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Reagan Haynes

NEW YORK — National Marine Manufacturers Association president Thom Dammrich rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday to mark the kick off of the 113th New York International Boat Show.

“There’s a lot of new and innovative product; a lot of manufacturers choose the New York Boat Show to debut new products,” Dammrich told Cheddar, a streaming news source targeted to millennials. “Every big name in boating is here.”

Virtual docking, and systems like Mercury’s Vessel View and Yamaha’s Helm Master make boating easier and more autonomous, Dammrich said.

“It’s getting more fun and easier to do,” he said during the segment, which you can see in full here.

Reagan Haynes

Hands-on systems proved to be popular at the show. Yamaha’s Vessel View station and the U.S. Power Squadron’s Boating Skills Virtual Trainer had lines and people stopping to test them throughout the day on Thursday. Those systems are designed to highlight some of the new intuitive technology that is being developed and debuted.

Reagan Haynes

New boat sales in New York City have been growing for the past six consecutive years, and were up 13.6 percent in 2016.

New York State ranked No. 6 in the nation in sales of new powerboat, engine, trailer and accessories in 2016 with $688 million in sales, up 14 percent from 2015.