Boating is a popular recreation across Europe but has been slow to take off in Ireland. This is about to change.
The Irish International Boat Show which opened at the RDS in Ballsbridge, Dublin on 27 February appears to cater the budgets of all boat enthusiasts.
At this year's boat show you can buy a vessel almost fit for an Onassis as well as something you can park in your own back garden in the winter.
Ireland's entry to the EEC may be a positive move for the Irish boat building industry and for those who like messing about on the water. Fibreglass has made boat building cheaper with about 90 per cent of boats built in Ireland are now made from plastic.
The show at the RDS hopes to encourage more people to become involved in boating.
There's a bewildering array of ships and boats and punts and dinghies and dories.
There are also stands for nautical sports including water skiing, diving, angling, and speed boats. There are hundreds of outboard engines and more large scale winches for the professional trawler men.
There is even a fashion show of what might be described as "après boating clobber".
One of the cheapest boats on offer is the Mirror Class which can be bought in kit form for as little as £125. It is the fastest selling sail boat in Ireland at the moment. At the other end of the market are the motor cruisers, such as the Norwegian built fjord cruiser which is possibly the most expensive boat at the show. The most expensive Irish built boat at the show is the Shipman, built in Limerick and selling at around £6,000.
Mr Perry of Shipman boat builders in Limerick tells Cathal O'Shannon about the company which began production just one year ago. They are now building three boats a week and have a backlog of advance orders.
Almost a hundred per cent are for the export market.
At the other end of the scale is a seven foot boat that can be built from a kit and at a cost of under £30 without a sail or accessories.
This episode of 'Tangents' was broadcast on 28 February 1973. The reporter is Cathal O'Shannon.
