Boat Show — Hit or Miss?

[TomIsitt]

Greetings all,

MBY is canvassing opinions about the London Boat Show at ExCeL for our Boat Show report.

So, those of you who've been...what do you think?

Is it better of worse than Earls Court?

Was it easy to get to?

Best bits at the Show?

Worst bits?

Will you go again next year?

What would you do to improve it?

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[EME]

Infinitely better than Earls Court. NOT SURE ABOUT THE TOTAL NUMBER OF EXHIBITORS BUT ALL ARE A LOT MORE ACCessible presumably due to the increased area that is allocated to all.

Disappointments have to include the length of the queues to purchase tickets. IT is surprising to me that so many tickets are bought on site. Maybe the organisers should look at other methods/channels for prepayment ... maybe ticketmaster or similar?

I know Excel but felt that the signposting could have been better particularly in the main entrance area - but difficult without causing congestion in that area.

Access to Excel is a PITA - particularly if you live in Lodon and are used to EC -- but not a real issue - goes with the location. Interesting to see if DLR had enough trains running on Sunday...

Other constructive criticsm would include suggestion that Sunseeker are banned from the show until some of their sales staff are a little more courteous to people - some may just be prospective customers ...

Will definitely go again -- better show all round

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=blue>I am WHAT I say I am</font color=blue>

 

[apollo]

Easy to get to for me from Bucks on the train (1hour).

Liked the central relax zone with food and drink.

Food crap as always but Coffee bar by the station was good meeting place and did a reasonable cappo.

Not sure about having all similar exhibitors in same region as I spent 2 hours on PC chartplotters and only walked 20yards during that time. I know its easy to compare all the products but I kind of liked the variety that you got with Earls Court wandering around.

Thought the outside bit was a bit of a waste of effort. Lucky the weather was not snowing or raining for me. Massive queues to get on the pontoon. I can see a warship at Navy Days, not really what I go to Boat Show for.

It will take a while to get Earls Court out of my system as it was very familiar and I knew where everything was.

Overall quite good, will always go again as have not missed one in thirty years and need something to cheer up this time of year.

Mike

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[mainshiptom]

Much better than Earls Court

Easy to get to by car for me M2/A2/A102 signs could be better!

Got there early so had a good parking (west car park), reasonable charge £8

Very good fish and chips outside!

Nice areas to sit inside and out!

Best bit inside an Sabreline 42" until I got the price! (£440k) "Can you budget for that?" says the very nice sales person.

Yes I will go again next year and even next weekend!

You have my vote! For excel.

The only thing, which could be done to improve the day, is to train all sales people (I don’t think that is possible though!)

Tom


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[Chris_d]

Near Miss for me...

I went on Sunday, only took 1 hour from Oxfordshire through central London, but then 30 minutes to park in the overflow outside lorry park. Then sheparded onto a bus which drove all around the Excel and dropped us in a spot where I could see my car 100m away, but couldn't have walked because it meant going up the taxi rank on foot.

Inside it was as expected, more modern and open, thought the outside stuff looked interesting, but we were too cold having checked our coats in earlier, would be better in the summer.

I suspect I'm in the minority but i prefered Earls Court, being confined it was easy to work your way around things and not miss anything, when you looked up you instantly knew where you were becasue of the architecture, Excel looked the same everywhere.

As we got through London easy in the morning, we returned that way.. big mistake, 2 hours this time, would be interested to know if the M25 was any better though.

Overall it didn't offer anything more for me than Earls Court, basicly all the same stuff was there. I think i will probably now only go every couple of years, instead of every year which i did when at Earls Court. Mainly because of the poor accessability for cars, public transport for us country dewlers is too much hassle.

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[Kevin]

Not enough variation of boats on display. The organisers should endeavour to get a bigger variety of manufacturers /distributors exhibiting at the show rather than increasing floor space and allowing the big players to spread their domination even further.

I know that there are many UK based marine manufacturers and distributors who would love the opportunity to exhibit at the show.

I think that perhaps they are more concerned about keeping the bigger exhibitors happy than providing an increased diversity of product for the public to view.

Manufacturers should start to realise that this is an exhibition to show their products to the public and the tendency for having to make appointments to view is a nonesense. If the bigger manufacturers want all the spaces to exhibit then atleast allow the public to actually get to see the products or move aside and let those that want the public to see what they have on offer take the stand space.

Message to sunseeker: its ok wanting to make your prospective purchasers of your larger yachts feel special by allowing them to pass the blue rope(please let it be me one day that they allow to walk past that rope) and up the stairs to see their 'masterpieces', but if your not going to allow people to wander about all your products then clear off and leave the space for another exhibitor who will.

Get your prospective customers to arrange appointments to view away from the show for your larger boats and leave more show space for new exhibitors

other than that the show was great, so much more room to move about the show.

Kevin

 

[franktheseadog]

To be honest I didn't bother to go this year because everyone had told me it's such a nightmare getting to Docklands and anyway there aren't that many more boats than previous years. Earls Court was easy if a little unadventurous when compared to Southampton and Genoa. While on the subject, why does everyone rave about Dusseldorf boat show? I went last year and was very disappointed. Far too many stands touting boating holidays on the Rhine/Danube/ etc. and not enough boats.

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[Renegade_Master]

Re: Mainshiptom

If you go sat Tom call in and see us at N1647 if you can

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.suncoastmarine.co.uk>Sun Coast Sea School & Charter</A>

 

[Alistairr]

Hit or Miss?????

Well my wife and i Hit your stand and Missed you!!!
Apparently you were out doing some reporting or something, whatever that means.
Probably an Article on the Guiness tent, If not, i can write it for you.

Anyway, The Venus i thought was ok, I think it lacked a bit of the Atmosphere/buzz, that you got for Earls Court though. But then People find it hard to accept changes.

Getting there, was ok, we flew to The City Airport from Edinburgh, and there was a FREE transfer bus from there to ExCel, The bus driver was a local Character, He got on his Mike and started to give us all a guided tour, Talking about how an Individuall was behind the building of ExCel, and how its come good for him, Then told us that he had bought his house 'dawn the Rad' For £28k, several years ago, and how its worth over £300k now, And now he says his Kids now want him Dead. Then he told us how he built is mums house, and how it had gone up in Value, But see my Auld Man, He says, He would turn in his grave if he could see me know, I'm running this bus service for Know't, stume, Nothing!!!! and i'm daeing 3 trips an hour, all day with no break, I'm just Daeing it for the Love...

Best Bit- Coming away With another IPC Freebie/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif
Worst Bit- On the stands, the Snobery from the Top Marques.., And Trying to get a seat for Lunch. in the main concourse.

Will Probably go again next year,but poss. over 2 days. 1 day isn't enough if you stop and talk on any of the Stands.

Too improve, Try and take the Snobery out of it...

All in all, an enjoyable day out, doing Boaty things at this time of year.



<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://arweb.co.uk/argallery/alistair?&page=1> My Pictures, Look if you want.</A>

 

[mainshiptom]

Re: Mainshiptom

No problem !

Thanks for the inite !

Tom

ps are you online connected on the show ?

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[tcm]

Rubbish!

1. No officious bastard stewards telling you to get lost at every car park

2. Not enough cookery demonstrations

3. Total lack of pigeons flying about

4. Not enough weird stands with large engines

5. Too many helpful and pleasant salepeople ESPECIALLY at Suncoast

6. Somebody recognised me on the MBY stand and was nice to me whereas usually (qv Tom Isitt on Saturday) I chucked off pronto.

I may go again next year, IF the above is addressed




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[David_J]

We have been to earls court for four years or so and got to like it so we just had to see what Excel was like.
Travel, from Kent by train on Saturday. Only one train an hour on the Hastings line early morning and Charing Cross closed all day so had to go to Victoria. Not the best start but no real problem. Had advance tickets so walked right in at 1000.
Not too busy at that time so spent a couple of hours round the south hall before the crowds really built up.
Overall impression of the venue is good. At least its modern and clean with lots of well serviced toilets, cloakroom with lots of staff and even a few places to sit and ease the feet. Eating places by the water not too busy so maybe most people unaware of them. Overall I prefer it to Earls Court but it did lack the familiar, almost quirky feel, so spread out it loses some of the cosy feeling of Earls Court where the upstairs stands were fantastic.
The chandlery area was so busy we virtually passed it by, apart from the large black & White stand in the corner!

Best bit was some good information on Nav equipment from a number of patient, well informed and helpfull sales people. Not being so experienced they took time to explain things.

Surprised to find how good the sales people were on the Pricess stand. Open and friendly so that is definitely where I will be going when I get my lottery win. On the other extreme the Sealine people were consistantly as bad as the several previous shows I have been to. Complete lack of interest or just plain rude. Fairline was complete lack of interest and as for the big "S" the attitude problem they all exude was spilling out along the isle so as usual we bypassed them.
Seems the general rule is bigger the company the less interest they have.

Worst bit was the outside stuff and just the sheer distance we had to hike around the place.

Will we go back next year? Yes, but didn't get to do everything this year so will have to go back (by car) next weekend.

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[Talon]

So, those of you who've been...what do you think?

Excellent over all, much more space, very nice layout.

Is it better of worse than Earls Court?

Better by far

Was it easy to get to?

Pain in the 4rse! Not sure what the best route is, took us 3 hours from Berkshire!

Best bits at the Show?

The boat stands, going round the power boats is just the best thing ever!!! Especially the Bladerunner <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.mad-als.com/BR/br.htm>http://www.mad-als.com/BR/br.htm</A> /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

Worst bits?

The surfing pool, it was all good except the music. The fans were really loud, which again is fine, but they then decided to blast music at a highly distorted level, all I could here in the end was 120db of white noise. They would have been better leaving the music off!


Also the frigate was a bit lame, you did not get to see a huge amount of the ship. One thing that was a bit unnerving was having young lads with guns that they seemed to have no control over, I thought it was strict regulation to never allow your gun barrel to point at anyone, I watched one guy who was waving it all over the place and it was not pointing up or down but actually pointing at people as they walked past! He was posted by the gangplank as people walked on.

Will you go again next year?

Yes, will probably look at the Yacht Hotel next time, it will make it a bit of an easier day.

What would you do to improve it?

It would be nice if there was shelter outside perhaps? It rained for half the day and there was nobody outside at all.

More sign posts for the eating halls, the ones by the dock seemed to be deserted, if they stocked up with food, this would give people more seating areas.


<hr width=100% size=1>Alex

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.mad-als.com>http://www.mad-als.com</A>

 

[mjf]

Went Thurs by tube/dlr - 1 3/4hrs from West london. Travel a nightmare!

Once inside I liked the layout - easy to compare similar boats / equipment / etc.
Maybe too big for one shot...

Went again on Sun by car - 35mins excellent! Parking v.good etc.
1 1/2hrs to return home, so miffed again! The watersports area was a zoo so left well alone.

I, unlike several other forum users, found the staff generally good on the big boat stands and with the equipment manufacturers - if they did not know an answer they found the guy who did!

I live very close to Earls Court (on the river at Hammersmith) so much prefer old venue. Thinking of going by boat in future years if I knew when I could leave my Rib Lite.........

Venue will halt multiple visits from me in future years . S'Hampton better

Michael


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[Renegade_Master]

Re: Mainshiptom

yes Tom

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.suncoastmarine.co.uk>Sun Coast Sea School & Charter</A>

 

[whisper]

I liked it better than Earl's Court for the extra room to move about, the spacious central area and the variety and style of the eateries. Like many others on here I am hoping to go again to get info and see things that I didn't have time for on my first visit. That's something I wouldn't have done at E.C.
I personally found it to be noisier than E.C. due probably to the lower ceiling height.
The big downside is the rail trip with having to change trains when on the DLR. Being forced to hang about on a wet and cold platform is a farce. Why on earth this is necessary is beyond me.
Out of interest, where do trains to Becton start off from ? Surely some services direct from Bank would be sensible as this is the obvious
Tube station to change at when one comes from Euston & St.Pancras.
All in all, in comparison with E.C. as an exhibition venue, IMHO Excel is a hit . They just need to sort out the rail route.


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[robind]

Re: Dear Mr Isett

Suggest you try reading the existing posts on both the Motor boat forum, Pbo and chartroom chat, if you havent already done so and formulate your own opinion, before writing a report. (I dont mean to teach you to suck eggs)

For myself, I believe that there is insufficient room to sit and eat ones sandwiches, but acess is good even though exhibits appear to be the same at Excel as at Earls court ( no extra exhibitors apparently brought in by promise of the new venue). Good idea to segregate the watersports area from the main exhibit. Food expensive even by boat show standards and still "hot dogs" are being sold when they are only frankfurters in a roll. the difference being that onions are evident in a Hot dog (I will check out with Trading standards) My journey from two miles west of London to Excel by car (driven by south London minicab driver) took two and a half hours, for which I was a little Pi**ed off about. Initially swore that I will never go again, see previous post.

Regards
Rob

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.rejuvanu.com>RejuVanu</A>

 

[amf]

So much better than Earls Court!

Went by train from Surrey to Waterloo. Walked across bridge to Savoy Pier and caught the ferry. Very efficient service, they even walked you to the coach that met you at the Docklands to take you the final 10 minutes to Excel.

I think we picked a good day (first Friday) as there were no queues and relatively few people around all day. Got on all the boats we wanted to see, most without appointment (apart from the 23M Princess). Didn't look around the Sunseekers though so can't comment on their hospitality.

Didn't visit the pool as it was closed for the day but visited the outside exhibits - thought these were a bit sparse (compared to SBS) but kept the family entertained. Food was expensive but good choice available.

Got the Ferry back to Waterloo and even managed to catch Lord of the Rings at Leicester Square before catching the last train home.

Generally a big thumbs up!

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[Jools_of_Top_Cat]

I hate boat shows, I hate crowds so I do try to avoid them. I went this year because I needed to ask questions and play with kit. I hate boat jumbles too, for similar reasons.

I think Excel was better then Earls Court, had a very comfortable drive down and found it very easy to get to, M6, M1, M25, M11 and then the A13 I think, no hold ups or delays. The layout was good and I only had claustriphobia problems around some of the chandleries.

The dock was a nice break and way to cool down from the heat, yes it was so damn hot, it meant we had to cart jumpers around so we could put them on to go out, wear them indoors and pass out.

Seating was a real problem, I have chronic back pain and must sit regularly, I had to stand for 30 mins waiting for a seat so we could have a coffee, this was a real problem for me as I am sure any other disabled people. In order to sit it was assumed that I should be buying food, this is not on, more seats please; not everyone is as fit as the next.

I will go again, but not for a few years, although my girlfriend really enjoys boat shows and always wants to go, so it might have to be sooner.

<hr width=100% size=1>Julian

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.topcatsail.co.uk>Top Cat Homepage</A>

 

[TomIsitt]

Re: Dear Mr Isett

And I suggest you try reading my user-name before addressing me incorrectly ;o)

The reason I put this post up was to try and get specific answers to my questions, rather than trawling through endless only slightly relevant posts.

Thank you all for your responses...keep them coming

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