We've been trolling the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show asking the product manufacturers to double-check their product data. Most have been very cooperative and we thank them in advance for agreeing to review all of the data entries for their products. It is in everyone's benefit for the database to be as accurate as possible. It helps Navigate-us.com users, dealers and manufacturers. So please, follow through and check everything.
The boat show this year has been better than expected- the crowds were larger than last year, the vendors were more optimistic, and general environment felt good. The new Electronics Hall is an excellent idea as the location is more visible than the old semi-hidden location. Even veteran boat show attendees often wondered if they were entering the right bulding to see the electronics vendors or if they would mistakenly enter the megayacht building and be stared at by the vendors to a different class. There are still some electronics vendors scattered around the show (Cobra, Navionics . . .) and this makes comparing products more difficult than it needs to be.
It's too early to say if sales will be up at this show or if most attendees were just window shopping or reliving the past. One savvy veteran suggested that this current economy may be "the new normal". Manufacturers and vendors that can be profitable in this economy should be in great shape if things do pick up.