I was able to spend time at the Annapolis boat show Friday and today. I’m curious as to what impressions other visitors came away with. A couple of my observations:
- Maybe it was just my imagination but it seemed like foot traffic was higher than the last couple of years. Trying to get on some of the boats on Friday morning seemed to have lines more like a Saturday, and walking around Saturday afternoon seemed especially packed. Some of the extra crowding today was probably because of the flooding tide taking away much of the sidewalk space, but it still seemed very busy.
- Doesn’t anyone sit behind the helm and want to see out and be comfortable? It seemed like most of the boats with dual wheels had either little tiny bench seats behind the wheel or none at all. The seats to the sides of the wheel had no back support and no way to really make a spot for yourself to get comfortable even at a flat dock, much less when heeling or in a swell. Chart plotters were placed down low or hidden by wheel spokes. Throttles and bow thruster controls were at ankle and knee level so you need to sit or crouch when docking. Even boats that were beautiful and well designed in front of the helm seemed to have these shortfalls.
- Maybe it was just my imagination but it seemed like foot traffic was higher than the last couple of years. Trying to get on some of the boats on Friday morning seemed to have lines more like a Saturday, and walking around Saturday afternoon seemed especially packed. Some of the extra crowding today was probably because of the flooding tide taking away much of the sidewalk space, but it still seemed very busy.
- Doesn’t anyone sit behind the helm and want to see out and be comfortable? It seemed like most of the boats with dual wheels had either little tiny bench seats behind the wheel or none at all. The seats to the sides of the wheel had no back support and no way to really make a spot for yourself to get comfortable even at a flat dock, much less when heeling or in a swell. Chart plotters were placed down low or hidden by wheel spokes. Throttles and bow thruster controls were at ankle and knee level so you need to sit or crouch when docking. Even boats that were beautiful and well designed in front of the helm seemed to have these shortfalls.