Melbourne boat show October 20-23 / 2022

[rb85]

Will pop in for a look as I will be in Melbourne anyway. If only there was a Fishing-Victoria stand.

[Sebb]

Has anyone been there?
Anything interesting?

[hornet]

IN MY OPINION DON’T WAIST YOUR TIME ! I went this morning. I went to the exhibition building shed where it has always been...
my mistake my fault not reading the address it's at docklands !

So I go to docklands and it’s impossible to find a car park, after an hour or more I get a park, I walk down to the alleged "boat show"
What a disappointment! It’s in the open; all boats are on trailers along the promenade parked in rows.

Little tents dot the area with take away food, if it rains your screwed, forget affordable boats there is none, price range start from min $15000 for a basic tinny (bare) if any, most boats are $50000 and up from there.

No or little accessories, no fishing bargain bins no fishing tackle at all! NO WONDER IT'S FREE!
All I saw were the local yuppies taking the kids around with strollers, they are not potential boat buyers!

I will never go to another so called Melbourne boat show again unless it’s at the Melbourne exhibition building, where there is great easy parking, everything is under cover, and everything I expect to see from a proper boat show.

[Sebb]

Good to know. Thanks. Not gonna go.
I was thinking of going.

[Lightningx]

Sounds like I didn’t miss out on anything

[ben475]

a mate txt me the other day, i said i've got kids sport all weekend, ill give him a call if it gets washed out.
well i looked it up last night, docklands wft looks like its all outside and its gonna **** down.
i wont be going.

[cobby]

Mate that 15k tinny is your affordable these days. Don't know if you've been paying attention at all, but you're struggling to get change out of 10k for a 3.5m tinny, trailer and little 9.9hp motor brand new...

[fishingvic]

Iv'e merged the two Boat Show topics.

[rb85]

Poor bring back exhibition centre

[Kestrel]

IN MY OPINION DON’T WAIST YOUR TIME ! I went this morning. I went to the exhibition building shed where it has always been...
my mistake my fault not reading the address it's at docklands !

So I go to docklands and it’s impossible to find a car park, after an hour or more I get a park, I walk down to the alleged "boat show"
What a disappointment! It’s in the open; all boats are on trailers along the promenade parked in rows.

Little tents dot the area with take away food, if it rains your screwed, forget affordable boats there is none, price range start from min $15000 for a basic tinny (bare) if any, most boats are $50000 and up from there.

No or little accessories, no fishing bargain bins no fishing tackle at all! NO WONDER IT'S FREE!
All I saw were the local yuppies taking the kids around with strollers, they are not potential boat buyers!

I will never go to another so called Melbourne boat show again unless it’s at the Melbourne exhibition building, where there is great easy parking, everything is under cover, and everything I expect to see from a proper boat show.

Mmmm ... Well I was also there this morning. I agree with most of Hornet's points and disagree with others.

I certainly agree that Jeff's shed is a better venue and that the variety of stands was certainly lacking. I would also add that the 'stage' was really poor as was the lineup of speakers. Alan Bonicci from Fishing Mad was given a slot last thing on Sunday when the place is about to close. Also, the 'Register to get your free ticket' con was pretty poor. The fact is that tickets weren't checked and anybody who wanted to just walked in. The ticket registration thing was all about giving the exhibitors a mailing list. Hey organisers.... be transparent.

That said, I don't agree entirely with Hornet. There are heaps of car parks in the area. I parked in an undercover that charged $10 for the day and was about 50 metres from an entrance. I drove straight in and no hassles. The show organisers have no control over the prices the exhibitors charge for their boats and other stuff. Also, there were certainly food outlets but not too many.

Overall though I agree that Jeff's shed is a far better option ... even if you have to pay!
Cheers
Kestrel