South Florida Boat Show soldiers on - South Florida Business Journal:

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The show, promoted by Pompano Beach-based , is a much smallet cousin to the Fort Lauderdale and Miamii internationalboat shows, Marine Industries Unlimited ownedr Brad Michael said. “We’re a niche show. We don’t try to be an international show,” he said. “We have the boatws that are 90 percent of what America Held atthe , this year’s show will feature boats from about 75 exhibitors, Michael said. The vesseles on display are all powerboatds under40 feet. About 85 percent of the boats cost lessthan $200,000, he noted. The 250 boatzs on display are a drop from the 350 boatsx typically atthe show.
The number of registered exhibitorss is down about35 percent, too, Michael The show comes as the marine industry has takej a battering from the recession. For the 12 months endesd in April, registrations of new 18-foot to 40-foog boats fell 46 percent fromthe prior-yeaf period, according to data from , a Miami-basec marine industry research firm. “It’s hard to be to optimistid about the year in lookingat what’s happene d in 2009 so far,” Info-Lini co-owner Jesse Wells said. Wells pointec to the recent bankruptcyof Minneapolis-based boat manufacturer , the nation’xs second-largest boat manufacturer, as more proof of the industry’d stress.
Still, recent data shows that used boat registrationse are generally picking up a glimmer of hope that the industry may be bounciny offthe bottom, Wells said. As a dealer, Michaelk said he sold three boats in the last month aftere failing to sell any the first four months ofthe “In January, February and nobody knew where the bottokm was,” he said. Frank Herhold, executive directore of the , said dealers are tellingb him that sales arepicking up. locked up since last fall, is becoming availablew for those who are credit worthu and can put substantialmoney down. “Likwe every other industry, we’re taking our Herhold said.
“I see a light at the end of the