W
woodie1000
Guest
Got there at 10.15 on Sunday (which was a miracle given the cocktails that had been drunk on sat night). Would have been 10am but McDonalds was too tempting en route.
Parked no problem in the car park on the left just before Excel....3 min walk into the centre.
We were mainly looking at 40-50' boats but also managed a look at some of the larger models (Squaddie 74 and Targa 62 for instance). I find it difficult to comment on these objectively as I've never been out in comparable boats and there is such a wow factor stepping onto one of them from a 40'!!
In our size range we liked the Fairline Targa 47 and Princess V48. The hassle of covers makes the hardtop option a very appealing one! The top of the Fairline seems more solid, the Princess is more open and so feels more like a traditional open boat - swings and roundabouts as ever. Quite a wait for both (or so the dealers tell us) but bit out of the price range in any case. No probs on Fairline, but we have one so would be disappointing otherwise. We had to beg to speak to a Princess salesman who seemed pretty uninterested in selling us anything. Oh well!
People on the Sealine stand were great and I think you get good value for money. They can be a bit plasticky - but you get what you pay for - and they seem to be harshly criticised by many (especially Fairline and Princess salespeople......). Would be interested in a Sealine owners view of the boats.
Overall it seemed a lot quieter than last year. It will be interesting to see how much business gets done or if there is a bit of a slowdown on - early consensus seemed to be that things were slower.
Highlight though was the lighter that has three different colour flames as you twist the top......essential equipment for the beach bbqs of course.
We had a fantastic day out though and hope everyone enjoys is as much as us!
Parked no problem in the car park on the left just before Excel....3 min walk into the centre.
We were mainly looking at 40-50' boats but also managed a look at some of the larger models (Squaddie 74 and Targa 62 for instance). I find it difficult to comment on these objectively as I've never been out in comparable boats and there is such a wow factor stepping onto one of them from a 40'!!
In our size range we liked the Fairline Targa 47 and Princess V48. The hassle of covers makes the hardtop option a very appealing one! The top of the Fairline seems more solid, the Princess is more open and so feels more like a traditional open boat - swings and roundabouts as ever. Quite a wait for both (or so the dealers tell us) but bit out of the price range in any case. No probs on Fairline, but we have one so would be disappointing otherwise. We had to beg to speak to a Princess salesman who seemed pretty uninterested in selling us anything. Oh well!
People on the Sealine stand were great and I think you get good value for money. They can be a bit plasticky - but you get what you pay for - and they seem to be harshly criticised by many (especially Fairline and Princess salespeople......). Would be interested in a Sealine owners view of the boats.
Overall it seemed a lot quieter than last year. It will be interesting to see how much business gets done or if there is a bit of a slowdown on - early consensus seemed to be that things were slower.
Highlight though was the lighter that has three different colour flames as you twist the top......essential equipment for the beach bbqs of course.
We had a fantastic day out though and hope everyone enjoys is as much as us!