When the Maine Boatbuilders Show opens today, it will be celebrating 25 years of bringing the best in Maine marine craftsmanship together with some of the most discerning boat enthusiasts.

“Everybody here is fiercely proud of what they’re doing,” said Portland Company Marine Complex owner and boat show host Phineas Sprague.

The show includes everything from a 50-foot day sailer displayed by Brooklin Boat Yard to Rangeley Boats’ rowboats, as well as all the equipment and components in between — with each booth manned by a company owner, Sprague said.

“If you’re really interested in boatbuilding and sailing and serious boaters, then you have pressing questions and you need to talk to someone who knows what they’re talking about,” he said.

“If you’ve got blisters on the boat, you might want to talk to the person from U.S. Paints who has the anti-blister system,” he said. “You’re talking to the guy that’s the chemist, not reading the can with somebody in the store.”

The show opens at 10 a.m. today and runs through Sunday. It draws exhibitors from around the country and customers from around the world.

Seminars include presentations on wind generators, salvage laws, repairing different types of vessels and engine maintenance.

“I know for a fact the boating industry has really made big strides with this show,” said Joanna Sprague, who is married to Sprague and runs the company with him.

“Not only have we seen little boatbuilders grow into big shops, this year we have people from Japan coming here to meet builders. There’s some quality here in the boatbuilding industry you can’t find anywhere else.”

The show has grown over its 25-year history.

The first year featured 15 exhibitors and attracted about 750 people.

This year there are 196 exhibitors and attendance is expected to hit nearly 9,000, said Phineas Sprague.

That is, if the weather isn’t so nice that people decide to work on their own boats rather than go to the show.

The forecast calls for a gorgeous weekend, which may have some people trying to get out on the water rather than into a boat show.

“We had one day a couple years ago, it was so beautiful I had to lock the doors to keep the exhibitors in,” Sprague joked.