What's She Rate?

It has been an interesting experience seeing the show from the exhibitor's perspective. Without going into whole lot of detail let me say that Alan Barnes is one dedicated guy when it come to the Rocket. You folks who have bought a boat already know what I mean. A lot of other folks are finding out. Notwithstanding the long days at the show and the necessary schmoozing with industry contacts that are necessary to confirm the relationship with suppliers that would be enough to exhaust most people, Alan is starting and ending his day on the internet answering questions from those folks interested about the technical aspects of the boat before and after the show.

The stream of people going buy has been steady and it has been interesting to watch the crowd change from day to day. On day one it was exhibitors and V.I.P's. The trade was interested in making connections that would support their own business while connecting with the public through the retail sale of product. In the meantime the V.I.P's were a dedicated lot. They knew what they wanted to see and made a bee line for it. those who get it when it comes to sports boats in general and the Rocket in particular have insightful questions about the boat and its operation that show the research has already been done before they showed up at the show. That meant plenty of interested traffic at the Rocket and at least half a dozen solid connections were made with the public that first day. Lots of comparisons trying to be made between different boats in the sorts boat genre, many of which were more imagined then real.

Day two saw those sailors specifically looking at certain boats and doing comparison shopping giving us a close scrutiny. At times I found myself addressing six or seven people at once. In the meantime a familiar pattern of questions arises: How long? How wide? What's she draw? How much (either bare boat or all up)? And inevitably, "What's she rate?" Once again a good number of interesting leads developed out of this day.

Saturday, day three, saw the complexion of the crowd change again. Lots of guys and gals out for an interesting day of looking at boats. Fewer people were directly drawn to the the boat as a performance boat (a larger crowd, so it seemed the number of people we talked to remained about the same but the level of knowledge was lower, so a lot of time was spent with them on the learning curve). However, the people who got it were very knowledgeable about the boat and very focused on what they wanted. Interestingly we also saw more people from the trade then we did on day one, including a dealer from the Netherlands as well as dealers from both coasts making serious inquiries in that direction.

Most interesting for me were the guys from Viper, representing the Viper 640. These guys really got it. They know what sports boats are all about. They all showed a genuine appreciation for the Rocket while at the same time recognizing that the two boats serve very different different constituencies. Consequently there was a good feeling of camaraderie as opposed to competition coming from them and we had several very productive conversations with them.

The other guys who it has been interesting to talk to are the crew from Forte Spars. They are having a good show themselves, and they have dropped by the boat several times and each time the conversation in terms of where the sports boat industry is going has gotten more in depth and detailed. These guys know their industry and getting an insiders view has been fascinating. Without going into detail, it is clear that they are dedicated to high performance sport boats and the Rocket in their view is a leading exemplar of the kind. The impression I get is that the Rocket is on the verge of a major break through with the sailing public. The first year it was at the show it was a curiosity. The second year it was a novelty. This year it is a recognized commodity. The cognoscenti are getting it: a high performance purpose built boat. You want to go fast, you have to look at the Rocket. Only after the fast question is answered are people getting into he other questions of comfort, ease of launching etc.

OK, its not all work. Some time has to be spent replenishing those precious bodily fluids we sweat out sitting in the sun all day. As they say, a tough dirty job, but someone has to do it.

WORK,WORK,WORK!!!

I know, it's tough all over. Here we are standing in the hot sun, sweat on our brows, trying to stay focused on the endless stream of questions. Isn't nice to see these two girls from Sunsail who understand where we are coming from and cheerfully handing us out a couple of perfectly chilled Red stripes!! You know, it's almost worth all the hard work!!
This is exactly what I mean. Look closely at Brian putting on a brave face when he is faced with tough questions like " How fast is she??" "What is that black thing that is sticking out in front of the boat??" and "What she rate"??"
Luckily, near by, there is a stand selling a curious drink call a "Painkiller" with large amounts of Pusser's Rum in it !!
I know, life's tough all over. Luckily there are places for us over worked and under paid sales people to have a place to de-compress.

Sea of Madness

Welcome to the Annapolis Boat Show!! The biggest sailboat show in the world! This is my third time at the show with the Rocket and even in that time you can see that Sportboats are making a dent in the otherwise ultra conservative east coast market. Along with the Rocket is the Viper 640, SB3, FT10 and the Cross Current 33. The powerhouses Beneteau/ Jeanneau, J, Dufour, Catalina, Hunter, Tartan/ C&C, Sabre plus more cruising cats than you shake a stick at. Guest appearances from the NYYC sanctioned Swan 45, Gunhouse cats, Oyster and Alerion.
Brian (Rocket #11) and I agreed that the prettiest boat odf the show id definitely the Cross Current 33. At a base price of $360,000, this Italian made "day sailor" was a true labor of love.














She is not super quick (PHRF 66) but not a ride I would ever turn down, if given the opportunity.
The weather is expected to stay warm and muggy (89F/ 89 Humidity). Thank God for the Rocket's cooler!!!

Annapolis 2007

It's that time of year again. Put on your boat shoes, take a day or two and head to what we think is the best sailboat show in North America. The last time I looked the weather was supposed to cooperate with sunny skies forecast through the weekend. But who knows, in our experience the Annapolis weather can change in matter of seconds and the seasoned visitors will all remember last year with flooded tents and backed up storm drains. Even so, the crowds still came and it was another good show.

This year we are showing our most recently delivered Rocket 22 thanks to the owner, Brian Pickton, who hails from Nova Scotia. He will also be at the show with Alan and will be happy to answer any questions from an owner's perspective. Find us on the dock, stay for a while and even try to book a demo sail after the show wraps on Monday.