Expo brings together dealers, vendors.

By Tom Wharton

| The Salt Lake Tribune

It might be hard to fathom that a guy named John Paul Jones would be wandering the 47th annual Utah Boat Show thinking about buying a craft to put on the water.

The Salt Lake resident, no relation to the famous Revolutionary War naval officer, was among those Thursday who entered the South Towne Expo Center during the first hour of the show that runs through Sunday.

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At a glance

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If you go

What » Utah Boat Show

Where » South Towne Expo Center, 9575 S. State St.

When » Noon to 10 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday

Admission » $9 for adults, $7 for seniors, no charge for children 12 and under with a paid adult

Information (including discount tickets) » Go to www.greenband.com.

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"I had [a boat] years ago, and my son wanted to look around," said Jones. "I liked quite a few of them. I would like one for fishing, but I need to find one big enough for my wife to go out in. I have trouble getting her on the water, even on a cruise ship."

The show, an extended precursor to spring, brings together dealers and vendors from along Wasatch Front and beyond to exhibit everything from small fishing boats to $500,000 houseboats.

"The economy is getting a little better," said longtime organizer Jon Greenband. "Every dealer in business [in the area] is in the show. And there are signs of nothing but good in the future."

For Lisa Huiden of Salt Lake City, the show provides an opportunity to do a lot of looking.

"I like boating," she said. "We own some property in Duchesne, not far from a reservoir."

What surprised her most were the different colors of the boats. She remembers most being a standard red, black or silver.

Dealers such as Taylor Richards of Draper-based Taylor’s Boats says the show generates as much as 20 percent of his company’s annual sales.

"It’s a big deal. There is an attitude of cautious optimism. We’ve been busy up to the show, and we expect the boat show to be really good. We’re getting good prices and incentives from the manufacturers."

Lance Ashby of High Adventure Power Sports and Marine in Salt Lake City said business connections can sometimes bring in customers for the entire boating season.

"There is more of a positive attitude than the past couple of years," he said. "People are tired of being bored. They want to do things."

One of the boats generating the most traffic was the 75-foot houseboat being displayed by Lake Time, a Lake Powell company based near Wahweap, Ariz. Owner Margie West was promoting shared ownership of the big craft, with a share costing $19,500 to $22,500.

"This is for people who would love to own a houseboat but can’t justify the year-round expense when they come out only one or two weeks a year," she said.

Asked if the big craft was hard to handle, West said anyone who has driven a power boat should have no trouble.

"The most important thing to remember is that boats don’t have brakes."