Boat Show Saturday?

Habebty

Habebty

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Anyone going this saturday (8th)? I don't mormally bother with the London show preferring Southampton but as I have a ticket thought I would go this Saturday - so if any other forumites fancy meeting up for a beer then maybe we could have a go at getting a few out of the YBW stand :) :)

Pete
 
Not tomorrow - Emma is off to Uni on Sunday so we are haveing a family get together.
Not Sunday - MSA Steward at a Kart Race day - Kimbolton.

Have a good time Pete.
 
Went today and it was the best show in a long time. The extension to Excel has enabled them to construct a split level with a balcony to a water section a la Earls Court and it does sort of work. It does add a lot of atmosphere.

Pity there are only a handful of sailing boats any more. It was empty even for a 'trade/press' day.

Two best bits for me:
- the shaitsu chair stand where I spent a wonderful 10 minutes.
- the Lotus Evora S on display. Closest thing I came to buying in the whole show. Vastly more welcoming staff than any of the mobo stands that surrounded it.

Seriously, it is the best put on event in a number of years but the lack of boats really throws the problems in the industry over the last few years into focus.
 
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went today and would agree with the lack of saily boats , arrived at 11am and parked without a problem or queing , i was surprised by the lack of people and we had a easy day wandering around , rejoined the RYA (icc expired) , and got a couple of tops but that was it for us this yr .
 
After much faffing, I have decided upon Tuesday. Anyone fancy a lunchtime pint ?. Mr.Moodysabre will be there tuesday too.
 
nigelm said:
went today and would agree with the lack of saily boats , arrived at 11am and parked without a problem or queing , i was surprised by the lack of people and we had a easy day wandering around , rejoined the RYA (icc expired) , and got a couple of tops but that was it for us this yr .
Click to expand...

Despite getting the impression that the industry thinks things are on the up, the public mood about the economy is still rather downbeat.

Boat prices have rocketted over the past 5 years, principally due to the weakness of our currency and an increase in the cost of raw materials.

I'm sure most people considering new boats are put off by the gloomy economic news coming our way each day and the recent VAT increase is no help whatsoever when trying to entice people into buying big ticket items!

I went to the Southampton boat show last September. I noticed that many of the smaller models in the various ranges were absent there too.

Maybe the marketing men have worked out that the only recession proof people at present are those in the market for bigger boats. This is certainly true of the uber-rich foreigners who can afford the several million pound jewel encrusted, four deck high floating lizard lounges with a jacuzzi in every cabin!

I'm sure there is more profit in selling one big boat, rather than lots of smaller ones, so they are focusing their efforts on making their numbers.

Who really knows what they are thinking.

Anyone got a clue because I really have no idea! :D
 
PaulGooch said:
Off topic, but i raced 250 Nat's at Kim for a while, many moons ago.
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Good day at Kimbolton.
150 entries, 28 races, late start due to frost and ice on the track, finished 16:10.

Can't afford to go the LIBS this year.
I will only buy somthing I dno't need.
Better get on with job hunting :(
 
Been ,done and did not buy the teeshirt much more space did not seem crowded but was very uneasy at looking at the things that interested me amoungst the stick pots the sail side felt a little overwhelmed by the BIG stuff but thats my opinion
 
Went yesterday - drove straight in, no queue for anything, very relaxed, no crowds.

On the other hand very little of interest to us either, it was a challenge to find a sailing boat - 85% power - which surprised us in these days of high fuel prices. The new 26' cornish crabber looks very nice, as did the Southerly's which we looked at and dreamed.

We left after two hours and went to Greenwich for the rest of the day.
 
Me and Mrs Millbeach went to boat show on Sunday.
I to was bit miffed as to lack of sailing craft, they seemed to bring the big boats out.
Must say thought £15 to park was taking the ####, be honest might miss it next year as it is getting bit pricey day out...
PS, Bought some bits, but just as cheap on line..
 
Can't see it lasting if the numbers keep going down. They have dropped each year from the first year at excel when there were 200k visitors to last year where the number of paid visitors was dropping below 100k iirc.

This year I thought the numbers looked down on last year and they even shared the space with the bicycle show.

Ironically I thought it the best show with the best atmosphere for years. Not because of the boats, as there weren't many, but the layout was good and the other stands were interesting.
 
Gleaming plastic in a hanger

The stall-holders seemed depressed -as well they might. One told me it was 1.5k if they wanted broadband access for the week. I thought the Mystery 35 was sweet, purposeful and loved the long tiller. Got some advice, bought some bits and bobs including the pack bit of the stack-pack. But afterwards sat on the DLR feeling like I do after the kids force me into a McDonalds. A bit overwhelmed and alienated.
 
The stallholders I spoke to were friendly and helpful (Tuesday) and knew their stuff. I was able to try on lots of different sets of oilies before my wife got her credit card out. I researched the online prices of the things I was interested in and bought some at a lower figure. Found at about things that are on the wish list. There all day but didn't get round to looking at boats. Parking was expensive given the amount of empty land round there but it was a worthwhile day out and I shall go next year.
 
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