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Old 01-11-2017, 05:54 AM   #1
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Trawler Fest Stuart FL worth while?

Good Day All.

Looking for some insight on Trawler Fest. The wife and myself are trawler shopping(used). We are still trying to decide on the right style trawler. The hope is to get more exposure to different boats etc. It does not appear that they have that many different boats scheduled to be there.Has anyone been to one of these events. Seminars worth while? How many different vendors etc.

Thanks in advance

Mike
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Old 01-11-2017, 06:22 AM   #2
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Greetings,
Welcome aboard.
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Old 01-11-2017, 06:29 AM   #3
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Looking for some insight on Trawler Fest. The wife and myself are trawler shopping(used). We are still trying to decide on the right style trawler. The hope is to get more exposure to different boats etc. It does not appear that they have that many different boats scheduled to be there.Has anyone been to one of these events. Seminars worth while? How many different vendors etc.
Went a couple of years ago when it was at Riviera Beach. We didn't attend seminars nor were we interested in vendors but we did notice a few interesting things from the vendors that were there.

Like you, we were concerned there would not be a lot of boats there but many of them don't get listed until the last minute. We thought they had a real nice selection of trawler type boats. A few warnings here. First, even in the winter, FL can get more than a few hot sunny days. We drove down from Vero Beach and were only looking at the boats a single day but climbing all over boats and taking everything in can tire you out real quick. To look at all of them would have taken 2 days or more depending on how much detail you look at. There will be some boats way out of your price point and maybe a few under your price point. Try to pick out the ones that fit your budget and you are really interested in unless you just want to look for the sake of looking.

We went the first day the boat were viewable and the crowds were not that bad. I would have been leery about going on a weekend.

Oh, you will need to take your shoes off prior to boarding some boats. Be careful, new nice looking shoes have been known to disappear.
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Old 01-11-2017, 07:35 AM   #4
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Hi Mike

Any boat show is worth it just because of the ideas you pick up. I have been to that show (different venue) and some seminars are great and some not so great depending on your experience and point of view. As far as vendors it is certainly not like Miami of Lauderdale. Go and down the day or days and enjoy yourselves.
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Old 01-11-2017, 07:48 AM   #5
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Hi Mike

Any boat show is worth it just because of the ideas you pick up. I have been to that show (different venue) and some seminars are great and some not so great depending on your experience and point of view. As far as vendors it is certainly not like Miami of Lauderdale. Go and down the day or days and enjoy yourselves.
... seminars are always hit or miss ....anywhere. But a much bigger chance of enjoying them and finding them useful if you are relatively inexperienced on the topic.

I have been a presenter awhile back for some of their hands on training with other presenters. Topics like firefighting, survival, damage control, flare demos.

I always heard afterward that even experienced boaters got the most out of them or at least the significant other did. So I would recommend any of those topics.

The other topics that are always well received by experienced boaters are the ones of constant change like offshore medicine (if you need that topic).....but not if it is just another basic first aid course and you get those at work every year.

On top of everything else...sometimes it is just the people you meet there that makes it all worth it. This one is really up to you and how you treat the whole event. Unlike regular "shows" where often you are just part of the carnival mass being swept around, Trawler Fests were designed to be more like a gathering of cruisers who all enjoy the same things (to a point). Haven't been to one lately so I hope the theme hasn't changed much.
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Old 01-11-2017, 07:52 AM   #6
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Good points all.
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Old 01-11-2017, 08:25 AM   #7
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I have been to several TrawlerFests. I agree with the previous commenters. It is not a boat show in the sense of Ft. Lauderdale or Miami. It is a gathering of like minded cruisers. There is a lot of good information geared towards trawler owners and the trawler life. The selection of boats varies, and even if you do not see the exact make and model you are looking for, you will meet experts who do know the boat. The seminars cover a wide range of topics and are usually well attended, but some are better than others. The two day diesel seminar at Stuart promises to be exceptional. The audience is all trawler cruisers and like this forum, there are cruisers who are just getting started and cruisers with thousands of underway at sea' hours. This year I will be covering "Cruising the ICW" At Stuart and at Kent Island. If you are at Stuart, stop by and say Hi.
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Old 01-11-2017, 07:26 PM   #8
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Thanks for all the replies. I think we will check it out. The weather has to be better than Upstate NY. I guess what's the worst that could happen? Maybe I learn or see something new.

Thanks again!

Cheers!
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Old 01-11-2017, 07:28 PM   #9
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You will definitely learn something just by observing the other boat on display even if it is what not to do. LOL
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Old 01-11-2017, 08:26 PM   #10
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Mike,
I have attended Trawlerfest events in the past, got rained out of one. If you are starting to consider boats, it's helpful because it's another chance to see a range of boats. If you sign up for the seminars, large blocks of time will be used on the classes.
I would also recommend you look into MTOA (Marine Trawler Owners Association). They will be holding a spring rendezvous in April 10-12 in St. Augustine Florida. Their events are less focused on buying/selling trawlers but there are lots of boats to visit and many owners to learn from.
Enjoy the search and learning.
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Old 03-01-2017, 08:35 AM   #11
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The Admiral and I will be hanging out over at the Fest from Thurs through Sat. If anyone else is there. We'll be doing some seminars and the dinners, then poking around the vendors & dock candy.
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Old 03-01-2017, 10:05 AM   #12
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"Oh, you will need to take your shoes off prior to boarding some boats. Be careful, new nice looking shoes have been known to disappear. "

This is very true.
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Old 03-01-2017, 10:21 AM   #13
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I've been to a couple TrawlerFests in Anacortes while shopping for a boat and trying to learn about cruising in that area.

Good experiences each time.
Lectures are tailored for the geographical area and it is centered around "Trawlers" or cruising boats. Unlike a boat show you don't have to walk around runabouts, sailboats, jet skiis, etc.
There are boats brought in by brokers and there are often boats brought in by attendees which you can look at.

If in the shopping phase for a boat to cruise that area I say GO!!
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Old 03-01-2017, 11:33 AM   #14
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When we entered the buying market, in 2012, we attended Trawlerfest Baltimore, and found it very informative.

The seminars were very helpful in sorting out the various cruising styles. Also, the Q&A's in the seminars were really interesting.

By all means, go!
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Old 03-01-2017, 02:02 PM   #15
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we've been to several trawlerfests and yes if you're interested in trawlers, it is in fact the only show that focuses on this type of boat. we've also done several seminars and it is really a small investment when you compare it to the cost of buying the wrong boat.
if you're really novices, the boat-handling seminars are also very useful.
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Old 03-01-2017, 03:38 PM   #16
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If you have the time by all means go, you can learn quite a bit by observing. Seminars are always fun as it gives you the opportunity to ask your questions.

Have fun
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Old 03-03-2017, 04:38 PM   #17
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We went to Trawlerfest in Stuart yesterday and found it a less interesting than last year's show was. Riviera was a better location, with plenty of room for exhibitors booths and parking.

The resort is not designed nor ready for the traffic that the event brought, making us park some distance and use their shuttle to get to the event. Their docks are not floating docks so getting aboard during low tide is HARD! High tide is ok for some boats.

Azmut was there in force with MarineMax but I don't consider them trawlers, although they could easily be cruiser boats. The true trawler style boats were limited. No Selene's were there, limited Nordhavn and plenty of Kadey Krogans since their office is in Stuart...
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Old 03-03-2017, 04:57 PM   #18
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Azmut was there in force with MarineMax but I don't consider them trawlers, although they could easily be cruiser boats. The true trawler style boats were limited. No Selene's were there, limited Nordhavn and plenty of Kadey Krogans since their office is in Stuart...
Not a fan of Azimut or Marine Max, but the Azimut Magellano line is very trawlerish.

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Old 03-03-2017, 05:05 PM   #19
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I walked throughout the 66 Magellano and didn't really like it. Ghetto hard chines were slapping with almost no wave motion... would have been hard to sleep the first night, second night you'd be so tired you could probably get some sleep.
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Old 03-03-2017, 05:16 PM   #20
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The Palm Beach show has grown greatly and I understand will have some trawlers like Grand Banks in attendance, since it comes very close date wise I'm sure some manufacturers made the choice to do the much larger show.
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