world. To reach some of the boat show locations, you will hop aboard a water taxi, for a ride through the bay.
While at the boat show of your choice, check out the anchorages and marinas near-by. You will be dropping anchor there.
Meet Many Full-Time Sailing Families
If sailing, or planning to sail with kids, the boat shows are a gathering place for cruising families.
The famous Facebook group Kids4Sail, is a great place to organize a get-together at a boat show. We have attended three of them, and some of the families we met there, ended up cruising exotic destinations with us, just a few months later.
Needless to say, kids of all ages, backgrounds and countries run around (usually barefoot) and have a great time the way boat-kids do.
Noone is organizing the gathering at the next boat show – you be the one to do it.
There is no better way to get your land-kids to give boating a chance, than to throw them amongst other cruising kids. If you have been following some of them on YouTube, your cause has been won.
When and Where are Those Boat Shows?
The two largest boat shows on the east coast are in Annapolis and in Miami.
The Annapolis Sailboat Show is in October and April. Below is a link to the official page:
The Miami Boat Show is in February, and the motorboats, sailboats and mega yachts are displayed at several different locations.
Discover Boating Miami International Boat Show
Turn that weekend into a boating adventure on land. Then, come join the cruising world.
Because,
What we do, you can do too.
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