Mercury's booth at the Los Angeles Boat Show.
KMG displayed their 22-foot Phantom hull with an OptiMax 300XS outboard fitted with the Sport Master gearcase. The KMG catamaran in the background is powered by twin 2.5 EFI Drag race outboards.
Brad Halpin and I recently returned from the Los Angeles Boat Show. (Brad is one of Mercury Racing’s technical experts who is responsible for helping boat builders learn to properly install Mercury Racing propulsion; I’m a sales guy.) Mercury Racing products, including the all new 1100 sterndrive, were on display in Mercury’s booth. Boat builders featured Mercury Racing outboards and sterndrives, including the 1350, in their booths as well.
For years, the LA show ran through two weekends for a total of nine days! Furthermore, the LA show was scheduled at the same time as the Miami International Boat Show. Exhibitors such as ourselves were challenged to support two shows simultaneously.
The recession then changed everything. Now, the LA show is about two thirds of its original size. This year, it ran March 17-20, one month after the Miami show. Boat builders and suppliers were upbeat and anxious to show their latest creations to the West Coast market. Read the rest of this entry »
