2005 Sydney International Boat Show

If you had a choice between fighting it out at a crowded boat show or heading outdoors in unseasonably warm spring weather for some R&R, which would you choose? Despite that scenario presenting itself to the organisers of this year's Sydney International Boat Show, which was staged during an incredible weekend of weather, an amazing 89,451 visitors chose to battle their way along the on-water display and through the six halls at Darling Harbour where more than 1000 boats were collectively pulling at the purse strings.

That attendance figure, especially if seasonably adjusted for the bizarre winter weather, confirms Sydney has the largest recreational boat show in the Southern Hemisphere. And while it didn't quite match last year's record 93,500 showgoers, there was a surfeit of serious boaties keen to upgrade or get afloat for the first time.

However, the 38th Sydney International Boat Show was most remarkable for the middle word of its title - the international bit. Foreign badges arrived in droves, egged on by the free trade agreement with America, which saw the scrapping of a five per cent import duty, aided by our continuing sound economy, and abetted by our willingness to spend on leisure.

POPULARITY CONTEST
So what boats were coveting our cash and lines of credit? Predictably, considering the show was rife with imports, bowriders were present in droves. There were also plenty of cool towboats to cater for the wakeboarding and waterskiing set, and packaged tinnies from Stacer and Quintrex - the Freedom Sport 540 is a beauty.

However, unlike other states, the trend in Sydney was to upmarket and bigger boats and, seemingly, price was less of a concern than quality. And in many instances, small-ticketed package boats were being forsaken for $50,000-plus BMTs.

Among the other buying trends mentioned by dealers were: strong sales of waterski boats and not just wakeboarding rigs; great sales of deckboats with toilets and change areas; lots of sales of centre consoles not just for fishing but also fun-running; and very strong business for the big-name brands.

Did I mention imports? How could you miss them? American boats sprouted like mushrooms after a downpour. I tallied an incredible 18 different brands of American bowriders alone including watersports and towboats that had sit-pits up front.

Among the plethora of bowriders were those boats that were keenly-priced, beautifully-finished, wide and accommodating, sporty as a Nascar... and also overly priced and lacking in the finish department in a few cases.

Inboard V6 and V8 petrol engines were commonplace, as were groovy graphics, tow towers, plush upholstery and upgraded marine stereos.

In no particular order, I found American star-spangled bowriders from Cobalt, Crownline, Four Winns, Bayliner, Maxum, Glastron, Malibu (made here under licence from America), Tige, Stingray, Mariah, Sea Fox, Larson, Boston Whaler, Sea Ray, Mastercraft, Sugar Sand and Supra. And within many of these ranges there were variations of bowriders ranging from wakeboarding models to family models.

DECKED OUT
Along with bowriders, most of the bigger American badges also had variants known as deckboats. Wider, with bow and stern ladders, marine toilets and private dressing areas, these boats are finally catching on as crew-friendly dayboats with great static appeal. But if point-and-shoot sports bowriding is more your gig, no worries, there were sexy Cobalts and deep-vee Sea Rays made for chomping through boat wake and wind waves.

Collectively, these boats delivered hitherto unimaginable competition for our enduring local marques, and when comparing imported boat volumes to what's in our craft, the wide-beamed imports were bigger than Texas. But compete the locals did, and there were fibreglass bowriders from Signature, Haines Hunter, Cruise Craft, Savage and other small yards doing their best to rival quality and price. Signature's 600BR was among the best of them, I thought.

FISHING WEAPONS
There were cuddy cabins from the big Americans and our own yards intended for both fishing and family boating and many more centre consoles than we've seen before. This show had the biggest spread of Boston Whalers ever, ranging from a 130 Sport skiff to a 305 Conquest, plus a new lineup of Trophy sportfishers, and at least one big Hydra-Sports with, get this, triple 275hp Verado outboard engines. Also worth a mention were some nice new Wellcraft centre consoles.

Venerable Whittley was there with bells on - its trailerable weekenders having timeless appeal and no competition in the on-water caravan stakes - though the likes of Bayliner, Larson, Sea Ray and Four Winns had neat sportscruisers in the mid-20ft bracket that weren't trailerable.

Dotted about the halls and out on the marina were Aussie and New Zealand craft from Mustang, Stabicraft, Brooker, Caribbean, Trailcraft, Labsport, Full Boar, Terrara, Allycraft, Predator, Cox Craft, Allison, Force, Stejcraft, Dominator, Southern Star, Freedom, Webster, and Bar Crusher (nice boats!).

There were duckies from Avon, Quicksilver and Gemini, for example, jetskis from Sea-Doo and Kawasaki, plenty of cool wakeboards, kayaks and canoes, fishing tackle, a fashion parade watched by hecklers, and a fishing clinic full of budding anglers that were all ears.

The enduring Aussie brands such as Cruise Craft - with its excellent Outsider walkaround fish boats - Signature, Savage, Haines Hunter and Seafarer (the latter expensive but always world-class in my eyes) did their best to fight the imports on our shores. But in many ways resistance was futile.

This was a show of strength for American boats and you had to feel sorry for our local yards. While some Aussie marques need to reinvest and rethink, others have great boats and can only ride out the storm till their day in the sun. And at the end of the day, competition will only raise the bar and benefit the new boat buyer.