Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 24, 1991 TAG: 9102250380
SECTION: BOAT SHOW PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Visitors to the Southwest Virginia Boat Show next weekend at the Roanoke Civic Center will see flawless fiberglass hulls, spacious decks, roomy cabins, lightweight outboards and a special emphasis on craftmanship from upholstery to hardware.
Everywhere you look will be the swept-back, racy, high-performance European influence, said Ed Graves, the show chairman. It will be hard to find a squared-off transom or a windshield that doesn't have more curve to it than a pair of Roland Martin sunglasses.
An example, the Larson Legacy has so much curvature to the stern it can be tough to tell whether it is coming or going.
Manufacturers have managed to make craft purchased less than five years ago appear antiquated.
Boaters also will see some pretty innovative things that go beyond style refinements. Some new craft even might be viewed as industry breakthroughs that have the potential to push boating into a new era of design.
Examples are Wellcraft's Genesis, being ballyhooed as "the minivan of the marine industry," and the Bayliner Rendezvous, a craft with a twin bow-tunnel configuration and so much usable space it has been tagged a "party platform."
Some boaters may see these craft as a revival of the deck-boat design, but look for "party platform" to become a standard in the recreational boating vocabulary. It describes craft that are a giant step up from popular pontoon boats yet offer gobs of room and versatility for fishing, skiing, cruising, sunning, diving, camping and entertaining.
"They are trying to take the features of a pontoon boat and put them in a craft that will take the higher horsepower and give the speed that will allow skiing," said Bayliner dealer George Welch of Bay Roc Marina and Yacht Club on Smith Mountain Lake. "You can ski with a pontoon, we claim it and you can do it, but it is pretty far from ideal."
Pontoon boats aren't standing still, either. Some now offer the option of curtained-off marine toilets. The Party Barge, by Sun Tracker, can be fitted out with complete canvas that zips up into a mini-houseboat. It is featured in the show's Harkrader Marine display.
The roominess concept also extends into the cabins of cruisers and sailing craft, where living space no longer can be aptly described as "the hole."
The Hunter 30 sailing craft has 6 feet, 2 inches of cabin headroom and a cozy, sunlit atmosphere, said Don Condon of American Marine & Sail Supply.
"They have put a lot of emphasis in the designing of the interior to give you significantly more headroom," John Miller said of the Wellcraft 253 Eclipse that Webster Marine will display. He sees the 25 1/2-foot power cruiser as a prudent choice for the boater who wants to spend the weekend on the lake, but doesn't have a lakeshore home. Such boaters appear to be on the increase, he said.
Other dealers also will be serving that trend. Gio's Marine will display a 27-footer, the largest boat in the Maxum fleet, which features sleeping accommodations fore and aft. Dick Arnold of Smith Mountain Yacht Club will show a 25-foot Sea Ray. All this reflects growing interest in cruiser-type boats.
Still the king of boating, however, is the runabout, and most boaters on Virginia's inland lakes prefer the open-bow styling, said Graves, who owns Valley Marine Center in Roanoke.
Open-bow runabouts are designed to provide extra usable space. Some of the early models had a bulky look, but newer editions overcome that. An example is Cobia's Monte Carlo line.
"It has a sculptured look," said Graves.
The Regal Valanti 170 is another bowrider that has closed-bow lines. It features a seven-piece windshield and a roto-cast bucket driver's seat, says Ren Martin of Central Boat and Trailer Sales.
You won't see any open bows in the Elite Craft line, displayed by Shoreline Marina. These craft are reproductions of the classy 1950 Chris Craft boats, said Joe Illes, the marina owner. You have to be up close to tell that the wood-grain finish is made of fiberglass instead of mahogany, said Illes.
"When you drive one down the lake, people are going to be looking at it," he said.
The bass boat trend is toward much larger, wall-to-wall casting platforms, something called a "flipping deck," on the 286 Pro Tournament by Sprint in the Valley Marine display.
Any bass boater who has wrestled with wiring and pumps that won't work will be interested in Cajun's new Sever Master concept. When a livewell pump breaks, it can be popped out and replaced immediately.
by CNB