Lido hosts yacht show

Prospective boat buyers have the opportunity to tour more than 250

yachts this weekend during the 27th Lido Yacht Expo at Lido Marina

Village, which started Thursday and will continue through Sunday.

From smaller powerboats to large luxury cruisers, the Lido Yacht

show offers a variety of boats for the expected 12,000 to 15,000 attendees.

One of the highlights of this year’s show is Con Brio, an 80-foot

Offshore Voyager.

“It’s a phenomenal boat, that’s for sure,” said Chris Murray, a

salesperson with Offshore West. “It’s only been on the water five

weeks.”

Con Brio -- which has a sticker price of $4.15 million -- features

three staterooms and crew quarters, plasma TVs, teak furniture

throughout, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and a

1,000-horsepower diesel engine.

“It’s a fun boat to work on,” said Jerry King, who has been

working on the yacht.

King said the engine room is well engineered and well designed,

making it safer than most boats to maintain.

“As the industry has matured, people have learned a lot. Those

people who have learned well are producing great boats,” he said.

MarineMax, a yacht broker that has a store in Newport Beach, is

showcasing 10 boats in the Lido show. Two of the boats, a 50-foot

Pershing and a 33-foot Riva Sunriva, are being debuted at the expo.

JR Willis, MarineMax’s yacht and brokerage manager, said the

Pershing -- which sells for $1.67 million -- is a great boat for

people who like to enjoy themselves on the weekend. And it can make

it to Catalina in a half an hour.

The Sunriva, which costs $550,000, is an ideal day cruiser, he

said.

Murray said that Offshore West rarely sells boats at the show but

that it’s a great tool to generate leads. He said Newport Beach is a

prime location for selling yachts because of its proximity to other

harbors.

“We’re centrally located for all the boating in Southern

California,” Murray said.

Boat show promoter Duncan McIntosh, who started the Lido Yacht

Expo 33 years ago, said getting more than 250 yachts into the Lido

Marina can be a challenge.

“It isn’t like a convention center where you start with a square

box,” McIntosh said.

He said they start with the existing marina, which has an array of

nooks, crannies and slip sizes, plus all the boats are different

lengths.

“You try to match the location with the vessel, so it is a big

jigsaw puzzle,” McIntosh said.

McIntosh started holding yacht expos 33 years ago to showcase his

boats.

“Nobody was doing anything like this on the West Coast,” he said.

In his 33 years of experience with the show, McIntosh said, many

boats have been bought and sold through the expo.

“This is a great show,” Willis said. “Duncan does a good job

putting on a good show and attracting the right kind of people. The

people that are buyers know about this show.”

IF YOU GO

* WHAT: The 27th Lido Yacht Expo

* WHEN: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. today, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, and

10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday

* WHERE: Lido Marina, 3424 Via Porto, Lido Isle

* COST: $10; children under 12 free

* INFO: (949) 757-5959, or o7www.lidoyachtexpo.comf7

* LINDSAY SANDHAM is the news assistant. She can be reached at

(714) 966-4625 or [email protected].