Bayliner Boats - Grand Rapids Boat Show

A 2008 V. Hackercraft Great Lake Runabout (price tag: $169,200) is one of several boats on display at the Grand Rapids Boat Show at DeVos Place this weekend.

Hi gang, Rick here again from Bayliner Boats with yet another boat show update. Amid the sportfishers, cruisers, muscle boats, pontoon boats and jet skis at the Grand Rapids Boat Show, a small but remarkable vessel is being shown for the first time.

It is a 14 1/2-foot tender manufactured by Scout, a company well known for its bay boats and center-console sportfishers. But its diminutive stature can't hide the big notion it is built upon.

Instead of a wheel, it has a joystick that controls its two electric drives. It also has a 20 hp Yamaha 4-stroke outboard.

"It's the only hybrid in the industry," said Dennis Drummond, owner of Drummond Marine Boat Sales in Holland. "We have the very first one off the production line."

The Scout Model 145H (for hybrid) is one of several hundred boats on display this weekend at DeVos Place. It is also one of a handful of innovative, unusual, unique or limited edition boats that can be seen.

Three on-board batteries power dual 36-volt Lenco drives. The joystick controls those in four directions. The setup delivers eight hours of juice at 80 percent thrust, according to Drummond. The $15,000 boat was designed to provide a weekend of fun without recharging.

"It's a boat for people who live on a smaller lake," said Drummond. "Or a no-wake lake."

The 145H is Scout's first step into the environmental green-boat scene. Other models are expected in the future, Drummond said.

It is a boat that children can drive safely, he said. Or it can be used by anglers interested cruising the shallows.

"Just tilt the outboard up and switch to the electric motors and you can go with stealth up into the shallows and skinny waters for panfish," he said.

There are unique boats at the show every year, said Henri Boucher, the show's producer. Take Starcraft's electric-powered EcoStar deck boat. The boat. with capacity for 12 and a $50,000 price tag, is on display in the Ballroom.

"To be quite honest, that boat is on the expensive side, like the hybrid cars, but I'm glad to see that manufacturers are going in that direction," Boucher said. "Where we will end up in 10 or 15 years will take some research, but this is a bright step forward."

A second hybrid at the boat show is more of a hybridized hull design from Hacker Boat Company, a custom wood boat builder in Silver Bay, N.Y. It is being shown by Great Lakes Hacker Craft in Bay Harbor.

The $169,200 price tag may set hearts aflutter, but so will the deep, luxurious varnish finish over Honduran mahogany, the lush, hand-sewn upholstery and vintage look of a bygone era. That says nothing of the throaty, nostalgic sounds of its 5.7 liter Crusader engine, sure to turn heads.

"This is hull No. 1. It is the only one of its kind," said John Russell, the sales director for Great Lakes Hacker Craft. "It is a combination between a sportboat and a runabout."

The hull design incorporates added freeboard, meaning the height of the hull from the water to the deck, and added flare and width making it more sea-kindly in bigger swells like those found on Lake Michigan.

The Great Lakes Runabout is trailerable and can be pulled by any SUV, Russell said.

The Hacker Boat Company got its start in Detroit in 1911 and developed a reputation for building fast runabouts and speedboats. It later moved to New York state and today still produces the original designs along with custom boats.

Each is made one board at a time, just like the originals, Russell said, but modern coatings and finishes greatly reduce the annual maintenance associated with wood boats.

Also in the classic category at the show is the robin-egg blue and white color scheme of the 1960s vintage 13-foot Boston Whaler. The Florida-based manufacturer is celebrating its 50th anniversary and offering a limited edition of its hugely popular 130 Sport in its original color.

This is the 13-foot Whaler many middle-aged boaters grew up with. It is being shown by Gull Lake Marine in Richland.

"That blue interior was its signature back then," said Kevin Miller, the general manager for Gull Lake Marine. "Boston Whaler has introduced over 100 different models over the years, but the 130 Sport has been the mainstay of its product line. It is affordable, low maintenance and safe for kids."

The company is producing 200 of the boats for sale this year, Miller said.

The 130 Sport limited edition comes equipped with a 40 hp Mercury 4-stroke engine and trailer. It sells for $12,958.

It is considerably less expensive than the Italian-made $900,000 Azimut 43S that was unveiled Wednesday afternoon at the show by Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land. The luxury cruiser is being shown by Skipper Buds, West Michigan. It is one of only 10 that will be shipped to the United States this year.

Grand Rapids Boat Show
Where: DeVos Place
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. today; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday
Admission: $9 adults, $4 children 6-14; free 5 and under
Thanks to Howard Meyerson, The Grand Rapids Press for this.

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Rick Ostler, Bayliner Boats.