A New Bowman 42 for under £100K!!

[Seven Spades]

http://www.rustleryachts.co.uk/company/news.htm

It seems that you can buy the hull and finish it yourself, the question is why would anyone want to do it?


How much money would you save by doing this and could you produce a product made to the same standard and retain the same residual value as a factory built boat. Rustler yachts will be able to buy all the equipment and parts at trade prices, which would be a fraction of what it would cost most of us to buy. They also have all the skilled craftsmen on site to put it all together in a fraction of the time (man hours).

I realise that labour costs are likely to be a saving, but I can't see that it would make any sense to do it.

 

[Danny Jo]

[ QUOTE ]
. . . why would anyone want to do it?

[/ QUOTE ]

- because he or she likes doing things with their own hands;

- because he or she wants a first-rate boat, cannot afford the finished price, and realises that the hull is above all the most important component;

- because he or she overestimates their ability and underestimeates the time it will take.

My grandfather, in his attempt to get his wife to share his passion for sailing introduced her to his Folkboat (Folksong, F6):

When she declared that it was too small for her, he bought Valerie, a beautiful 34 foot sloop:

Sadly, it turned out that she didn't share his passion for sailing, and managing Valerie single-handed was hard work (he had a mooring on the Hamble near Moody's yard), so he needed something smaller. In 1955, he commissioned a bare hull (24.5 ft LOA) from Hillyards and finished her himself, calling her Cena (derived from the first and last letters of his and his wife's names). About five years ago, one of my cousins spotted Cena at Troon, and a one or two years ago she was listed for sale by, I believe, a Liverpool-based broker. My point is that DIY finishing is no bar to longevity. Cena was registered at 4.47 tons net and had a 8HP 2 cylinder Stuart Turner petrol engine, which was hardly ever used. They knew a thing or two about environmental friendship in those days:

 

[wotayottie]

So business is bad and Rustler yachts need orders would be my reaction.

There's a long tradition of kit boats in the UK and in the old days you could complete them and not lose too much against the factory product. Times have moved on - people buying a Bowman nowadays would expect a Swedish standard of finish. Maybe like a Malo. Perhaps one or two home completers might manage that if their normal trade was as a cabinet maker, but most people would not. So it would be a bit like buying the shell of a mansion and fitting it out like a Barrattt house. Lot of effort but the sort of people who would buy a 42ft Bowman would not want to know the result.

 

[Pasarell]

I met a couple in Scotland a couple of years ago who had a home completed Bowman 42. It had taken 6 years to complete and a labour of love. A huge amount of thought and planning had obviously gone into it and they had a superbly finished boat designed exactly to their own specifications. IIRC a retired cabinet maker father had made a lot of the interior to their plans and the quality was extremely high. Comparisons with any professional build would definitely favour their boat!

 

[Talulah]

Many years ago my father and I built a Roberts 34 from scratch. It would have been cheaper to buy the hull rather than make a mould and then make the hull. However, my fathers attitude was that if you didn't make the hull you would always be finishing someone else's work.
His enjoyment was always in the making of the boat and not the sailing of it.
If I did not have a boat and had somewhere to do it I would be seriously tempted to buy a Bowman hull, re-using those skills learnt the first time around.

 

[30boat]

Speaking for myself, never again.Did it twice,it was the only way I could have afforded the boats,but spending years doing up a boat is no longer my idea of fun.I'd rather have a good solid boat with less well built interiors(that's where people invest more time and work) and just go sailing.

 

[Sans Bateau]

Ikea?

 

[doris]

I suspect that this hull is the one that Rustler inherited when they bought Bowman. Why should anyone want a Chuck Paine B42 when they can have a Stephen Jones R42 for the same price. The R is a much later design and proven to be as sea friendly as the B but also to be much faster. The only advantage the B has is a 1.6m draught but this comes at thd price of signifnicant leeway in big conditions, give me Stephen's design every time. The interior fitout costs will be the same for Rustlers so anyway they can get some value for the hull will look good on the P&L.
I was told at Soton boat show the Rustlers order book goes well into 2009.

 

[Gerry]

Yes, that was my thought too, they've had that hull sitting around in the boatyard for quite sometime!

www.gerryantics.blogspot.com