freespiritdavid
Member
Has any one been to the show and has comments about what it is like, other than the food prices. Is it worth going ?
Boat Show good or bad.
- Thread starter freespiritdavid
- Start date
Blue Sunray
Well-known member
JasperII
New member
Definitely worth it. We got to look at some beautiful boats.
My personal highlights being the rassy 64 and the aluminium adventure type yacht near to the marina entrance. Can't seem to find any information on this yacht online. I can't remember the manufacturer or find any information online. Does anyone remember what it was?
Also the crispy duck wraps were very nice
My personal highlights being the rassy 64 and the aluminium adventure type yacht near to the marina entrance. Can't seem to find any information on this yacht online. I can't remember the manufacturer or find any information online. Does anyone remember what it was?
Also the crispy duck wraps were very nice
jac
Well-known member
Been and going again on Saturday but been manning a stand so not quite the same!!!!
Not massively different to last year or the year before or the year before that
Not massively different to last year or the year before or the year before that
Yngmar
Well-known member
Boat show good. Southern rail bad (next train to Southampton? Maybe tomorrow. Probably not though. And don't even think of getting home before 10pm. Grumble). Bring own food!
Tip: Best & cheapest drink to be had at the show is on the tallship Artemis, which has not only smuggled a floating bar into the boatshow (complete with German draft beer on tap), but also resisted upping their prices to boatshow ridiculousness (unlike the Starbucks in the RYA lounge, who seriously advertised a price above £5 for a cup of tea/coffee - no thanks).
Got a good price for Victron solar bits, bought ropes from my favourite rope seller who recognizes me by now, said thanks to a guy whose varnish and advice I've used, got epoxy injection tips from West System, talked to sailmakers about battens on furling mains, played with windvanes, feathering propellers (Darglow guy really knew his business) and Selden rigging (torsion rope top-down furlers neat). Found some nice Antal low-friction snap-hooks. I piloted a ROV - see if you can use the remote manipulator arm to get the rubber crab into the tea mug.
Sunseeker stand still ridiculous. Some massive cruise ship was parked behind the tallship, making for an interesting contrast. I came with a shopping/advice seeking list and got it all done this time around. Even had time left to hop onto the Sirius 35DS and say hello. She's even more impressive in reality than on YouTube.
Tip: Best & cheapest drink to be had at the show is on the tallship Artemis, which has not only smuggled a floating bar into the boatshow (complete with German draft beer on tap), but also resisted upping their prices to boatshow ridiculousness (unlike the Starbucks in the RYA lounge, who seriously advertised a price above £5 for a cup of tea/coffee - no thanks).
Got a good price for Victron solar bits, bought ropes from my favourite rope seller who recognizes me by now, said thanks to a guy whose varnish and advice I've used, got epoxy injection tips from West System, talked to sailmakers about battens on furling mains, played with windvanes, feathering propellers (Darglow guy really knew his business) and Selden rigging (torsion rope top-down furlers neat). Found some nice Antal low-friction snap-hooks. I piloted a ROV - see if you can use the remote manipulator arm to get the rubber crab into the tea mug.
Sunseeker stand still ridiculous. Some massive cruise ship was parked behind the tallship, making for an interesting contrast. I came with a shopping/advice seeking list and got it all done this time around. Even had time left to hop onto the Sirius 35DS and say hello. She's even more impressive in reality than on YouTube.
{151760}
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Definitely worth it. We got to look at some beautiful boats.
My personal highlights being the rassy 64 and the aluminium adventure type yacht near to the marina entrance. Can't seem to find any information on this yacht online. I can't remember the manufacturer or find any information online. Does anyone remember what it was?
Also the crispy duck wraps were very nice
Bestevaer and Alubat were around there.
BelleSerene
Active member
Not massively different to last year or the year before or the year before that
Except that there were even fewer stalls and significantly fewer boats.
Perhaps next year it'll be just Sunseeker and that other marine brand, Range Rover?
Hacker
Well-known member
I enjoyed it. Took my other half to look at yachts in the 35-45 foot range to try and help her narrow down her thoughts. We found 5 that we liked which will help us with further research.
Cantata
Well-known member
Really? Did I go to the same Show as you??
jac
Well-known member
I thought there were more boats and seemed just as many stall. Today was busier than last Sunday.
Anni D
Member
dune16
Active member
First time for me to Southampton show and I really enjoyed it. I went away considerably poorer so it worked..... for them
freespiritdavid
Member
Well I did go and thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes a few quid lighter for bits and pieces. Looking mainly at props and furling gear with a lot of help and information. One of the main things I found out was, I could have my furling gear drum replaced rather than a complete new system giving me a saving so I can spend more on other things. Over all it was well worth it.
{151760}
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We paid through the RYA. My wife's been a member for many years. It cost us £11 for two tickets. As I had targeted things I wanted to research, I saved £100 or so by getting 'boat show deals'. They were probably not that much better than you'd get by shopping around, but I could handle the goods and discuss them with the experts, a big plus. I bought something from Andark; they gave us free tickets for the London Boat Show. So for us it was very worthwhile. Great to see some niche-market wooden boatbuilders.
Fantasie 19
Well-known member
Not massively different to last year or the year before or the year before that
...and thank goodness for that..
Superb day out, brilliant show, very much recommended
Does anyone pay full price??
Lots and lots of offers out there, I got 2 for£10, I've seen half price on offer, I've alread read on here that if you're in he RYA you get a free one.. shop around is the answer...
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prv
Well-known member
+1
A forumite very kindly offered her spare tickets for free, and a friend and I took two of them and visited the show yesterday morning. We enjoyed ourselves, but both agreed it wouldn't have been worth £22 each to us.
Very useful if you have specific things to research or perhaps buy, but if you're satisfied with your boat and its gear the majority of what's there will be of little or no interest to you. Which isn't surprising really, since it is fundamentally a trade show for selling things, rather than an entertainment event.
Pete
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Bobc
Well-known member
There were cars, hot tubs, garden furniture, log cabins, massage beds....everything!
I bought some ropes.
I bought some ropes.
JasperII
New member
jonic
Well-known member
I thought it was great this year.
Very busy from my own business perspective, probably one of our best ever
.......and I even bought a dinghy for the kids.
http://www.fusionsailboats.co.uk/
Can't wait for the delivery in a couple of weeks time. :encouragement:
Very busy from my own business perspective, probably one of our best ever
.......and I even bought a dinghy for the kids.
http://www.fusionsailboats.co.uk/
Can't wait for the delivery in a couple of weeks time. :encouragement:
rotrax
Well-known member
Echo jonic's view, but as a punter.
Did not buy much, but enjoyed the day. A short day in view of our lack of mobility these days.
Bought a new Seagull IV water filter-ouch! A super bit of kit but way, way too expensive.
Saw a Westerbeke 8KW genny close up with its sound box on Advanced Yachts stand and had a good look-I bought a used one without the sound box in working order recently-and what I noted will help in its restoration.
Liked the Nauticat 441-fabulous internal finish, better than many much more expensive boats, and liked the layout of the two cabin small Bavaria yacht.
Quite up to what we expected, and those nice people at U Boat chandlery let me collect a £10.00 special offer boathook at their Gosport store rather than me carrying it around all day.
Since losing the only boathook on the boat in Wellington Harbour two years ago I insist on having a reserve boathook on board-our new boat came with just the one.
Did not buy much, but enjoyed the day. A short day in view of our lack of mobility these days.
Bought a new Seagull IV water filter-ouch! A super bit of kit but way, way too expensive.
Saw a Westerbeke 8KW genny close up with its sound box on Advanced Yachts stand and had a good look-I bought a used one without the sound box in working order recently-and what I noted will help in its restoration.
Liked the Nauticat 441-fabulous internal finish, better than many much more expensive boats, and liked the layout of the two cabin small Bavaria yacht.
Quite up to what we expected, and those nice people at U Boat chandlery let me collect a £10.00 special offer boathook at their Gosport store rather than me carrying it around all day.
Since losing the only boathook on the boat in Wellington Harbour two years ago I insist on having a reserve boathook on board-our new boat came with just the one.
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