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If you goWhat: Chattanooga Boat and Sport Show.Time: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. todayAdmission: Adults, $9. Children 12 and under free with paid adult ticketPlace: Chattanooga Convention Center, 1150 Carter St.
The weather is cold and rainy enough that forecasters say there is a chance for snow tomorrow evening, but you wouldn't know that from visiting the Chattanooga Convention Center this weekend.
That's because dealerships and vendors packed out the 100,000-square-foot exhibition hall with everything from speedboats to jet skis to hulking pontoon boats, all polished to perfection for the annual Chattanooga Boat and Sport Show.
It's a boom season for the boat industry.
Since Thursday, hundreds of visitors have flocked from all over the Southeast in preparation for the inevitable end of winter, when they can get back out on the water.
Brian Hopkins, a salesman for Marine Outfitters, said the approaching end of winter and the boat show always kick off his company's biggest sales season.
"Everybody's been cooped up all winter," he said. "They're looking forward to warmer weather and getting out in their boat."
Hopkins said Marine Outfitters had sold two wakeboats Saturday morning for $70,000 to $80,000 each. He said that for some reason this year, there are fewer visitors to the boat show but more of those customers seemed to be serious about buying a boat there.
"They're really boat-shopping, not just tire-kicking," he said.
While reclining in the luxurious back seats of a $30,000 pontoon boat with his family, Steve Dycus confirmed much of what Hopkins had said, but from a customer's perspective.
"All of this cold weather makes you want to get up and buy a boat," he chuckled. "It gives you hope that warm weather is coming."
Dycus is a technician for a company in Talladega, Ala., that lays fibre-optic cable. He said he drove up to Chattanooga with his wife, Cheryl, and daughter, Danielle, to replace the family's old pontoon boat, which is worn out after years of use.
He said, "We're looking for one that can hold about 15 people and that has no less than 150 horsepower."
He added that he wanted to get the specific boat he was sitting in because it was manufactured by a family-owned company, Dalton Marine, and he believes it's important to support small businesses that deliver quality goods.
But family-owned businesses are actually the norm for dealerships at the boat show.
Wendy Del-Signore, a saleswoman for Island Cove Outdoor Center, said her father got her into the business when she was a junior in high school and now, 16 years later, she works with her husband and brother.
And getting to come to boat shows is a great perk for her too.
"I love the boats and I love the people," she said with a smile. "It's just a great business to be in."
Contact staff writer Emmett Gienapp at egienapp@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6731.