February 2007
Boat Show Season
The Washington Boat Show will run Feb 15–19 this year closing on Washington’s Birthday. This looks like the lineup for the boat show displays:
Chaparral—210, 246, 275 SSi; 216 Sunesta; 236, 256 and 276 SSx; 240, 250, 270, 290 and 330 Signature. We are not bringing in the Hardtop 350 because we don’t want to have to remove the hardtop for shipping, and we may not have the 310 in time so we didn’t plan for it. In fact the 250 will be a squeaker so call first to make sure you’ll see what you want.
Cobalt—200, 212, 220, 222, 232, 240, 250, 252, 263, 272, 282, 302 and 343.
There will be special show incentives on both brands at the show and Factory incentives from Chaparral that will carry until 4/1/07. We recommend that you not wait that long to order; right now the backlog on Chaparrals is 12-14 weeks meaning the first half of May, further out on some models, and Cobalt is on an allocation basis. My feeling is that all the builders anticipated a slowdown and decreased production only to find out there’s no recession yet again. There will be a shortage of product! In the face of this we’ve tried to get more product in advance and talk to other dealers so we can scare up a boat if we have to.
I moved the Spring Kickoff party from February 24th to March 17th because it’s closer to the season and people will really want to come down. Dad’s birthday was March 16th and he always said you could dewinterize most cruisers safely by then.
JOE’S JOURNAL (from the latest issue of CAPTAINS QUARTERLY)
Spring is here and I don't know about you but I'm ready to boat! I'm making lists of places I want to go, things I want to do and ways I want to get myself ready, and although I wouldn't call my list complete, I'd like to share some of it with you. So, in no particular order of importance:
- I'll buy 2 fresh charts. I keep one in the car or at home and the other on the boat. When I plan an outing I start by checking the weather at http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/data/Forecasts/FZUS51.KLWX.html a couple days ahead of time. This gives me not only a precipitation forecast but also a wind forecast with direction. Then I go to the chart. The stretch of the Potomac from the Occoquan to Aquia runs roughly north to south. If we have a wind forecast out of the northwest at 15-20 knots then I'll see 2 things by looking at the chart. First, water will be lower than normal because the wind will tend to push the water downriver towards the Bay. Second, If I run to Aquia in a runabout, I'll have a rough ride back because the wind will build waves over that 15 mile stretch of river. It's best probably to run up towards DC that day for a smoother ride or to go to Tim's and bust some hardshells.
- When I submit my work order for spring commissioning (and yes, even though I own the place I still have to put in a work order) I'm going to pay (yes pay) extra to
have the tech turn on every switch and appliance and tell me if the boat needs
more work. Then I'm going to go for at least one ride before I start inviting
others—even family. I usually anchor out and eat lunch. This does a couple of
things. First, if there is anything wrong with the boat I don't cause my
passengers any stress by fussing about it. Second, I get the first ride by myself to refresh myself on where the channel is without any distractions. And really there's nothing like that first ride, quiet and peaceful, back in tune with the river that puts food on the table for my family and has been such a big part of my life. I daydream back through my boating life, conjuring up many fond memories from recesses in my mind. Piloting and meditation come together for me here.
- I'll sign up for a Courtesy Coast Guard Examination. I want to know my boat is safe. I take a boating course every 5 years and review the basic handbook for boaters each spring (available for free at most dealerships). And although I could get away with the basic orange vests for kids, I'm going to keep lots of different ski vests for them as well. I like it when a child has a vest on and if they look “cool” (whether that's a Mickey Mouse vest for little kids or a Generation X style one for adolescents) the result is always the same: they love wearing them and keep them on when we get to the various swimming holes. My mother gave many of them away to my friends when I was young, and lots of them later became boaters (although not necessarily customers).
- I'll give my wife docking lessons and refresh her on piloting. As our 5 year-old grows, my wife will want to be able to take kids and friends out more on her own. Everybody in our family learned to pilot growing up. Some have since forgotten and some didn't want to learn in the first place. But it's great if you're going on a trip down river and you can have someone else take the wheel for a few minutes if nothing else.
- I'll get out my chart book and start planning to go to a place I've never been. You'd think at the ripe old age of 45, having spent my whole life on the river, that I'd seen everything there is to see but I haven't. Like many, I get in the habit of becoming comfortable with a place or two and just revisit them. For me it's Sandy Point because it takes 20 minutes to get to and creates maximum relaxation with minimal effort. But every time I do something I haven't done before I'm really glad I did.
I hope you'll consider doing these things too and please tell me about your adventures. I love to hear about them! Write me at joe@hoffmasters.com and maybe you'll see your name in print next issue of Captains Quarterly. See you out there! This is Hardshell over and out.
Contact Information
Joe Hoffmaster—Sales Manager, General Manager, Sales Specialist new boats. M, T,W, and F
8am-4pm, Sat 10am-4pm.
Martha Hoffmaster—Chief Financial Officer; M, T, Th and F 8:30am-11am, 12:30pm-3pm.
Judy Chilcot—Accounts Receivables, billing questions, and boat sales; M-F 8:30am-4pm.
Terry Verity—Service Writer
Jeff Atwood—Parts Manager, Parts and service questions, Sales Specialist; M-F; 8am-4pm.
Charles Hedrick—Sales Specialist; M, W, Th, and F 8:30am-4pm; Sat 10am-4pm; Sun Noon-4pm or by appointment.
Tracey Crowell—Parts and Accessories; M-F 9:30am-4:30pm. Weekends by appointment only.
Sam Childress—Lead Tech/Foreman M-F; 8am-4pm.
David Brigante—Delivery Specialist, compliance, ship's sytems M-F; 8am-4pm.
John Louisor—Marine Coatings specialist, lead lift operator, ship's systems M-F; 8am-4pm.
Dave McMillan—Volvo Penta Certified Tech, Fiberglass Repair, ship's systems M-F; 8am-4pm.
Jon Hanner—Volvo Penta Certified Tech, Electronics and Electrical Specialist M-F; 8am-4pm.
For Service and parts orders and follow-up, call Terry or Jeff. On the weekends leave Terry notes. Parts order forms and work order forms are located on the parts counter. Anybody in the store can assist you with this.
To put your boat up on brokerage or to get a value call Chuck.
If you have a question about your bill call Judy.
