[dennett1]

Just wondering what the general feeling is out there was about how this years Ft. Lauderdale Int. Boat Show will be received with the economic downturn and all.

[YachtForums]

YF provided live, daily coverage of FLIBS 2008. Over the course of the 5 day event, about 30,000 people logged-on and walked the docks with us. Here's the link...

http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/bo...-coverage.html

[RichLazzara]

I think you will see smaller displays and less new boat companies. The brokerage will be up. There will be less overall attendance. There may never be a better time to buy a boat as the deals will be available. Wont be as bad as the year the hurricane went through and they postponed the show 1 week.

[K1W1]

Originally Posted by RichLazzara

Wont be as bad as the year the hurricane went through and they postponed the show 1 week.

Hi,

Not unless another one comes through a few days before the show opens

[dennett1]

Hi RichLazzara, Thanks for the insight. I was there the year of the hurricane and it was indeed quite slow but some of the bigger dealers (Trinity, Westport) did very well. I guess only the serious buyers showed up. I agree with your overall assessment though I too think it will be very slow.

[CaptTom]

Originally Posted by RichLazzara

I think you will see smaller displays and less new boat companies. The brokerage will be up. There will be less overall attendance. There may never be a better time to buy a boat as the deals will be available. Wont be as bad as the year the hurricane went through and they postponed the show 1 week.

Rich,
Anything new and/or exciting coming from Lazzara for this year's FLIBS? Last year's unveiling of the new LSX the night before the show opened was very dramatic and cool. Bringing the showroom barge over to Bahia Mar? Thanks

[RichLazzara]

CaptTom,

Yes we will be bringing the showroom barge over to the Bahia Mar. As for new boats we will have the new LSX75 with a flybridge on it. Also added foredeck seating group, larger aft deck seating and stabilizers to the LSX75. Stop by and check it out.

[catmando]

Did anyone get to ride in the diesel-powered Eliminator 43 Eagle last year? Twin 480hp Cummins Mercruiser diesels and NXT drives. They ran the boat for five days, put 230 miles on the boat and burned only 70 gallons of fuel. Not bad for a 12,500lb V bottom that runs 75mph.

Hey Rich are you guys still racing?

[RichLazzara]

That was my Dad that raced, but to answer the question, no he hasnt been at the wheel of a speedboat since he had an accident during a race. you can see it here at min 1:20 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNrYqs-OAKE . crushed bones in his face had to put titanium plates around eye sockets and cheeks. hes fine now but didnt look good for a while back then. I think it was around 1999 when it happened. Anyways it was a good/fun time when we were involved.

[CaptTom]

Rich,
Thanks for the update. Okay, the real question is will you have the beavy of beauties at the display this year or are they also falling victim to the tough economy?

[C4ENG]

Lazzara was definitely in the lead of the whole 2008 show with her beauty's!

[YachtForums]

Originally Posted by C4ENG

Lazzara was definitely in the lead of the whole 2008 show with her beauty's!

Those beauties were compliments of Madeline Andrews from Model Millennium. You should know this C4ENG... you had a few on your boat too!

YachtForums will be providing live coverage of the Ft. Lauderdale Show again this year, but this time around the hotel at Bahia Mar will be home base and we'll have hourly updates. If time allows, we might have a Yacht Flock, but don't hold me to it right now. I'll look into renting a facility at Bahia Mar, or... we might have it aboard a boat. Not sure yet.

[PropBet]

thanks!