From 9/21/00</font id=blue>
With Tropical Depression Gordon breathing down the mouth of Charleston Harbor, 25 to 30 knot southwest wind with gusts up to 40 knots, a small craft advisory in effect with 6 to 9 foot seas for nearshore waters, and rain showers in the area, Tim Clark, sales manager for Longshore Marine and I decided it was a perfect day for a boat ride! Not the type of day to test drive a john boat mind you, but the perfect day to put the 260 Canyon Runner manufactured by Glacier Bay Catamarans through it’s paces.
I had stopped into Longshore on Coleman Boulevard to talk business with Tim and eventually the conversation turned to the catamarans. I asked Tim, “How do you convince someone to buy one of those ugly boats, it’s got to be one of the strangest things I have ever seen on a trailer?” Tim bragged about the 26-foot cat, claiming “The boat is by far the best ride for its size!” Well I have to say I was a doubter, and Tim did a good job as a salesman reading my look of doubt. I explained to Tim how I had fished our 23 foot Contender in some down right nasty stuff, and how well it took the rough seas. Tim agreed on the ride of the Contender, but claimed this ride was even better and he would prove it. He pulled out a video and showed me some footage of a Glacier Bay running in some heavy surf on the Pacific Coast, then running 35 knots in what appeared to be a 5 to 6 foot seas. I told Tim, “Looks pretty impressive!” but he could tell I still was not sold.
Before I knew it Tim and I were leaving the Shem Creek Marina for a test run. While heading down the creek I took the time to open every single hatch and thoroughly check out the boat. Tim’s sales spiel did not end with his bragging about the ride, he went on to explain, “Longshore is known for selling high quality boats, and how the exceptional craftsmanship and construction that went into the Glacier Bay was what originally attracted them to the this particular cat manufacturer.” Tim explained how they needed a cat th