After two years on hiatus, the Boats Afloat Show returned last week to Chandler’s Cove on Lake Union. It was certainly great to be at an in-person show, but it looked much different than years past. Due to the lack of inventory, coupled with the pandemic, the crowds and the boats on display were much smaller.
For me, the show started the week before as I work for Union Marine and we needed to move in. We had six cruiser and yachts in the show, plus six lake boats. Though it had been two years since our last in the water show, it was like riding a bicycle again when it came to move in.
Meeting followers at the Boats Afloat Show 2021
I was working the show on Friday, taking a picture of the dingy display, when a gal came up to me and said “hi Ally, my husband and I follow you on YouTube”. It was so cool meeting her (Jan) and learning that she and her husband have a older Uniflite boat moored near Shilshole. They said they would love to have us aboard for a tour! The following day, two more followers came up to Scott and I (Jeff, Patrick, Steven….hopefully I didn’t forget any names!) to say hello. While our channel is small, it is so humbling when this happens. They truly enjoy our content and that’s why we do this. Trust me, working 40 hours a week and then having to produce a blog and episode, is hard work!
When I work the show, I work on one of our boats (remember, I’m in marketing, not sales). This was my office this year! I worked on a 2008 Sea Ray Sundancer 55 – we’ll have a full tour coming up!
Cool new boats at the Boats Afloat Show 2021
Scott and I toured a few really cool yachts! We’ll share those tours in the next couple of blogs and episodes. The show also had some cool new boats this year! Starting with this model from SeaLegs. These boats normally have inflatable pontoons, but this one was all aluminum! This amphibious vessel is great for remote beaches and cabins that don’t have a boat ramp. It would actually be perfect at our family’s place on Camano Island!
This Absolute Navetta 73 was absolutely gorgeous. We’ll do a tour of this one in our next blog!
If you need to get somewhere fast, these four outboards should do the trick!
Now if you don’t necessarily want speed, but instead size, check out these Mercury 600hp outboards! The photo doesn’t do it justice, as these outboards are about 7′ tall!
Our group had hoped to get a tour of this 64′ Northern Marine Trawler, but it was by appointment only.
More new boats at the Boats Afloat Show 2021
New to the PNW is this unique European day boat from Axopar. They are extremely popular in Europe and are great for day cruising. They do have a head and sleeping quarters too.
It was nice to see some of the larger yachts back at the show. But many of them required a broker to board, so we just enjoyed them from the dock!
Even, the sailboat row was pretty slim. This forward sail boat had literally just arrived, so it didn’t have its’ mast yet.
We then stumbled upon this Beneteau First 18, a great sailing vessel for up to four people. I’m still trying to figure out how you sail this, without getting a ton of water inside the boat?!
Of course, there were still some big sailing yachts and this Beneteau was a beauty. If we were to buy a sailboat, we would want one with plenty of deck space.
This yacht, certainly resembles us! This is what boating is all about. We toured three yachts during the show, including the Sea Ray 55, Absolute Navetta 74 and a Fleming 62. Be sure to tune in to our blog and upcoming episodes for those tours!
As always, thank you for following our journey! Be sure to subscribe to our blog and vlog (link below) and on social media @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney. Until next time!
Cheers, Scott and Ally
