FELLSMERE — It wasn’t a giant gator hunt or major flooding that brought out more than 35 airboats to Fellsmere. It was a chance to show off. Indian River County Airboat Association hosted the fifth annual airboat show and swap meet in Fellsmere. The event brought out 30 vendors and more than 35 airboats from all over the state.
Club media coordinator Paul Shutz said the annual event is important for spreading the word about the boats and the club.
“We’ve got three counties represented here—Osceola, Kissimmee and Okeechobee clubs are all here,” Shutz said. “We’re looking at a thousand people hopefully.”
The event is a draw for young and old. Airboats seem to garner interest from adults and youth alike, he said.
“We’ve got a lot of things for kids,” Shutz said. “Our club is big with the Florida Youth Hunt.”
There is something for everyone at the event, he said.
Airboat enthusiasts even bring unique culinary delights into the event with a swamp cabbage cook-off.
The show also attracts people who have little or no experience with the loud, fast-moving boats.
“A lot of them have no clue about them,” Shutz said. “They’ve never even seen an airboat.”
The exposure to the boats at events like the one in Fellsmere helps bring “new blood” into the club, he said.
“People get interested,” Shutz said. “We’ll get several applications from this.”
Live bands played bluegrass and country music as the smell of slow-cooked barbeque wafted through the crowd. Activities for children, such as pony rides and a bounce house, made the show a family event.
With their airplane-like propellers and high sitting seats, the differences between an airboat and most other vessels is immediately apparent. It’s what’s underneath the seats that really make the airboats work.
Boat hull maker Scott Worley said he became interested in airboats nearly 40 years ago. As a vendor at the event, Worley helps people learn about what makes airboats different from regular boats.
“Well, it’s a different sized boat — different shape to the hull,” Worley said. “The bottom is the most important part of the hull.”
The boat’s unique properties allow it to do things other vessels can’t, he said.
“You can drive them wherever you want to, really,” Worley said. “You can go through shallow water, grasses, deeper water — just about anywhere.”
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer C.J. Platt said having an FWC airboat at the show is good for community relations.
“It gives them a better understanding of what we do,” Platt said. “So, they know we’re out there to help them.”
Because of a prevalence of airboats being used as vessels for recreational hunting and fishing, the FWC boat is a familiar sight, he said.
“Most of the people I see out here today I’ll see out on the water,” Platt said.
