SCAN ME
DÜSSELDORF
TRAVEL
PLANNER
WHAT:
49th annual Boot Düsseldorf
International Boat ShowWHEN:
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily; Saturday,
January 20 to Sunday, January
28, 2018WHERE:
Messe Düsseldorf convention
complex, Düsseldorf, GermanyWHY:
It’s the world’s largest boat and
watersports trade show. And you
can actually try the watersports,
with expert instruction, in a
climate-controlled environment.
Trust us, you have to see it to
believe it.H OW:
Order your entrance passes in ad-
vance at boat-dusseldorf.com. Fly
into Düsseldorf (DUS) or Cologne/
Bonn (CGN) and take a shuttle di-
rectly to Messe Düsseldorf, where
you can stay on-site at the Tulip
Inn Düsseldorf Arena. All tickets
allow free use of public transporta-
To follow our tips to get the most out of your tion within the city’s VRR network.
sea trial, scan this tag or visit boatingmag.com/
how-to-sea-trial-boat.largest exhibitor at Düsseldorf. Its E-40
Fly, available with both electric and hybrid
propulsion options, made its German de-
but at the show. Better batteries aren’t far
off , so we got to witness what’s going on at
the cutting edge of marine power.ENJOY THE AMENITIESS
ome innovations at Düsseldorf
are dedicated entirely to giving
guests a good experience. The
show incorporated every type of water-
sports activity imaginable. Wakeboard-
ers careened across a cable course in one
enormous pool, while elsewhere, visitors
learned how to stand-up paddleboard
and skimboard.
At the show’s Dive Centre, PADI, Protec
and SSI off ered scuba instruction in a
nearly 6-foot-deep tank with glass windows
( loaner gear is provided), and in Outdoor
World, paddlers could test canoes, kayaks
and folding boats on a
90-meter river course.
Nearby, anglers tested
gear and learned to cast
fl y rods.
The real headline, of
course, was the world’s
fi rst standing, deepwa-
ter wave in the Surfers Village. Up to six
surfers or SUPers can ride it at the same
time, and waves range from 2.3 to 5.9 feet.
Then there were the creative water-
ing holes popping up in the midst of the
convention halls. One bartender served
cocktails out of a classic little fi shing boat,
another out of a white-painted surfer’s hut,
and yet another out of a tiki bar.
With all of this, you may fi nd new and
diff erent ways to enjoy the water, which
might change the way you shop for a boat.TAKE A JOY RIDEA
t the Düsseldorf show, we saw
more boats — and more people
looking at boats — than we could
have imagined. The one thing we didn’t get
to do: take a demo ride. Fortunately, many
boat shows have in-water segments that al-
low you to sea-trial a number of boats. At
the Miami International Boat Show, for
instance, there is an enormous selection of
boats docked and at the ready. Check with
the boatbuilders’ schedules to see when
they are off ering demo rides and take ad-
vantage of as many as you can. It’s the best
way to fi nd out if your dream boat actually
works the way you want it to in reality.KEEP WALKINGD
espite having an amazing experi-
ence, we left Düsseldorf with no
new boat in hand. And that’s OK.
(We saw a lot that we loved, but getting aboat all the way from Germany to Colorado
wasn’t exactly in the cards anyway.) Don’t
get caught up in the moment; if you don’t
fi nd the perfect boat in your show endeav-
ors, don’t settle on a boat that will make
you unhappy in the long run. Even if you’ve
found the perfect boat, but it turns out to
be a less-than-perfect deal, you have the
power to walk away. At the very least, think
of it as a negotiating tactic. Take out your
fl oor map, go for a scuba dive, and come
back later with a clear head.NEGOTIATE
Ready to pull the trigger
on a new boat? Use
negotiation skills to get
what you want. Learn how
by visiting boatingmag
.com/how-to-negotiate-
anything.PHOTOS: COURTESY BOOT DÜSSELDORF INTERNATIONAL BOAT SHOW (PADDLEBOARDER), SHUTTERSTOCK (TRAVEL PLANNER)
GET UP,
STAND UP
Where else can
you buy a boat and
watch a world-class
SUP competition?BOATINGMAG.COM | JANUARY 2018| 67