It's that time of year again...boat shows have started and hopefully, spring will arrive early.  The Kansas City (Overland Park) Boat Show is this week-end (1/25/14).  The weather has been so cold and blustry that I think most everyone is welcoming the thought of boating and warm weather.  The Bass Masters Classic is in Birmingham, Alabama again February 21-23.  Birmingham is my favorite place for the Classic.After the Classic is the St. Louis Boat Show Feb. 26-March 2.  I will be working with Nameoki Village Marine at this show.  There's something about a boat show to get my juices flowing looking forward to spring.

I am especially excited this year because I have a couple of new ideas for boat fenders. I like to bounce my ideas off people to see what they think.  Their input gives me valuable feedback on what's positive about the fender along with the negative.  One of the boats I'm interested in is the mid-console coastal fishing boat.  I have been developing a boat fender especially for this boat.  A friend of mine recently bought a mid-coastal and got me thinking about making a fender for it.  I have several different prototypes I'm going to try.  Boat shows are the perfect place to try them out.  If the fenders fit and look good, I know I can get  them to perform. 

Let's get back to the weather!!!. So far, it's been a rough winter. I was looking at my firewood supply, and judging by it, this winter is much worse than the last several.  The so-called polar vortex keeps sending thse clippers from the North.  Our weather pattern has been warm for a couple of days then frigidly cold.  Anyway, there's nothing we can do to control the weather--just keep positive thoughts about the coming spring.  Boat shows are good for the positive thoughts!

I’ve been boating for over 30 years. I always knew protection for my boat was needed when tied to a dock. This was a major concern at the Lake of the Ozarks because of the rough water. I thought a boat fender was the same as a boat bumper. When I started my own company manufacturing bass boat fenders for Ranger bass boats and others, I called them bumpers. After all these years I have learned a fender is a protection device for a boat; a bumper is something that provides protection for a boat but is fastened to the dock.  

Just goes to show you that you are never too old to learn something new. 

It's April and the boat shows are over.  In my last blog I wrote about the weather and how bad this winter had been.  Well, the weather was so bad at the St.Louis Boat Show that I had to leave on Saturday night to try and get ahead of the pending storm.  Ice hit as we were driving I-70 to Columbia.  The next week Nameoki Village Marine invited me to their open house and the weather was still bad, spitting snow, enough to keep people away.  April 1 was always the time to de-winterize your boat in Missouri.  Not this year.  It's raining and hail today on April 3.  Seems like winter will not let go to spring.  Oh well, enough about the weather....

I was very pleased with the turn-out at the St. Louis Show, especially on Saturday.  I was also very pleased with the customer interaction.  I had several people who had purchased my boat fenders last year come over to tell me how much they liked our fenders.  This is what being in business is all about--satisfied customers.  I know you have to make money in business to survive, but I truly like to hear from satisfied customers.  That is what keeps me going.  Mitch Workman, who helped me work the Boat Show, worked another booth with G-3 Boats.  He sold every pontoon fender we took.  Mitch said he enjoyed the customer interaction and response. 

I have just up-dated my web site with new pictures of my products and introduced three new products.  My web site designer, Ben Seidel, of Igniting Business, does a great job and also has convinced me to advertise on FaceBook.  This is all new to me, and we seem to be well received based on the number of "likes" we are getting. 

Another thing happened to my pleasant surprise.  BassTimes  featured my bass boat fender along with other fishing products in their April edition.  This is great for product exposure.  Well, that's about all that's going with AKUA Marine Products.  Wish it was time to de-winterize!