NJ Boat Sale and Expo Review

[Gerry Zagorski]

Went on Saturday. I'm one of those boat nuts who can spend hours at shows and on docks looking at the different boats, how they are laid out and all the different features. A sales person's worst nightmare since I have a lot of questions but no cash

I have to say this new show did not disapoint like in years past. Nothing big like in the AC or NYC shows, I think the biggest I saw was in the low 30 foot range but everything from pontoon to fishing and crusing boats. I'm obviously partial to fishing boats and they had a nice selection from a bunch of different manufacturers.

In my mind there are 3 types of fishing boats. Cuddy cabins with some cruising comforts, Center Consoles and the nothing fancy fishing boats.
Here were my show favorites in each of those categories:

Cuddy Fishing
- The Striper was nice. I liked the hard top. It had the Alaska option which gave you full glass all the way around the enclosure. IMO a nice option since you get a lot of pretection and don't have to mess with curtains.
- Carolina Classic although only 25 foot seemed to have as much space as some of the other 28s I saw because it was an inboard. Fit and finish was very good and the large Carolina bow flare made for nice lines.
- Boston Whaler Conquest also had a nice glass enclosure but has small side curtains. Their use of space is amazing and very functional. Love the lines of this boat too.
- Robalo was probably the best compromise for people that want to fish and cruise. It was the longest of the bunch and had all the creature comforts you'd want in the cabin with sleeping room for 6.

Center Consoles
- Jupiter probably had the best fit and finish in the show and all high quality overbuilt components.
- Yellowfin had the best lines with the huge Carolina flare and a stepped hull and nice fit and finish too.
- Whaler had nice fit an finish and once again amazing use of space

Nothing Fancy boats
- Parker and Stieger were the 2 I saw. Parker probably had the best fit and finish out of the 2 and both had enormus cockpits for boats of their size. Great fishing platforms for sure but not much in the way of a cabin since their helm stations are pushed way forward.

Once again a big improvement of the prior boat shows in Edison and worth a visit for sure.