The 65th annual Seattle Boat Show has something for everyone. If the visitors wakeboard, waterski, fish, kayak, cruise or race, under power or sail, on boats small or large, want to trick out their yacht with new gear or hone their skills at seminars, this show’s for them.
Seattle Boat Show
This year’s show also promises tons of opportunities for boaters to indulge their inner techie as so many advances have been made in electronics and software in the past year.
Some highlights include:
Simrad’s new 4G Broadband Radar at the Yacht Masters’ booth. This truly dual range radar has two processors in it allowing a boater to have one range set at a mile for close in targets while the other range can be six miles for longer range planning. What really sets this radar apart from its competition is the elimination of the main bang or the area around your boat that is always a dead zone that close in targets are lost in. This radar uses a different technology that allows targets to be seen next to your boat.
Also at Yacht Masters will be Flir’s new First Mate MS hand held thermal imagine camera. Flir’s award winning night time technology is now available in a go-anywhere hand held technology for less than $2,000.The Flir First Mate MS fits in the palm of one´s hand and turns the blackness of night into daylight. Put in a pocket when one heads out for dinner in his dingy and can be sure of his safety when he is coming home at night.
Miller & Miller Boatyard will have the world’s first touch screen wireless AIS transponder, the WatchMate Vision™ from Vesper. The system is incredibly user-friendly and can be accurately controlled with ease, even when hands are wet or wearing gloves. The full color touch-screen is capable of operating in direct sunlight. WatchMate Vision is the first dedicated display-based AIS transponder to integrate WiFi functionality, allowing AIS interaction with any wireless smartphone, tablet or laptop.
DMK Yacht Instruments is new company formed in 2011 by three Northwest boating aficionados and industry veterans with a goal of linking IOS capabilities (iPhone and IPads) to the marine environment. They will be displaying their DMK 11A for the first time ever. The DMK 11A is an electronics device with inputs for NMEA 0183, AIS, NMEA 2000, and Seatalk. Once wired to the vessel, the 11A sends data packets via a wireless connection to a mobile device like an iPad or iPhone. The vessel’s instrument data, such as depth, boat speed, wind speed, and GPS position can be displayed as well as vessel monitoring information such as engine data.
Raymarine will have their new e7D. It is a compact yet powerful navigation solution for recreational and light commercial boaters. The e7D brings to the market multiple unique features never before seen in a marine multifunction display, including: built-in Wi-Fi connectivity and an H.264 video encoder which enables wireless video streaming to Apple iPhone and iPad devices; Bluetooth networking that lets you link e7D to digital music players and control them right from the helm; and a Sport-Optic Friendly” LCD display does not black-out when viewed with polarized sunglasses.
Less techie, but no less useful to the boater, will the display of Prodeco folding electronic bikes from Seattle E-Bike. Eleven of the 13 Prodeco models fold at the frame, and at the stem, making them very compact. It takes 30 seconds to fold them, 30 seconds to unfold them and get on your way. No tying them out on the rails of the boat, one can keep them dry and unsalty inside. They make a special 20 inch line for boaters, private airplane owners and RV owners, called, appropriately, the Mariner. Its stem folds in three places. The high end Mariner 7 will let you circumnavigate even Orcas Island at 18 mph without pedaling, uphill and down, provided when you stop for lunch you plug in for an hour. Pedal moderately, and you will go faster, and can skip the charge. In other words, one no longer has to be an athlete to explore the countryside at the ports he visits.
Seminars galore:
The seminars are always a huge attraction at the show and 2012 is no different. No other show in North America matches the Seattle seminar schedule in terms of the quality, variety and volume of seminars offered. There are more than 200 free seminars during the course of the show and advanced seminars through Boat Show University for a nominal fee. Many presenters are returning and there are 50 new seminars.
Know Before You Go
Online is the place for the latest information, updates about the show and special offers:
• The show website is being updated daily as new information becomes available about exhibitors, brands, seminars and promotions.
• E-tickets for the show are on sale starting December 1. Those purchasing tickets online will receive $20 off at Fred Meyer, a free cup of clam chowder at FX McRory’s and a free one-year boating magazine subscription.
Where:
CenturyLink Field Event Center
800 Occidental Avenue South, Seattle
South Lake Union
901 Fairview Avenue N, Seattle
Free shuttle running continuously between both locations.
Hours:
CenturyLink Field Event Center:
Monday – Thursday: 11 am – 8 pm
Fridays: 11 am – 9 pm
Saturdays: 10 am – 8 pm
Sundays: 10 am – 6 pm
South Lake Union:
Weekdays: 11 am – 5 pm
Weekends: 10 am – 5 pm
The show will close at 4pm on Sunday, February 5th.
Tickets:
ADULTS: $12
5-DAY PASS: $24
YOUTH (11-17): $5
KIDS 10 and under: Free
Official hotels:
Crowne Plaza Hotel and Silver Cloud Hotel Stadium
Both offer boat show attendees special prices.
The Seattle Boat Show, Indoors + Afloat, is presented in partnership with the Washington State Parks Boating Safety Program.
