I can recall attending the Charleston Boat Show every year with my father. We would wake up early on a Saturday morning and drive over to one of the local malls and check out all the latest boats. The only problem was all of the latest boats were not there. As a matter of fact there were usually only one or two boat dealers present. Come to think of it I think we spent more time dodging mall shoppers than we did looking at boats. Don’t get me wrong, my father meant well, and I always had a good time, but I think each for each of us, it was more about spending time together, than looking at a few boats in front of Belks department store.
Well, thanks to some great organizers and vendor participation the Charleston Boat Show has come a long ways since it’s early days. This year marks the 27th year of the event and each year it just keeps getting better. The show has grown at a blistering pace over the last several years, 118% over the last four years to be exact and will feature over 30 dealers and a total of over 80 exhibitors altogether.
With the addition of the North Charleston Coliseum followed by the North Charleston Convention Center, Charleston now has a great venue for hosting the show. These buildings offer ample room for most dealers and vendors to be located inside as well classrooms for seminars and demonstrations. This year’s boat show will kick off at 12 noon on Friday and run till 7 o’clock that night. Saturday the show starts at 10 in the morning and wraps up a 7 o’clock and Sunday the show begins at 11 am and ends at 5 pm.
In addition tot eh exhibitors this year the show will feature Vernon Grier on the steel drums getting everyone in that spring boat buying mood and Lowcountry Boils will be there serving up some great food. Dan the Knot Man will be present helping us all learn a few new knots and don’t forget to check out the Traveling Fish Tank a 12-foot tall 40-foot long fish tank with casting demonstrations. The kids will be sure to enjoy Tony Stewart’s caricatures and the Draggin