Lake Havasu Boat Show Preview

There’s nothing like a boat show to get you in the mood for the upcoming boating season, but lately shows have been harder to find than a brownie at a Weight Watchers convention. Why we’re drawn to shows is because we get to see our favorite manufacturers’ newest models along with all the latest and greatest water toys and gear. It pretty much spells the perfect weekend plan for boating enthusiasts that are itching for some nautical fun during the off-season.

Approval has been received and the 30th annual Lake Havasu Boat Show is a go for next month. It takes place April 9-11 at a new location at the Havasu 95 Speedway and this pontoon-heavy show averages over 150 exhibitors. The boat show proudly claims the title of the largest boat show in the region, and its organizer Bob Brown is confident that the diverse lineup of boat brands, types, and products will impress everyone in attendance.

Where It Began
The Lake Havasu Boat Show originally was started by the Lake Havasu Marine Association with the goal of helping to promote local marine businesses in the Lake Havasu City area. Not only did it succeed in this goal, but it became so popular that they reached out to Brown back in 2012 to see if he could help them organize the show, which had grown to be much bigger than they’d anticipated.

Ever since then, Brown has done the administrative parts of the boat show—laying out the floor plan for the show and selling booth space to the exhibitors. While Brown takes care of the administrative parts, the Marine Association has continued to provide volunteers to work the show.

The Lake Havasu Boat Show has picked up quite a bit of steam from the time it started 30 years ago, growing into one of the premier boat shows in the Southwest. The show attracts more than 9,000 visitors a year and boasts more than $50 million in boats and marine accessories including pontoons, deck boats, fishing boats, runabouts, boating gear and more.

“We’ve been lucky enough to make it grow to be now the largest boat show in Arizona and Nevada,” shared Brown. “I don’t know if it’s the largest boat show in California, but it’s certainly the largest boat show in Arizona and Nevada.”

Diverse Lineup
One reason the Lake Havasu Boat Show has grown to be so popular is the spectacular diversification of products that it features. This makes it so that just about any kind of boater will finds vessels and products that fit their particular style of boating, whether they’re into fishing, cruising, entertaining or wake boarding.

“I think diversification is the important part,” observed Brown. “I think some boat shows tend to be a bit one-dimensional. They don’t have as much variety of products that boaters would like to see. Here we have kayaks, we have paddleboards, and pretty much anything that has to do with water recreation.”

All the options in boats and products keep visitors busy shopping around for the whole show. Like Brown says, if it has anything to do with water or boating, chances are it’ll be there contributing to the diverse list of featured items at the show.

Diversification is also one of the key ingredients as to why pontoons have exploded in popularity over the years at the Lake Havasu Boat Show.

Growth Of Pontoons
There’s no question the pontoon presence has grown over the years at the boat show, and a large reason pontoon boats have come to be some of the most popular vessels is the variety of options they offer boaters.

“Prior to around 2010, pontoons were always a part of the market, but I considered them to be a fairly narrow niche part of the marketplace,” explained Brown. “Today the pontoon market has expanded to include a lot more people.”

Pontoon boats can be equipped with bigger outboard motors today, making it so they can achieve speed ranges that appeal to more people. Plowing along at only 15 or 20 miles per hour is no longer the only option since pontoons can effortlessly keep up with (and even outperform) most other types of boats. Twenty years ago, pulling a skier, wake boarder, or a tuber behind a pontoon boat was unheard of, but now it’s a commonplace feat they can easily manage because of the increase in outboard horsepower and better hull designs.

So the power/hull combo has made the pontoon boat a great deal more versatile than it was 10 years ago. Aside from that, they also offer unparalleled comfort mingled with functionality that can be hard for boaters to pass up when shopping around for their new dream vessel. Plus, pontoons give you more options in general when it comes to water and boating activities.

“They serve the purpose for a huge segment of the boating marketplace now because you can fish from them, you can ski from them, and you can pull water toys with them,” marveled Brown. “They’re comfortable with nice big Bimini covered tops and they can hold more people. They’re more stable—all these things are working in their favor.”

Thanks to their diversification and long list of benefits, pontoons are now not only a prominent part of the Lake Havasu Boat Show, but also of the boating marketplace in general.

Counting Down
The Lake Havasu Boat Show will be the perfect place to peruse pontoons and the latest in recreational boating products. Most people who go to the show plan to make a day of it. Brown fondly described how they always have a crowd of enthusiastic boaters waiting for the show to open outside the gates in the morning.

I for one would love to be among those happy boaters, counting down the seconds until the gates open to one of the biggest boat shows in the Southwest. Be sure to get your tickets now!