Always something new at the OC Seaside Boat Show

KIM HOEY
DELMARVA NOW CORRESPONDENT
In this file photo, the OC Seaside Boat Show floor is packed. The 35th annual show runs Feb. 16-18.

Some time in the late 1990s, the OC Seaside Boat Show was canceled for a year while the convention center was renovated.

Taylor Marine in Milford still sent in its registration fee.

“We wanted to support the Optimist Club,” said Dirk VanRees, owner of Taylor Marine.

That’s how positively the boat show is viewed by vendors and the public alike.

The 35th annual show will take place Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 16-18, at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center. There are more than 135 exhibitors and 350 boats expected this year, and a waiting list of companies that want to take part if someone can’t make it.

The exhibitor number doesn’t include the free booths going to nonprofits like the Lions and Elks Clubs and the fire departments, said Charles Dorman, the chairman of the event for the Ocean City/Berlin Optimist Club.

That’s how popular the boat show has become through the years. Dorman said he knows boat dealers who have negotiated their spot in the boat show as an asset in selling their companies.

More than 18,000 people are expected to visit it this weekend to see everything from fishing boats to speed boats of all sizes and makes. There will also be booths with boat motors and boat accessories, fishing tackle and fishing vacations, and food and jewelry, among other things.

“I look forward to lunch at Liquid Assets, and a stop at Ish Boutique,” said Karen Falk of Rehoboth, a regular boat show attendee and jewelry buyer.

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The club tries to have something on hand for everyone, said Dorman. It is the club’s biggest fundraiser, usually netting more than $100,000 that then goes right back into the community in the form of scholarships and grants.

In this file photo, Ethan Mackley, 5, climbs boats on display from Riverside Marine at the 32nd annual Seaside Boat Show at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center in Ocean City on 2015. The 35th annual show runs Feb. 16-18.

Plus, everyone who visits is entered to win an 18-foot Sweetwater Pontoon Boat with a 40 horsepower Honda motor.

“We’ve done that every year since 1986,” said Scott McCurdy, owner of North Bay Marina in Selbyville, the company that donates the boat. North Bay has donated more than $600,000 worth of boats to the organization through the years. “The (Optimists have) given away more than $2 million in college scholarships. I don’t think there’s any other organization that gives you more for your money.”

North Bay and Taylor Marine were two of the companies to sign up for the first show back in 1983. Back when the convention center was elevated and the Optimists would enclose the parking space below with plywood to create more space for the boats. Companies had boats parking on ramps, throughout the parking lot, anywhere they could fit them, said Dorman.

This year, VanRees expects to send at least 15 boats to the show. The club maps out the space in the convention center and leaves it up to the vendors to figure out how many boats they can fit, said Dorman. Club members make sure aisles stay clear per the fire marshal’s instructions, but otherwise try to squeeze in as much as they can and still keep maximum flow.

“It’s always a good show for us. It’s a good chance to catch up with all our local customers, said VanRees.

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Dorman likes to see all the new lines of boats, he said. There is always something new.  He’s enjoyed watching the changes through the years. He gets calls all year long from people, many who have become friends, who want to be in the show. Thinking back to the beginning, it makes him laugh.

Back in the first year, the show had space for 35 vendors, but only two spots rented three-weeks before opening day. The Optimist in charge of the show that year started calling boat dealers, telling them there were only one spot left if they wanted it. He sold out every space.

In this file photo, Baltimore residents Emily Gillingham, 23, (left) and Tyler Blizzard spend Valentine's Day relaxing on pontoon boats as the 32nd annual Seaside Boat Show. The 35th annual show runs Feb. 16-18.

Today, Dorman just feels sorry he doesn’t have enough room to fit everyone in who wants to take part.

“We rent every space the convention center will give us,” said Dorman. He claims he’d let people set up exhibits in the bathrooms if they’d let him. “I just wish I had more space. If they would enlarge the center tomorrow, I could sell it tomorrow.”

The show runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Cost is $10 per person, $15 for a weekend pass. The Roland E. Powell Convention Center is located at 4001 Coastal Highway in Ocean City.