Big boats, big business

Boulder City merchants use Vegas show to make sales

FBoulder Boats sales helper Brian Heon points out the amenities aboard the 24-foot Supra to Melissa Gibson of Las Vegas at the Las Vegas Boat, RV and Travel Show at Cashman Center, Feb. 22. Dry Dock Boat Sales salesman John Morway, right, discusses the purchase of a pontoon boat with Rich Ingram, center, and Robert Hall of Las Vegas. Photos / Fred Couzens/VIEW Advertisement

Throngs of convention-goers sat captivated listening to the wonders of waterless cookware and the tales of taxidermy from Fountain Valley, California's Bill Taylor and even more were in awe of Buck, a mechanical talking deer from Utah, but some real business was going on with Boulder City's two boat-selling businesses at the Las Vegas Boat, RV and Travel Show, held Feb. 22-25 at Cashman Center in downtown Las Vegas.

"It's been a real good show," said Mark Walker, sales manager for Boulder Boats. "We have five or six sales that have the financing in and we talked to 30 who said they want to buy a boat next week."

The company, owned by Stuart Litjens, had nine boats on display in its 3,600-square-foot chunk of the convention hall.

Their boats sold for anywhere from $17,500 to $61,859, with the top-of-the-line being the 24-foot, 325-horsepower Supra capable of carrying 16 passengers.

This marked the second year Litjens and his company participated in the show and Walker said the difference between the two years is like night and day.

"The first year we were tucked away in the corner and not that many people found us," said Walker, a close friend of Litjens. "We got a good spot this year, which has really helped our business. It's been constant, but not chaotic. We're pleased with it."

Down the aisle was Betty Gripentog's Las Vegas Boat Harbor at Lake Mead and its sister businesses, Dry Dock Boat Sales and the Las Vegas Marine Center, located a block away from the boat sales office on Boulder Highway in Las Vegas.

"It was real busy yesterday," said Dry Dock's Finance Manager Pat Gripentog on Sunday, the final day. "And overall, sales have been good. It's been very worthwhile."

Pat noted that the hottest item on their floor -- an area measuring some 13,000 square feet that was loaded with 50 boats -- were the pontoon boats.

She said their popularity stems from the usefulness of their entire deck space, as compared to a powerboat, the ease of launching them at ramps and a pop-up feature that creates a combined changing room and a privy area.

They sell for anywhere from $22,000 to $60,000 and have enough room for an entire family.

The most expensive one, a 25-foot Bennington that can carry 17 passengers, has a 350-horsepower engine that can propel the boat at 50 mph.

"The pontoons have just gone crazy," she said. "We sold seven of them yesterday alone."

Boulder Boats had three brands -- the Moomba, Stingray and Supra -- on display while Las Vegas Boat Harbor showed off seven brands -- the Maxim, the Bayliner, the Boston Whaler, the Lund, the Godfrey, the Trophy and the Bennington.

In all, more than 103 exhibitors -- from American Family insurance to Young Wilderness Camp -- could be found inside the center and outside in Cashman Center's lower parking lot.

Final attendance figures were not available at press time.