[Paddlewise] Seattle Boat Show paddler report

I chose what was probably one of the nastiest weekends to drive 3 hours (one
way) from my home in Moses Lake across the Cascade Mountains to Seattle to
check out the mothership possibilities at the Seattle Boat Show. I did this
because I'm obsessed with kayaking and (now) mothershipping, because we are
going to x/c ski today (Sunday) and Saturday was the only day available, and
because I'm clearly not all that bright.

First of all: $300,000 does not buy as much boat as you might think.

Secondly: There is a limit to how many boats I can't afford that I'm willing
to go sit in.

Corollary to Second: That limit is still pretty high.

One pleasant surprise was that boat shows no longer just have tons of boats
and sales people. The Seattle Boat Show offers a series of seminars which
range from choosing your next boat through cruising tips on the Broughtens
(in BC) to fishing gear, tips and places to fish. I managed to find the
seminar on fishing from kayaks by Allen Sansano who works for Ocean Kayaks
and who apparently gets paid to travel around the west coast of North
America fishing from his kayak. I'm pretty sure Allen will have to go
through extensive therapy in later years just to assuage the guilt he will
have accumulated over this.

Allen is also a sea kayaker and his thoughts about safety and immersion wear
mirror the thoughts of many on this forum; dress for immersion not for air
temperature. I was greatly heartened to hear this. Allen's talk, which
lasted for about 30 minutes after I managed to find the carefully hidden
seminar room, covered equipment with his Ocean Kayak SOT on display rigged
with far more gear than I would have thought possible and some technique. He
has a nice slide show with photos of people holding big fish they've caught
from their kayaks. Even though Allen works for Ocean Kayaks, he included
tips and photos of gear which would make a decked (sit inside) kayak more
effective as a fishing kayak. One I liked was the "Lily Pad" attachment over
the front deck which would allow rod holders, fish finders, etc. to be
mounted within reach of the cockpit.

As far as mothership candidates went there were a lot of them.
Unfortunately, none of them were cheap. Or even affordable. At least not for
my budget until I win the lottery (maybe I should start buying tickets). The
most attractive were the "dory" types which range up to the mid-30 feet in
length. These are all very similar with a large cockpit aft (often with a
second steering station against the after end of the cabin), a low cabin
structure with a long flat roof that's perfect for securing kayaks up and
out of the way, and vee berth forward. The cabin typically has a dinette, an
enclosed head, a galley counter and an inside steering station. The larger
boats with more innovative designs also include a second "quarter berth" or
even a hidden double berth. The prices for these range from the mid-$60k up
to over $400k depending upon the materials (welded aluminum is very popular
now), trim, electronics and engine choices (diesels are more expensive). One
25-foot boat was powered by over 700hp in 4-stroke outboard engines!!!!

The "in the water" show is on Lake Union with a free shuttle between the
main show at Qwest Stadium - where the Seahawks play and the large number of
boats in the water just north of the Wooden Boat docks on the south end of
Lake Union. Boats up to 100 ft were on display there and prices ran well
into the millions of dollars. I did manage to find a couple of boats that
would make acceptable motherships but, unfortunately, none of them were
trailerable.

The major impression in my mind is that most powerboats don't make such
great kayaking motherships other than the "dory" types (with the long flat
roofs) and the larger "trawler" types (with the long everything). The layout
of the show was, I thought, poor with no discernible pattern dividing
equipment and gear displays from the boat displays. In the old Kingdome you
could count on walking around the upper level to find electronics, props,
engines, etc. In the Qwest stadium they seem to be scattered around at
random. Factor in my difficulty with walking and my patience for searching
wore thin.

I know that most kayakers don't often think of themselves as "boaters" but
there were some kayaks on display and if you have ever considered fishing
from a kayak Allen's seminar will be given a few more times before the end
of the show next weekend. You can see his schedule at:
http://www.seattleboatshow.com/index.cfm?p=fishing-seminars&hx=0&OrderBy=field01value&AlphaChar=&Search=0&search_keyword=&startrow=26
.

The Boat Show has almost another week to run, costs $10 (including parking
if you buy tickets from their web site) and while it's very heavily oriented
towards marketing the seminars look interesting. You can pick one or two
seminars you like and then plan your trip around them. There's enough going
on to interest anyone who likes messing around on the water and it's not
much more than a movie.


Craig Jungers
Moses Lake, WA
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