what boat might that be? Maybe it will be in the Mercury booth? Who knows

Brother in law was in the yacht business. They charged 500K to bring 4-5 big 80-120 footers into the Lauderdale show.

When they blow their horns it means they sold a boat. If you sell a boat or two then the show was a home run. When you hear crickets at the end of the show (no horn blowing) then you just lost 1/2 million bucks plus your cost to get the boat to/from the event. If you didn't show up then the rumors would start that you are struggling. In boom years everyone would be meeting clients wearing silk shirts/polishing their Rolexes between boardings then throw a huge owners event during the show on Saturday night.. In lean years you would forgo hotel rooms and sleep on the yachts! It was literally feast or famine.

Also consider they might not have anything to show.........all their inventory/build slots are sold.

Have either company ever arrived with a boat that wasn't about to be delivered after the show?

Funny thing about boat shows, my wife and I go just to see what's new. We usually go with a family member, they buy a boat and we don't. The Metro boat show has sold 3 boats that way, my brother, brother-in-law and son-in-law all bought boats after going to the show with us. Maybe if they gave me free tickets they would sell more boats.

+1
I doubt they have any inventory to sell. I also doubt they could fill an order before summer. At that point, what's the point in going? It's like pretend shopping. Don't think buyer's like that idea either.

Skater does not build "inventory" boats. They build each boat to order. All boats displayed in Miami and elsewhere have been customer-owned boats.

Skater essentially sells orders for builds. Anyone actually interested in order one, which the builder never pulled out of the Miami according to the company's Tony Cutsuries, can always contact Skater directly. Build slots are still open though finished products take time.

Right there, no ROI.