Some Central New Yorkers spent the cold and snowy weekend dreaming of sun, water and…boating. The CNY Boat Showwrapped up Sunday night at the State Fairgrounds, after five days of sales and expos. The show’s slogan was “Summer starts here!” Patrick Donahue of Baldwinsville had a simple reason for coming out with his family…
“We’re looking to get out of 10 feet of snow. We’re just getting new ideas. Our boat is about 30 years old and we came down here to see what they have and to dream a little bit”
The Donahues hadn’t visited the boat show since 1989, so they stopped by to start looking at possibilities for a new speed boat. They were part of a smaller crowd at this year’s show, because of the snow that moved through the area at the end of last week.
But Ron Renslow of Oneida Lake Marina says he’s still happy with the attendance…
“The attendance has been down but the quality of buyer is up. Most of the people that come are buyers. We might not get the sale but somebody in here probably is and that’s a good thing. We get the enjoyment of four seasons, which to me is extremely nice, but is not so nice when you’re selling just boats. You rely on that short season and window of time. But that’s why we have to start selling boats in January and February because our season is very short. By September our season is pretty much over.”
Renslow says that buyers should put in their orders by the end of this month or early March to be able to use their new watercraft this summer. Alongside the sales floor were booths on water safety, information on invasive species in some local lakes, and a Cold Water Immersion Survival Training.
