Boat Shows: A Very Woody Weekend

There are a bunch of boat shows this weekend, and many of them are destined to be classic...

Big boat shows are fantastic for seeing the latest and greatest in boating conveniences, stuffed into fiberglass hulls and plastic cockpits, sitting rail to rail inside an enormous convention center. Seriously, we do love those shows, and we enjoy in-water shows even more. But every once in a while it's nice to go to a boat show where you can see how boats used to look - when hulls and decks were made of wood, and if someone told you that their boat had "all the bells and whistles", they weren't talking about an iPad mounted on their dash next to a GPS and an autopilot.

This weekend, there are a few boat shows going on that can take you back to the good old days, and a few that keep you grounded in the present. Here is this week's boat show round-up...

This Weekend's Boat Shows
Whether you are looking for a boat show with new model power and sailboats, or antique wooden boats from yesteryear, there is an event going on this weekend that's right for you. You just need to find it, and that's where we come in. We've highlighted several of this weekend's boat shows below; and, as always, you are welcome to jump ahead to the First Boat boat show calendar for a quick look at the lineup of boating events this weekend and beyond.

This Weekend's "Modern" Boat Show Round-Up...

• The Catawba Island Boat Show is Friday, May 4th, through Sunday, May 6th, at the Catawba Island Club, Port Clinton, Ohio. The event promises to have more than 70 boats on display, both power and sail, as well as antique boats and accessories.
• Across the pond and across the Channel? If you are anywhere near the Channel Islands this Saturday, Sunday, or Monday - Monday is a bank holiday in the UK - make plans to attend the Barclays Jersey Boat Show. 
• Meanwhile, back here in the States... Detlaville, Virginia, is home to the 2nd annual Middle Bay Boat Show at Norview Marina this Saturday and Sunday with more than 30 exhibitors as well as a replica of the boat used by Captain John Smith to explore and chart the Chesapeake Bay in 1607 and 1608, on loan from the Deltaville Maritime Museum.    

This Weekend's Antique and Classic Boat Shows...

• Keels and Wheels Concours d'Elegance is being held Saturday and Sunday at Lakewood Yacht Club in Seabrook, Texas. This event has raised over a million dollars for charities with their annual event, and this year they are raising funds for Boys and Girls Harbor (www.boysandgirlsharbor.org)
• Also on Saturday and Sunday , the NC Maritime Museum is hosting its annual Wooden Boat Show on Front Street in Beaufort, North Carolina. 
• On Saturday this weekend, Wood Waves and Wheels is being hosted by the Fort Worth Boat Club located on the Eagle Mountain Lake in Fort Worth Texas. This show has become a regional favorite with beautiful vintage cars and motorcycles displayed in the shade on the lawn of the beautiful Fort Worth Boat Club over looking a marina filled with spectacular wooden boats of all kinds.

Three Weeks Away... 


Milford, Connecticut, nestled on the shoreline of Long Island Sound, is holding its first ever SailQuest - a boat show from Friday, May 18 to Sunday, May 20, 2012. More info.

MORE INFO 
There are a few more shows, as well as links to the official websites of all these events and more on the First Boat boat show calendar. 

Did We Miss One? Got Pics? Please Share!
If we didn't mention a boat show this weekend, please comment on the Daily Boater Facebook page or here as a comment on DailyBoater.com. Thanks, and see you at the next show!

Related: Check out the USCG Navigation Center website at navcen.uscg.gov.


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