Paul Szmal: Good morning, it's 816 FLX Morning and we are Zooming with Drew Wickham, Manager of the Central New York Boat Show, coming to the State Fairgrounds in just a couple of weeks. Good morning. Good morning. How are you?
Drew Wickham: I'm doing well. We're grateful to have you here. We're going to talk about some educational and some employment opportunities around the boat show. But first, just give us an overview of the 2025 Central New York Boat Show.
Paul Szmal: Well, it's coming into town February 13th through the 16th at the New York State Fairgrounds. We'll be in two huge buildings, Thursday and Friday we're one to eight and Saturday we're ten to eight and Sunday we're ten to five. So we're looking forward to having some fun.
Drew Wickham: Any particular trends you're seeing in the industry or products that are going to be hot this summer? You know, it's funny, we're a lake community and so a lot of the boats that we have are lake boats, pontoons, runabouts. So you know, a lot of that's going to be there. There's some big cruisers going to be along as well because as you know, get out on Lake Ontario you need a little more beneath your sail and as well some sailboats and accessories. So there's all kinds of new stuff out there that you need to come check out.
Paul Szmal: So we have a boating safety expert who comes on with us a couple of times a year to talk about these things. So we've been talking about the phasing in of the requirement to have a boater's certificate and now this year for the first time it's everybody, no exceptions, to operate any sort of power craft on New York State waters. You must have the certification and people will have that opportunity to get that at the boat show.
Drew Wickham: That is correct. It's boater safety training and to be honest, Ted, we have two different classes. We have a youth class which still has some positions available that takes place on Saturday and then the adult class that we were offering Friday filled up in a blink. It just shows the need out there.
Paul Szmal: You're exactly right, Ted, now you have to have a boating safety certificate in order to operate a vessel in New York State. And these are being offered by two great organizations, the New York Sea Grant, we've talked with people from them before, and the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.
Drew Wickham: Yes, they team up every year to help us out and offer some training at the boat show. But they also do training at other places throughout the spring. So if you sign on and look for boater safety courses with the Coast Guard Auxiliary or the Power Squadron, you'll find several options. These are really worthwhile. I don't hardly ever operate a boat, but I took the course with my son a few years ago as one of the Sheriff's Department courses, like an 8 to 4 on a Saturday or something. And there's just a lot of valuable information that if I ever am driving a boat or even a passenger on one, just about navigational rules and things that everybody ought to know.
Paul Szmal: Absolutely. When you are operating a boat, you're captain, regardless of what you think, you're in charge of the ship. And so you need to make sure everyone's safe, everyone has the safety equipment they need, and the boat is operated under the rules of the water, which are a little different than the rules of the road. There's some other things to look out for, but it's good training and education. Everyone should go through it.
Drew Wickham: So tell us about the free ticket offer for youth through New York Sea Grant.
Paul Szmal: Well, we are teaming up with the H.G. White Museum up in Watertown, and they are offering free admission tickets to any of the youth that take the boater safety training on Saturday. And by the way, the website is cnyboatshow.com. You can see the countdown right on there, where you go through all this winter weather. That's gardening shows and boat shows, the first sign of spring. So we're a little over 13 days to the opener, February 13th, at the New York State Fairgrounds.
Drew Wickham: And another of the things that you'll be doing is a Marine Industry Careers Day for BOCES students on the opening day. So what kind of careers are there in the marine industry?
Paul Szmal: Well, and it's amazing. There are a lot. You know, if you look at a marina, you're talking management, operations, sales, and then, of course, technology and our repair reps, you know, these boats are getting just like cars. They're more and more sophisticated. And we need good, solid technicians to be fixing these vessels. So there's plenty of opportunity out there. We do have a training for the local BOCES students that will be coming out from the Onondaga-Cuyahoga BOCES, as well as the Monroe County BOCES and the Jefferson County BOCES coming down. And then we'll also have a job board up throughout the show of different opportunities at different marinas. So if you're interested in anything, come on out. You certainly can talk to our folks at the Sea Grant booth, and they'll direct you to who you should be talking to. And there's plenty of opportunity.
Drew Wickham: And that same night from 7 to 8 p.m., there's a panel group open to all ages of people from the Boating Industries Association Upstate New York will be there, and a chance to learn more about careers in the industry.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, they give a good breakdown of what's available at some of the marinas. And it's just a good opportunity to network and meet some people in the marine industry. If you think you have any interest, it's a great opportunity to get to know some people and see what's out there.
Drew Wickham: So let's talk for a little bit about shopping for a boat. What are some of the things that we should think of ahead of time and questions we should ask? Because it's a significant investment, and you want to make sure you get something that's right for how you're going to use it.
Paul Szmal: That is exactly right. And if you're a seasoned boater, you kind of know what you're looking for. But if you're new to boating, the boat show is a great opportunity to come out, even if you don't really know what you want. Because you can team up with some of our dealers out there and ask questions of them. This is what I want to do. They'll help you think about whether a runabout's right for you. If you're into skiing and tubing more. Or maybe a pontoon, if you're into a little more leisure activity. But the pontoons these days can pull a tuber as well. Some pull a skier. Some of them, some of the boats are geared so you can surf behind them. So it really depends on what you want to do. If you talk to our dealers and tell them what you're thinking about, they'll direct you to the proper boat and some of the things you should be looking for. Once you get that, then there's plenty of boats out there to choose from. You can see them all in one spot.
Drew Wickham: I think we talked about this last year. You'll be on with Paul in a couple of weeks. The Freshwater Seafood Summit's coming up again at Cornell Agrotech in Geneva in early March. Tell us about that and this growing industry.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, well, it's out there. There's no doubt about it. And again, it's an exciting venture that continues to grow and we're looking forward to being part of that. So that conversation will be coming up in a few weeks.
Drew Wickham: The Central New York Boat Show opens on February 13th at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse. CNYBoatShow.com. And again, we've been talking about this with our boating safety expert Ira Goldman. This is the year that it's been phasing in for several years. You must have a Boater Safety Certificate to operate any sort of powercraft in New York State waters.
Drew Wickham, thanks for sharing the time with us. Best of luck with the boat show and thanks for the educational opportunities.
Paul Szmal: Well, thank you, Ted. I appreciate the opportunity to talk with you this morning. Have a great day.
