Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 26, 1995 TAG: 9503010013
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Mike Fielder of Advantage Marine in Roanoke says his Chaparral Signature 31 is the flagship of the show.
It is 33-feet, 2-inches long including the bow pulpit, has a 10-foot, 9-inch beam, weighs 9,750 pounds and carries a $100,000 price tag.
``It sleeps six comfortably, and eight if you are friends,'' Fielder said.
With a boat like this, you'd probably have plenty of friends, maybe even some you've never met.
``It's got it all, including the kitchen sink,'' said Fielder, waving his hand around the cabin to show a microwave, two-burner stove, refrigerator, air conditioning, TV, VCR, stereo, shower and, of course, a kitchen sink. You don't even have to duck your head in the cabin, unless you are taller than 6-4.
But does Advantage Marine really have the advantage when it comes to claiming the Queen of the Show?
Not necessarily, says Dick Arnold, owner of the Smith Mountain Yacht Club. The word ``yacht'' is in the title of the business for good reason. Dick, and his son, Lee, have been showing cruiser-size Sea Ray boats for several years. No other dealer has challenged them when it comes to the boat shows's biggest barge - until this year.
``We just may still have the biggest boat,'' said Dick Arnold, asking about the specifications on the Chaparral.
Lee Arnold says being the biggest is no big deal, but Dick Arnold grabs a Sea Ray catalog and checks the dimensions on the 300 Sundancer he is showing.
It is 30-feet, 6-inches.
``Wait a minute,'' Dick Arnold says. ``With the bow pulpit it is 33-1.''
The Arnolds still are an inch short.
``Come around here,'' Dick Arnold says, leading the way to the stern.
Attached to the integral swim platform is an extension, designed to give swimmers extra protection from the props of the twin 260 horsepower 5.7L engines.
``I'd say that adds an honest 18 inches,'' Lee Arnold said.
The Sea Ray lists for $105,000, but the Arnolds have the price slashed to $87,900.
You say you want something bigger?
Sea Ray can accommodate you with a 65-footer, Dick Arnold said.
How much?
``You are probably talking - discounted - $2 million,'' he said.
The big task for dealers such as Fielder and the Arnolds is to determine who is a serious customer and who is just walking around with the tunnel-vision that accompanies boat fever.
``They will ask the right questions,'' Lee Arnold said of the serious looker.
Asking about price isn't high on the list of questions voiced by a serious looker. If you have to ask, chances are you can't afford it.
But dealers aren't always successful in weeding out the sight seers - or worse. At last year's boat show, someone got by the Arnolds and used the bathroom in one of their Sea Rays.
``People are crazy,'' said Dick.
Maybe that includes the guy from North Carolina who was driving on the interstate a few years ago. He heard about the boat show on his radio, so he turned off at the civic center exit and took a look at the Sea Ray cruiser in the Smith Mountain Yacht Club display.
``I'll take it,'' he told Dick Arnold, ``but you've got to get it out of here tonight.''
Dick Arnold told him there was no way he could squeeze it out of the civic center until the end of the show.
``You've killed the deal,'' the man said. Then he reconsidered and picked the boat up at the end of the show.
The show ends today with a 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. run at the Roanoke Civic Center.
by CNB