Brock Elliott and his team at Campion Boats has just wrapped up their annual dealer meeting at the Delta Grand Hotel on Okanagan Lake.

Meeting highlights included the introduction of their new Chase 550 and other models. Our Boating Industry Canada people attending the meeting noted that Campion was moving towards outboard power in many of their new boats. As Brock Elliott explained, Campion knows outboard engines are getting quieter and also more fuel efficient plus, winterization is often far easier with new-technology outboards. Another consideration is that the outboards give more room inside the boat by placing the engine outside on the transom rather than in the interior.

Our staff drove the new Chase 550 with 200, 175 and even 115 horse power engines and all ran great. The 115 allows buyers a great starting price point.

Other key improvements include the move to put low-draw, long-lived LED lights on many new boats.

Campion also introduced the new “Forster” model which we saw as a multi-purpose fish and ski boat. The new model was named after Karen Forster who spent 10 years working at Campion and sadly, was struck with cancer and died. It was a thoughtful gesture.

The Campion meeting attracted dealers from all over the world with more than 10 from Asia, Europe and beyond in attendance. In total, Campion has dealers in over 30+ countries.

Many of those enjoyed a gorgeous evening on Okanagan Lake at the Delta Grand Hotel with great food and icy cold beverages. Dealers we talked to were excited by the new Campion products and were looking forward to a great  2013!

Photo: The dealers crowd around Campion Boats' general manager Brock Elliott as he talks about their new models.