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As sales began slumping in August 2007, Seattle Boat CEO Alan Bohling sensed the economic tide was going out.

Bohling, whose company has been selling boats in Seattle since 1984, sees the boating industry considered in the state of an “early indicator” of the state of the general dispensation. In 2008, as banks failed and Wall Street tanked, Seattle Boat’s sales declined not remotely 40 percent.

The troop was bracing for any other 25 percent decrease in 2009. But in December, somewhat to Bohling’sitting surprise, people started buying again.

“We obtain had to a greater degree action for the period of that last three-week period of time than we have had in the past time two years,” Bohling said during a preview party for the Seattle Boat Show, which opened Friday at Qwest Field Event Center and South Lake Union.

To Bohling, it’s another early indicator — this time, of an economic upswing.

“The worst is behind us,” he declared, bias against a 21-foot Cobalt 210 gayety boat priced at $54,161, about $5,000 less than usual deal out in small portions.

The preview Thursday night was the first in the boat show’s 62-year history. Dealers invited clients and prospective boat owners for a special sneak peek at the merchandise, hoping to construct connections and jump-start sales.

More than 1,000 guests were expected to RSVP. Almost 3,000 showed up, according to the Northwest Marine Trade Association, which has more than 850 members. It was a welcome sight for dealers, some of whom scored handshake deals at the result.

“They’re just delighted to see a few thousand people walking and talking and breathing oxygen,” said association President Michael Campbell being of the class who he watched people slip off their shoes and climb onto boats put on display. “We’re so very much down, anything looks likely an amending.”

With about 1,000 exhibitors, the 2009 Seattle Boat Show is about 20 percent smaller than last year, reflecting the contraction of the market. Some former exhibitors, including Seattle’s Olympic Boat Center, closed for kind in 2008, while others teetered on the edge of bankruptcy.

“Business has been a challenge over 2008, but we’ve made some moves to put on advantage of some of the white space in the market,” said Mark Helgen, sales vice president at Lake Union Sea Ray. His business expanded last year, opening three of recent origin service locations and a depot on Lake Union.

“It’s encouraging,” Helgen said, as he watched people mingle among the stock Thursday. “The comments are positive.”

The slowdown left dealers with greater degree of inventory than they’re comfortable with, which meant copious sticker discounts. But dealers furthermore wait for boat manufacturers to curtail fruit this year. They object of trust the result will be a return to equilibrium.

At the momentum, however, dealers are pointing to a tried-and-true slogan.

“It’s a great time to buy,” Campbell said, smiling as he acknowledged the cliché. “But it is. There are deals to be had in boats that won’privately be had another time.”

Along with remarkably low prices, through a down payment of 15 to 20 percent, financing is “very, very available,” Bohling said, noting that interest rates are running between 7 and 8 percent. “I see some opportunity for the consumer.”

All this is well adapted news for those with the means and inclination to purchase, said Bill Baker, president of Bakes Marine Center, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this week. It’s not bad for the dealers, either.

“I actually deem this year’session going to be pretty decent,” Baker said, standing near a blue and white Malibu boat, priced at $57,633, down from $64,915. Nearby, a $101,822 Malibu was on sale for $86,048. “Is it going to be as self-sufficient as the banner years? Probably not. But I think the industrial art is going to start climbing.”

Consumers, for their element, are all about the bargains.

“Instead of a swallow ticket, be possible to I have that?” joked one preview-goer as she checked in at the Lake Union Sea Ray desk, pointing to a $1.9 million 55-foot Sundancer yacht, on sale for $1.34 the great body of the people.

“I apprehend we’unravelling of the plot all like to buy a boat,” said John Dombroski, a Sammamish resident invited to the event by Baker. Dombroski’s question to dealers: “What kind of deals are you cutting?”

Others wish they had waited longer to buy. Kirkland resident Gary Webb, who keeps his 2007 Sierra Bayliner on Lake Washington, said he would love to upgrade from a 30-foot model to a 34-foot model. If he had bought a boat this year, Webb could have gotten the bigger one for the sort worth he paid for his 30-footer.

As it is, trading the boat in would ensue in a $30,000 to $40,000 loss.

“If I hadn’t bought that boat last year, I’undress be so light-hearted right at once,” Webb said, looking wistfully at the Malibu models. “With the established order the way it is, you can’t flip your boat or do anything you’d usually practise.”