bertram31.com

I attended the show at Nassau coliseum over the weekend. Not much to write home about. My nephews and brother in law were interested in going and I just was looking to get out of the house.

There was a cummins dealer out of Rockaway beach who I chatted with along with an inflatable dealer from port Jeff.

My 9 yr old nephew dragged me on just about every clorox bottle in the show room and I have to say there were some unique interior storage and especially small galley set ups that were actually fairly interesting.

Notably puck lighting built into the head liner and solid surface countertops with a cover for the sink and burner which provides more usable countertop space. Also draw style refrigerator which would seem to fit in the door of a B31.

On the electronics side the simrad stuff seemed faster and better sunlight viewable then the E series ray marine. The E and G series ray marine stuff which has touch screen technology seems to be very slow and the screen refreshing has seemed to take a step back.

On the inflatable side many companies are outsourcing to china and the glue they are using is not all that great. One dealer is observing more seams failing on the stuff coming out of china.

Many of the fancy cruising boats are using a plasteak type of product over the glass on swim platforms and cockpits. Didn't see one that was well done, poor workmanship all around.

Sounds like you spoke with my buddy Joe from Atlantic Marine.

besides the china outsource most of those features have been in use for a long time. Most of the counters are fiberglass, not solid surface, but the sink inserts usually are solid surface, if you look real close they match pretty darn good. Nice touch, you just dont want to be the guy who has to repair them.

When they first came out with LED lighting we put puck lights in craig macs headliner, he jokes that Abe Lincoln had better lighting then what they give off. This has to be at least 10 years ago.

We will see more and more smaller boats being built in other countries, this industry in 10 years will be interesting to say the least

Harv that is exactly who I spoke to have his card on my desk. I am hoping to not make that phone call for many years. He's a bit far from me so when the time comes I'd prefer to find someone closer, but honestly it's not a focus right now.

Raybo I've spent the last fifteen years owning center console boats so this stuff is all new to me. I like the simple cabin on my boat but what they pack into these new boats is pretty neat.

i go to these shows for that very reason , you pick up niffty ideas for space saving like that combination microwave & coffee pot, a side by side one piece unit made in all stainless by LG.

Bob,

I did a search for the coffee maker microwave combo from LG. It has been discontinued and not in stock anywhere.

Some bad reviews they do not sell a replacement pot so if it breaks you SOL. Also a few reviews that it gets so hot that the plastic melts.

The keurig coffee maker that makes one cup at a time using small single serve disks would seem to be a good option for the boat. One cup at a time so you always get a fresh hot cup. You can have different kinds of coffee, tea, hot cocoa. And it is not messy just toss the small puck when your done. Just have to find one that accommodates a wide base boat cup.

i pilot a 35' egg harbor with a keurig in the galley .excellent because i drink coffee at all hours of the day and can get a fresh cup anytime. needless to say if your a captain doing your thing having a drink is a no-no weather your getting paid on contract or just being a nice guy.
peter thanks for the tip on the LG i was not aware of a problem.