The Boat Show – Good deals?

Written by Diane~

We went to the Portland Boat Show searching for some good deals on boat gear. Well most boat owners don’t have the luxury of “out of the box” fit.    Neither do we and I want instant gratification when I bring my haul home and drag it down into the cabin. Picture new shoes.

The fish finder/depth sounder corroded away last summer. We searched the internet for something that would just be a replacement. Nope, need new wiring pulled through, the cockpit mount isn’t the same, glass and paint work required? The expensive option isn’t ours: include it in the Garmin chart plotter, put in a thru hull and mount it. We just covered all the thru hulls in the rudder fairing project to have a smooth bottom. Work and expense of that option isn’t happening. Back to cheap version and labor, keep the project on the “to do list”.  Bummer.

Konami didn’t come with storm sails, kinda naked.  We will want  both Storm Jib and Trysail when we are  doing the shake, rattle and roll on the ocean. We got quotes from three different sail makers. Why can’t we have consistent pricing on the sails. Either the sail is too big requiring a custom fit, cheaper price for one or the other, all orange or orange corners, off the shelf pricing but not what we want.  I just want two storm sails with matching stylish sail makers’ emblems.  The sail makers themselves became  so confused with sail dimensions, numbers, pricing and colors they have me confused.  We’re all scratching our heads.  We’ve been promised to receive boat show pricing even if we don’t order now so we can do more research on which dimensions are best for Konami.  Back to the notebook.

Didn’t find a second “car” dinghy.  Most everybody says a second unit is great to have.  They can be stolen, float away or punctured on the sharp coral. It also provides freedom for the crew.  We’re thinking about a tandem kayak. A few drawbacks though.  Doesn’t track well in current (been there), may get swamped in windy, choppy conditions, a bit pricey for a good one, about the same price for a small hypalon “rowabout” dinghy.  The hot sun is very hard on plastic things.   But would be nice for paddling around in a lagoon on a quiet day.  Didn’t see anything that was worth shelling out money for.  Keep looking.

E-Charts for the Garmin:  we calculated about $1000 for all the areas we want to cover.   Pricey, but a very nice  to have, after all that’s why we bought it.  May keep us from hitting a reef, eaten by sharks and setting off the alarm.  There are used chips/cards on the market but hard to find the exact one are you’re looking for. Some boot-legged stuff perhaps but I wouldn’t trust my life on it.  What Garmin doesn’t advertise is a good deal for the users.  If you call and work with the Garmin Cartography department, they will custom build a chart program for the desired locations and is 1/3 the cost of individual chips.  And one other bit of info, the user can send in a used card and get a new area in exchange plus a little bit of cash.  The last I checked it was about $50 for a new area. A lot better than $160 – $320 for new chips. , Make that call next week.  Woot.

Final looksy: the EPRIB.  Got a decent deal on the McMurdo, with the new and improved  GPS smart finder. Warranty is fine, no problem.  Guarantee we’d be located if we had to use it?  Blank stare, pay up the life insurance to help those grandchildren.

If you have any good deals, please throw me a bone.

I have updated some of Konami’s pages, including the safety equipment.