Nor-Tech At 35—The Art Of The Dealer Meeting

Other than providing the opportunity to pal around with peers each summer, the powerboat dealer meetings of old were useless for reporters. There were exceptions of course. No marine writer worth his or her salt wanted to miss the fiery “welcome” speech by the late Lee Kimmel as he addressed his faithful dealers during the annual Donzi Marine affair in Sarasota, Fla.

Then the chief executive officer of the company, Kimmel once started his legendary speech by saying, “I hate the boat business.”

This year’s Nor-Tech dealer meeting will including two lunch treks. Photo by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

Conversely, the Formula Boats dealer on Sanibel Island in Southwest Florida was like an old-school family reunion, one that stared with the company-owning Porter clan and extended to pretty much every dealer in the audience. As a reporter, you didn’t learn much from it. Yet you felt like part of the family.

But for the most part, dealer meetings were as tedious as they were ubiquitous. My Powerboat magazine boss Eric Colby and I used to haggle over who had to go to what, and for the record he usually prevailed.

Why all this babble about a marine industry tradition gone mostly by the wayside? Nor-Tech’s ninth annual dealer meeting begins today at the Westin Cape Coral Resort. Not only am I headed to it, I wouldn’t miss it.

“This is what it’s all about—getting together and enjoying camaraderie,” explained Henrik Margård, the company’s chief operating officer. “Some of the friendships go back more than 20 years. Some will be brand-new.”

As the only media hack in the one of the Westin’s conference rooms, I will spend most of today listening to Nor-Tech’s vendors explain their products to the dealers present. The dealers ask questions and the various representatives assembled answer them. Through those exchanges, I’ve learned a lot about subjects from pink mold in vinyl to Garmin GPS units. The experience is enlightening.

Though I’m not invited to the following day’s sessions between Nor-Tech’s Geoff Tomlinson and the company’s dealers, I get to hang out with those dealers for three full days, each of which includes some kind of evening event. Folks such as a Michael Knoblock of American Custom Marine in Kimball, Mich., Bill and Chris Erickson of Erickson Marine of Sarasota, Fla., and Greg Connell of Legend Marine Group in Carrollton, Texas, are remarkable sources for information on the state of the high-performance marine industry. They’re on the front lines.

(From left) Midwest Boating Center owner Marvin Dufner, longtime Nor-Tech man Terry Sobo and Chis Erickson of Erickson Marine shared a light moment during the Nor-Tech dealer meeting in 2024. Photo by Matt Trulio.

This year’s event includes a lunch run tomorrow from the Westin property to Three Fishermen restaurant in Fort Myers. Saturday’s activities include the annual Nor-Tech Spring Owners Rendezvous with the fleet heading to Riviera Bar and Grill on Punta Gorda for lunch, and a dinner party that evening.

During all three events, I’ll renew acquaintances with current friends who own Nor-Tech models and, as Margård noted, make a few new ones. It’s another opportunity to learn about the brand, this time from the consumer side.

And of course, no Nor-Tech event—even its own dealer meeting—would be complete without a charitable element.

“This year’s charity of choice is the Children’s Advocacy Center of Southwest Florida,” Margård revealed. “We will be handing over a check for $10,000 to support their efforts.”

I never thought I’d write this about a powerboat dealer meeting, but here goes.

I can’t wait to get there.

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