Atlantic City boat show opens: $1.38 million yacht to $500 rowboat

ATLANTIC CITY - Boat sales are growing nationwide, and the Progressive Atlantic City Boat Show is 25 percent bigger than it was last year.

Organizers of the event, which opened at the Atlantic City Convention Center on Wednesday and runs through Sunday,- are hoping for record attendance at the show, which has been making a splash here for 37 years. The show attracts thousands of boat lovers looking for a glimpse of summer - and perhaps their next nautical toy - in the dead of winter. The 2016 show has more vendors and exhibition space.

One big draw this year could be a recent change in New Jersey's sales tax law that cuts the tax on boats costing under $300,000 by 50 percent.

"I certainly think it's going to pull more people into the show to at least consider purchasing a boat, maybe for the very first time," said John Eskow, a sales associate at Comstock Yacht Sales & Marina of Brick, which is exhibiting Grady-White, Regulator, and Formula brand vessels at the show this week.

The show features about 500 boats offered from dozens of brands, everything from $500 inflatable rowboats to the event's centerpiece, the $1.38 million, 53-foot sport-luxury yacht Azimut Atlantis 50.

The Azimut is an Italian-made beauty with sleek lines that is both sporty sailing vessel and elegant luxury yacht with a creamy-looking fiberglass exterior and an interior in shades of white and tan leathers and teak.

The gadget-obsessed will enjoy discovering the latest must-haves in the 400-vendor, 93,000-square-foot marine marketplace where they will find high-tech marine technology, engines, and accessories.

"This one is bigger than the one in New England and bigger than the one in New York," said show manager Jon Pritko.

Pritko and others said the reduction in sales tax on boats under $300,000 may boost sales this year, or at least help boat retailers in the Garden State compete with retailers in neighboring states. The law, which took effect Monday, caps sales tax on new boats at 3.5 percent, half the state's usual sales tax of 7 percent.

"That kind of savings can really draw people into boating because that is money they can use to put toward fuel for the year or docking fees," said Eskow, whose offerings range from $65,000, 20-foot center-console Grady-White Freedoms to 45-foot Formula yachts that sell for $1.2 million. "And other people who already have a boat may be looking for upgrades because of the savings."

Todd White of Cape May said he and his friends were at the show "just to dream" and said the tax cut probably is not enough to get any of them into a new boat this year.

"With the lower fuel costs out there right now and the tax cut, it certainly is tempting," said White. "Unfortunately, I think I'm just going to be dreaming about getting a boat for awhile yet."

Kevin Schrader of Schrader Yacht Sales of Point Pleasant, which sells the classic American line Chris-Craft, said he's been hearing customers "happily discuss" the tax cut.

"We'll have to see whether the tax break actually does make a difference. Every year we certainly do have some sales made here, but most people come to a show like this just to look and then they come back later to actually buy," said Schrader.

Pleasure boating in the United States accounts for about $35 billion in sales annually for vessels, engines, and accessories, according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association.

Sales of new boats in 2014 - the latest year for which statistics are available - increased 6.4 percent over the previous year, according to the NMMA.

Some show attendees said they hoped New Jersey's tax cut would boost participation in boating in the Garden State this year.

Lynn Andrews of Sea Isle City, whose family has bought several boats and motors at the show over the years, said she hopes the tax savings will bring more families into boating.

"It's such a wonderful way for a family to spend time together," Andrews said. "I really do hope that the tax savings gets a lot of people thinking about boating."

Besides boats, also featured are workshops and exhibits by the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) in an area of the show for hands-on learning called the Progressive Boat School and Discover Fishing and Electronics University.

There, children can get a taste of the boating lifestyle at the Create a Boat workshop and paddleboat in a mini-lake that has been created in the middle of the show, and adults can broaden their knowledge on the latest in safety at sea, specialized electronics and deep sea fishing techniques.

The Xpogo extreme pogo stunt team brings some fun to the scene with a stunt show in which members will jump over boats. The team holds the Guinness World Record for stunts that include the highest jump on a pogo stick, fastest mile on a pogo stick, and consecutive backflips on a pogo stick.

Contact Jacqueline L. Urgo at 609-652-8382 or jurgo@phillynews.com @JacquelineUrgo