Want to buy a boat? Check out Biloxi’s biggest show ever

The 60th Biloxi Boat Show opened on Friday at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum Convention Center with high expectations.

The event produced seven more boat vendors, most of any Biloxi show.

“This is the biggest show we’ve ever had,” Biloxi Boat Show manager Melissa Miller said. “I’ve been involved with the boat show for the past 22 years. This year, we have seven new boat dealers that haven’t been here in the show before.”

Nineteen different boat dealers have boats on display, ranging from paddle boards to 40 foot plus boats. The show offers resources for onside financing, electronics, fishing gear, towers, motors, trailers, personal watercraft, kayaks, canoes, fishing guides and tackle.

“What’s great about the show is if you’re interested in buying a boat, interested in just getting information about a boat, the show is such a great way of putting everybody in one room,” Miller said. “If you are interested in a particular brand, you could go look at that brand and compare it to something else around the same price and the same size. It’s so simple because everything’s right here.”

The show also offers family entertainment that includes kids seminars, a shark show and a lively interactive show that feature labs diving into a 4000-gallon tub.

“We love the water and we love boats,” said Ocean Springs’ Ben Hudson, who attended the show with his family. “It’s a fun couple of hours looking at all the fun new stuff. I’m always interested in buying a boat.”

Ocean Marine general manager Steve Grimm of Daphne has been at the last seven Biloxi boat shows.

“This has always been a good show in terms of quality of people who come in,” Grimm said. “That’s why we keep coming back. We have about $3 million worth of boats sitting right here in our booth. When you think about that, it’s not really a lot of boats.

“It’s a lot of work. We get the boats in, put them on the ground, and they’re here for everybody to look at. If somebody is serious about buying a boat, they can come in here, and literally in about an hour or two can shop every major brand. Traffic has been good. We’ve actually sold several boats today.”

This story was originally published February 10, 2017 at 8:35 PM with the headline "Want to buy a boat? Check out Biloxi’s biggest show ever."