A favorite time of year for all those who LAKE is Boat Show Season - occurring at the beginning of every year, usually in January, sometimes into March.  For us, it means SPRING is just around the corner.  The lake area begins to be in high gear for the next boating season as soon as the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve!  It's certainly the case for us.

Most of the folks in our area enjoy attending several boat shows each year.  Favorite shows are within about a 3 hour driving range.  Attending shows allows a fun reason to get out and go visit another city, reconnect with other boating friends aka "your lake people," and getting excited for a new season by checking out the vendors - favorite boat brands, marinas, lake life brands and lake-oriented businesses.  

Attached is the list of 2024 boat shows you might like to attend - in order by date.  All shows are a short drive from the lake area.  (we'll try to update this listing each year as soon as we get confirmed info, but also keep the contact information at hand so that you know how to reach out annually for additional information, vendor apps, vendor lists, floorplans/maps and tickets.)

​Get your boat ready – it’s almost spring!
 
Groundhog Day 2024 brought news that lake lovers want to hear for the upcoming boating season… early spring!  BUT… that also means we only have about 6 more weeks to prepare marine vessels for spring break and beyond. 
 
Now is the time, before spring, to put boats in the shop for servicing, maintenance and upgrades.  Local shops are overloaded during spring rush and that can sometimes result in serious delays to your boating season.  Maintaining and servicing a boat annually protects your investment, and upgrades can substantially help resale value.  

See a list of suggestions below (in alphabetical order):

1.  AFTERMARKET BOAT & TOWER ACCESSORIES - This can be anything from a depth finder to a trailer tail light to board racks for the boat's tower, or even a new tower and so much more.  Try these local companies:  Duskin Point Marina, MasterPro Audio, Rambo Rambo Marine, Inc., Russell Marine - Smith Lake, and Trident Marina.

2.  BOAT DETAILING - unlike basic auto detailing, boats have a gel coat surface over thick heavy fiberglass which is different from metal and plastics used on cars, so different methods, products and materials are needed for repairs, cleaning and refurbishing the finish.  Make sure you use a company that is experienced with delicate boat detailing needs.  We recommend local companies like Bama Detailing, Duskin Point Marina, MasterPro Audio, Rambo Marine, Inc., Russell Marine - Smith Lake, and Trident Marina. 

3.  BOAT LIFTS - for a new lift, installation, and good annual servicing to keep your investment safe and sound, get quotes from HydroHoist of Alabama, Free State Boat Docks, MasterPro Audio and Smith Lake Republic.

7.  MARINE AUDIO/VIDEO - Upgrade the entire boat's A/V system if it is not performing on its limited stock system, or if the system is older and needing a few upgrades or component additions.  Perhaps everything is functioning fine, and the system just needs some tuning, repairs or refurb.  Be sure to use professionals who understand the nuances between name brand equipment and how to get the most sound bang for your buck.  A company we recommend who has over 35 years experience in high end professional audio is MasterPro Audio with experience not just in marine audio and basic 12V, but also for commercial/home/worship/sports venues, entertainment venues, etc.  Ask to hear their demo boat system, on the water from a very far distance - you'll be shocked at what their patented tower speakers and component system are capable of - clean, clear high performance sound ready to energize your day on the lake.
 
8.  MARINE FLOORING - whether it's carpet, engineered marine flooring to upgrade an entire boat, or just pieces of surface material for a back platform, gunwales, or to artfully replace a torn or damaged section, the following local companies can help get your boat looking the best - Duskin Point Marina, MasterPro Audio, Rambo Marine, Inc.,​ Russell Marine - Smith Lake and Trident Marina.

9.  MECHANICAL SERVICE for BOATS & TRAILERS - schedule to get your boat serviced, tuned up, de-winterized and ready to take on the season.  Local companies we suggest:  Duskin Point Marina, Rambo Marine, Inc.,​ Russell Marine - Smith Lake and Trident Marina.

​10.  TOWING SERVICE - get your annual membership NOW and boat worry free all year.  Contact Captain Terry Russeau of TowBoatUS Smith Lake.

11.  UPHOLSTERY - repairs or new - contact Bama Detailing or MasterPro Audio.
 
12.  WATERSPORTS EQUIPMENT - new equipment or rentals - try local shops like Lakeside Gear, Pine Valley Outdoor Living, Rambo Marine, Inc.,​ Russell Marine - Smith Lake, Trident Marina, and Triple Creek Marina.   ​

Once you've got the boat tuned up, spruced up, fully loaded and ready to go, check out our other informational blogs to make sure you are fully prepared for the best boating season every year.  Check back on our blog often as we add new material.  HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY BOATING SEASON!  

For more businesses in the categories you are looking for, try our Business Listing - Alphabetical, and our Business Listing by Category, and check out more information in our LOCAL INFO tab.  

Latest update to this blog:  6/1/24.  
​

Smith Lake Hat Company opened for business in the summer of 2023 with the idea of creating a staple source for quality custom headwear for the lake community.  They started simply with what they felt was the best symbolic beacon advertisement for Smith Lake Culture:  "the hat."  Our team first began to see the hats on Instagram, then Facebook, and soon we found them in a local store.  

Young owner and entrepreneur Jase Glasscock is excited to give the local market something new to check out in their shopping experience.  He has taken all the proper steps to be sure that his brand is one you'll be proud to wear.  He formed his LLC, procured the development of the first logo, selection of products and materials, and has started with a logo developed for the first run for 2023.  He tells us he is leaving the door open to change up the look and feel of his logo and designs to keep up with changes in styles and fashion as the passage of time requires and as he feels necessary.

The company seeks to grow from hats to other apparel items.  Since our team first began watching them online in summer 2023, they have already gone from offering the traditional baseball style hat with open weave back and front leather patch with embroidery on the sides, to a summer straw surfer-style hat, then to heavier materials for the fall and winter season for warmth, and have even added another straw "gambler" hat, as well as a hat for the ladies, and a line of sunglasses we have recently found on the website.

The company is excited to provide a branded experience of Smith Lake culture with fashionable headwear styles that exude a pride of the lake for locals and visitors alike. Their hats will include patches (leather patches, color leather patches, etc.), embroidery, print and even some new styles of PVC.  You'll have to watch as they slowly roll out the lines over time.

​They intend to provide the highest quality end product for their customers. They take great pride in every hat that ships out or sells in a local retail store.  At current, you can find them not only online to order for shipping, but also at the following retail stores:

• The Lake House Store - Arley, AL
• Sweatmon's Produce - Crane Hill, AL

Join in to support this ambitious new local company.  Find all the contact information below, and be sure to follow them on both Facebook and Instagram to keep up with company news and merchandise announcements.  ​

The dawn of a new lake season arrives with an official kick-off around spring break each year. The fact that many schools start spring vacations annually at the end of March means the lake gets busy well before summer.  Those of us who live on Smith Lake full time have the good fortune to be able to enjoy a very calm and serene lake during the many months off-season, but the inevitable long on-season period often lasts from late March well into October, sometimes later depending on weather in a given year.  There are years when our family can remember waterskiing, kayaking or paddleboarding into early December, but it's not every year that happens.  

Early spring is a good time for all of us to reflect on how we’ll react to the rush of more people, boats and activity overall.  The words we cherish most are TOLERANCE and RESPECT.  Every single one of us has a different way that we experience lake life.  But that is not to say that we cannot appreciate the ways that others enjoy their lake experience in their short summer season of primarily late May through early August.  Everyone is doing their own thing, in their own way, and it’s all good.  We like to think that collectively, we simply make a silent pact as a community to stay drama free and tolerant of one another.  Having respect for others is the key to making sure we can keep that pact intact.
 
It’s simple, and listed below are just a few ways to exhibit respect showing basic good boating etiquette, and therefore earning tolerance from others as we all enjoy lake days in our individual ways.

​Don’t be “that guy” - get your good boating etiquette hat ON well ahead of season!

Again, these are all just some favorite community ideas collected from our surveys in the Smith Lake Community Facebook group about how to have a wonderful time on Smith Lake while being conscious of community etiquette.  

Written by The Lakeside LIfe Team
Photography by Terry Turner

Updated:  5/16/24
​Original Article Date:  3/1/19

This tip is primarily for all our advertising businesses in the Smith Lake Alabama area, but is a good tutorial for anyone who is not aware of how the "@" and "#" features work on social media and particularly as it concerns your advertising/marketing perks - FREE advertising for those who utilize. 

Quick descriptions of what each feature does:

"@" (mention) feature - this activates a live link for Facebook/Instagram users to click and go directly to the "@" mentioned business page, and additionally (which is most important for our advertisers) produces a notification to the "@" linked page/user (our marketing team) that you want them to see a post and/or act on a post.

"#" (hashtag) feature - does not link or send a notification to anyone or any page - but is simply a "search" feature for both Facebook and Instagram (& Twitter), and honestly this feature is getting less and less important.

We encourage our Smith Lake advertising businesses to join our main page The Lakeside Life - Smith Lake Alabama, and our Facebook Groups, Smith Lake Community and Smith Lake Small Businesses @smithlakebiz as your company page(s), not just as an individual person; otherwise your company cannot be properly linked/tagged, and your company is not being auto-notified by Facebook (or Instagram) when recommendations for you are being made by our team through our pages, or by members or customers who try to "@" mention/link your company for others to find you quickly.  Not joining as your company page causes others to not easily discover your company with a simple click. Again, if you are not a member of a page as your company page, when an "@" tag for you is attempted, it will show as simply grayed-out/not highlighted indicating Facebook (or Instagram) is not auto-notifying you, so you never know that you were recommended or mentioned in a post or comment and readers of the comment were unable to connect quickly to your business.

In short, if you are one of our print advertising businesses who wish to take advantage of FREE reposts on our social media, please use the "@" (mention) feature - again it activates the link and produces a notification to the linked page/user (i.e our marketing team) so we know to check out your post and repost it on our social media. Remember, the "#" (hashtag) feature does not notify our marketing team; therefore you will miss out on free reposts.  It's so important for businesses not to miss out on FREE social media help - so please simply use "@" mention - it only takes a nanosecond. 

If you have any questions or need help with social media, please connect with us, we're here for you and ready to help.  Remember, for certain levels of advertising, reposting is a complimentary feature of your print package (provided you use the "@" mention feature properly, so use in a caption, comment, or on a photo OR simply send the post to us either via social media or email.

Please do not miss out on our help and assistance. If you need additional social media services, we can connect you with a great team of reputable LOCAL resources for every level - all very affordable. We caution businesses to be very careful of any person(s) who represent themselves as social media or marketing representatives but are actually only targeting your accounts to gain access to and capture your database of followers/customers/connections for personal gain. This can be very damaging to your business.  Sadly this type of parasitic behavior has been going on, and it is unfortunate that we have seen local businesses fall prey to being used and targeted this way. It is not wise to give out passwords to your businesses social media and email accounts too easily without proper research and recommendations.

Just reach out and ask when you have questions, we're here to help by phone or email. Thank you!

We hope the checklist above helps you get ahead and geared up for a great boating season.  A little work on the front end of the season saves endless needless headaches, stress or worst yet, unnecessary and unwanted citations.  Again, we stress this emphatically, be sure to follow all instructions from the ALEA website first and foremost, and use our suggestions only as additional advice.  Here’s the link again:  Alabama Law Enforcement Agency – Alabama Marine Patrol Division:  https://www.alea.gov/dps/marine-patrol.  

Other Links that you should check:

• Boating Rules & Regulations from Alabama Law Enforcement Agency: https://www.alea.gov/dps/marine-patrol/boating-rules-and-regulations
• Safe Boating – Wear Your Life Jacket:  https://www.alea.gov/dps/marine-patrol/safe-boating​

Be sure to check our other lists on our blog and through our magazine - samples below.  (these will soon be linked for ease of navigation...)

• Boater’s Bag Check List
• Boat Tote Check List
• Friendly Boating Advice (from a previous magazine issue)
• No Alcohol while boating on Smith Lake (from a previous magazine issue)
• Boating on Smith Lake – recommended DO NOTs (from a previous magazine issue)

Contact, message, or comment if you'd like us to add anything specific to the list or if we need to revise or repair a broken link.  We'll be updating the list annually.  Thank you!

Updated:  05/01/2023