Anyone going to Trawlerfest in Stuart this week?

[twistedtree]

I'm in Fort Lauderdale for the week for training refreshers and have Thursday and Friday off. I was thinking of running up to Stuart for a day to check out Trawlerfest. But not sure if it's worth it. I've only attended one in Anacortes and was not very impressed. It seemed of much more value to those attending the seminars, and I did not see any that caught my eye. So it would just be a dock walk. Anyone going?

 

[bowball]

I might. Undecided. Same logic as you.

 

[Mako]

TT, I'm heading there on Saturday with my wife. If your plans change let me know so we can meet up.

 

[twistedtree]

TT, I'm heading there on Saturday with my wife. If your plans change let me know so we can meet up.

Unfortunately I only have Thursday and Friday free, then am back in my last class on Saturday

 

[twistedtree]

I attended trawlerfest today only for the vendors and the boats, not for the seminars. It was pretty much a waste of time, and thankfully I need to waste time today. The event was incredibly poorly organized with virtually no signage to guide anyone anywhere. There were parking signs, but when I arrived at the lot the attendant said event parking was across the street. Across the street was all private residential parking. It was not a good start to the day. I finally just found a place to
park on my own, and the only way to figure out where to go in the giant Marriott residential complex was to look at a sat photo and try to find the docks. I finally found it, despite Trawlerfest’s efforts to hide it.

There were at best a dozen vendors, and at most a dozen boats. If you are interested in a Krogen, there were three of different sizes so a good comparison opportunity. And there were several Ranger Tugs so if interested in them, also a good comparison opportunity. Then one Fleming 55, and a North Pacific 45. Also two Swift Trawlers, a 41 and 48 if I recall correctly. If you are interested specifically in one of these brands it might be worth a visit. Otherwise I wouldn’t waste the time.

I think the real value in a Trawlerfest must be the seminars, because it sure isn’t the show.

 

[Comodave]

We went to several back when Bill Partalore owned PMM. They were very good but the last one we went to was a waste of time.

 

[Mako]

Thanks for the feedback TT, I’ve decided to skip it.

 

[alormaria]

Funny, back when Georg K used to run them it was the reverse. The seminars were spotty but the boat show was great and the people were a treat.

 

[DWJensen]

We went to a Stuart TF a few years back. Advance purchase tickets, travel and hotel room and all. Signage was non-existent, parking was a mess and there were probably only a dozen vendor stalls and nothing that really appealed to us. The in-water part was just as underwhelming: Several higher end motoryachts, a couple of sailboats and I think only a trawler or two. To say we were disappointed would be an understatement. We had been planning on a full day but left after maybe an hour.

 

[kthoennes]

Thanks for these posts. My dad lives in Stuart so we thought hard about jumping down this weekend for a visit and Trawlerfest. For some reason the plane tickets were really expensive (around double the usual price) so we decided to skip it. Spring break for colleges maybe? Anyway, these reviews make me feel better about missing it.

 

[twistedtree]

I’d have been really upset if I had flown there and paid for a hotel, rental car, etc. I took my time going through the boats, and still didn’t stay for more than 1-1/2 hrs.