The dock area of the boat show is a welter of huge expensive boats.
Jay and I both remarked on how all these companies bring all of their
immense floating mansions and don't bother with the smaller, more
economical craft. He thinks they're just jerks. I think they're
trying to outmarket each other (if one company shows up with bigger
boats than another, the bigger boats grab all the attention -- even if
they don't make any more cash in sales, they get the wow factor).
Panorama of the dock area for the sailing boats, taken from the bar
pavilion (where I also tried a few Absolut flavored vodkas and New
Zealand wines). The dock area for the power boats is even bigger, but
both Jay and I were more interested in sailers.
Here's Jay sitting in the Hunter 25 ... we were both very impressed
with the Hunter boats' well thought out designs and nice amenities.
The Hunter 25 is Jay's favorite of the show, pretty much.
The Vectrix tech guy instructs me on how the controls work.
Apparently it's a standard layout for a scooter, slightly different
from a motorcycle (no pedals, bicycle style handlevers for front and
rear friction brakes). When I first started rolling, he emphasized
"Take it easy!" but after a lap or two, it must have been obvious that
I was experienced and cautious and not about to trash their demo
machine.
I take a couple of laps around their little test track. As it turned
out, I never touched the friction brakes -- the regenerative brake
(twist the right handgrip in the opposite direction from acceleration)
works very well, and I brought the scooter to pinpoint stops every
time.
Mugging at Jay while he takes a picture.
I did maybe half a dozen laps around the track, and towards the end, I
was confident enough to try pushing the chicanes harder and feel the
performance limits of the vehicle.
The Vectrix marketing gal takes my opinions when I'm done. I like the
smooth operation and the regenerative braking, and I think the biggest
problem is the limited range (40-60 miles on a charge, they say) --
okay for daily commuting, maybe, but not for how I ride my motorcycle.
