Today is the first day of the Seattle boat show. For some reason I'm not interested in attending this year.

It may be because sailboats are under-represented again this year. It may be because I've seen many of the new boats before they've gone in (my new job is right across the railroad tracks from Qwest Field).

Mostly I think it's because I'm getting disillusioned about sailing. Opportunities to sail have been few and far between. Places I want to go, at least in my mind, are closed to me going without my family, and my family doesn't want to go.

I also think I'm feeling sorry for myself and need to snap out of it.

Father-in-law Ron and I headed in to the Seattle boat show again this year. I tried to get him to take someone else, 'cause we gave him tickets to the show for Christmas and I felt bad having him use his extra ticket on me, but he insisted, so...

Just inside the North entrance was the highlight of the show for us. A 28-foot Stancraft wooden runabout built in Post Falls, Idaho. Man that was beautiful. No price listed, but I guess if you have to ask, you can't afford the upkeep on a boat like that.

In the sailboat corner (much larger this year), I liked the new Hunter 27 quite a bit. Nice size for our family, not too big to afford the moorage, and pretty to boot. Now if only I had a spare $80,000 to spend. I also spent a good 15 minutes crawling over the West Wight Potter 19 they had on display. Every book and Web site about trailerable sailboats sings the praises of the Potter, and I'd never seen one. Pretty little boat, and quite reasonable in price (for the base price, anyway). The one they had on display was quite dolled up I must say.

Had an intersting conversation witht he folks at Nexxus Marine. Instead of the usual $250,000 24-foot dream boat they usually show, they had a 16-foot dory that started at $5,700. Nancy said they were interested in building boats for "real people" again, and David said the people that buy the expensive boats "treat them like the kitchen help." I can't imagine treating a craftsman like David like kitchen help, but then I can't afford a $250,000 boat, either.

Only spent a little money this year. Bought another dock line from TopKnot. Bought a pair of gloves from Popeye's. Spent some time complaining to Cap't Jack's that they aren't printing their tide book.

And of course we ogled lots of boats. Big boats. Little boats. Wood boats, aluminum boats, plastic boats. Boats. Boats. Boats...

Sorry. Have to go lie down now...

This year the NWMTA is putting on the first Everett boat show in the brand new Everett sports center. They covered the ice where the Silvertips play hockey and brought in about 1/4 of the boats and 1/8 the booths of the Seattle boat show.

The vibe at the Everett show is very different than the Seattle show. In Seattle, there are thousands of people every hour hustling on and off the biggest and best boats the major dealers have to offer. In Everett, the smaller dealers in the Snohomish county area brought in their smaller boats (the biggest boat in Everett was 34 feet). There were only a few hundred people there while Katie and I were at the show, so we got to go on almost every boat we wanted to see without a wait.

Katie was a lot of fun to be with at the show. She was hyped and excited and asked questions and ran ahead and went on every kind of boat and charmed the sales people and and and...

Now if only I could get her to have as much fun on the water.

I also learned that there are three boat builders in Monroe, the little town outside of Everett where we live. I knew about two of them, but three, that's getting greedy.

I didn't manage to get away from the show without buying something. I bought a boathook from Popeye's for $16.25. Now next year if my best hat goes in the water we will have a better chance of picking it up.

My father-in-law, Ron, took me to the Seattle Boat Show today. Ron likes to look at the fishing boats, preferable aluminum boats that need next to no upkeep. I had three purchases in mind, and the boat show was the perfect place to look.

First, Odyssey needs a new trailer. The old one is rusted, bent, and falling apart. I started looking for one last year at the boat show, and decided on the one I wanted (RoadRunner 2500B). I saved up the money last fall, and so I ordered a new trailer right there at the show. It should come in sometime around the end of the month, and Odyssey will have a new resting place going into this year's boating season.

Next, I wanted to find some new dock lines. Last year I'd seen a place called TopKnot, and liked the look of their lines. But I didn't go back and buy the lines on my way out the door like I'd planned (fed-up wife, cranky kids) so I waited until this year. I bought two 20-foot 7/16-inch lines to replace the 5/8 three-strand lines that were jammed on Odyssey's cleats. If you'd like to take a look at TopKnot's products, they're on the web at http://www.mooringlines.com/.

And last but not least, I wanted to get a tide and current book from Cap'n Jack's (see the description at their Web site). I used one of these when I went out with Arthur on his 38-footer a couple of years ago and really liked it. Knowing the current at any given time is essential when sailing a small sailboat like Odyssey. Planning a trip to take advantage of the currents can make a huge difference. Tidal currents in Puget Sound can be 3-4 knots. Getting the curents right in a boat that can only make 4.5 knots at hull speed and you double your speed over the ground. Get them wrong and you might as well throw out the anchor.

Unfortunately, the tide guide wasn't in yet. The guy I talked to said 3 weeks, so I'll call them at the beginning of February for an update.

And of course we saw boats. Lots and lots of boats. I particularly liked the Beneteau 311, and the cabin layout of the new Catalina 34 was nice. But mostly, I remember looking at beautiful boats that I will never be able to afford, but appreciating the people that build these beautiful boats.