Many months ago we had very happy customer that would not shut up about his boat (we have many happy customers so this was no stand-out event). I remember him talking about how nice the manufacturer was, and how great the boat was. We sent him off a whole suite of electronics for his new boat. Fast forward 5 months...... I get an email from the rep of Bristol Harbor Boats asking if we would like to see their 21' model as he would be dragging it through our area in a week. One glimpse at this boat and Ii was interested, I said "bring it on".
Adam from Bristol Harbor (BH) showed up a week later pulling a 2008 21' BH. It was love at first site (with the boat not with Adam!!!). Although Adam is a great guy too. In fact Adam told us he was BH's first dealer. Adam owns BLM Yacht Sales in Fall River, MA and is a huge supporter of BH. So much so that he does double duty as the BH sales rep setting up dealers. I let Adam go through his whole shpeal about the boat but it wasn't needed. The boat is as close to perfect as a recreational center console will ever be: a great layout, in console head, beautiful bow (if a boat doesn't have a beautiful bow forgettaboutit), perfect choice in colors and components, and a price that I wasn't sure was wholesale or retail. Basically I was hooked before he even opened his mouth...sorry Adam.
We spent most of the day with Adam learning about the boat, learning about his company, learning about the manufacturer, catching up on everything else we have to do each day, and talking boats in general. We took Adam out for a ride on our demo Black Lab Boat. Turns out Adam also has a Black Lab. Proof that there are lots of closet metal heads out there. To top off this great day Stephanie got a contract on a 53 Navigator, 39 Pearson, and 35 Sea Ray, and also had a Sea Trial on a 26' Black Lab all in the same day. We pretended every day was like this so to impress Adam :)
We are now the exclusive dealer for Bristol Harbor Boats for MD and DE. We have a 21' in stock ready for demo rides. We'll be keeping her right on Rt 50 at my friend Jeff Beanes Yacht Brokerage Company called Alliance Marine. She'll have her Mid-Atlantic debut April 24th at the Bay Bridge Boat Show. We will have it on display right next to our Black Lab. Please come by for a look-see and please wish us good luck in this new market for a New England boat.
