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 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. As a matter of fact I have to say I am uncertain as to why we even woke up early to get up there, it usually only took us 30 minutes to check out the boats and we were done. 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. The show has grown at a blistering pace over the last couple of years and continues to offer more and more every year. Sure it is still a great way for a father and son to spend some time together, but now there are enough activities, demonstrations, seminars, vendors, and oh yes boats that the entire family can enjoy a full day at the show.
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 class rooms for seminars and demonstrations. This year’s boat show will kick off at 12 noon on Thursday and run till 9 o’clock that night and hours on Friday will be the same. Saturday the show starts at 10 in the morning and wraps up a 9 o’clock and Sunday the show begins at 11 am and ends at 5 pm.
For your convenience provided herein is a listing of the dealers participating in this year’s show as well as the boat manufactures they will be representing:
•Beaufort Boathouse – Pursuit B