Boot Düsseldorf 2019

henryf

henryf

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A couple of years ago we went out to the Cannes boat show to see what the rest of the world were producing boat-wise. A boat owner of one or two years now I freely admit my sights are very UK-centric so the trip to Cannes was intended to broaden my horizons. It showed me how much you can charge for a plastic bottle of water in a hotel mini bar but I came back still of the view that the best flybridge boats in and around 50 feet were made in England. I saw a couple things which came into the "outside interest" category but ultimately my heart was still set and nothing made going back on our Princess 50 feel second class.

To be fair Cannes is probably aimed at those with deeper pockets than I, a friend called me at the airport bemoaning the waiting list for a Princess 30m and there were much larger boats than that on offer! Boot Düsseldorf has long been muted as the mother of all European boat shows so with the demise of London we are off to Germany at the weekend taking in the show Monday and Tuesday. As with Cannes I'm going with an open mind, I know what Princess, Sunseeker and Fairline produce and between the first two I think they are the best on offer but I'm open to persuasion. I look forward to seeing stuff that never makes it to London or Southampton whilst being able to reference against familiar territory.

It was a shame to wave goodbye to London but as one door closes another opens.....

Henry :)
 
Nigelpickin said:
Well I look forward to your show report H, hopefully you won’t leave us hanging for too long.

Are you looking for a ‘next’ boat or just wind shopping?
Click to expand...

I wrote something a while ago covering my thoughts on which 50 ish foot flybridge I thought was the best out there and what caught my eye at Southampton but I never posted it up. Someone had complained that I was a Princess employee which of course I'm not but I didn't want the aggravation or to cause friction. Let's see what I think after BD.

Like so many other people I'm caught in the trap of a huge financial input being required to essentially buy a newer version of what I've got. "Unfortunately" the current tub ticks most of the boxes. Good space inside, full beam master cabin, very usable galley, decent turn of speed, lots of spec & so on. So at this point it's a homework exercise, good to know what's out there.
 
There is no snow in Düsseldorf, actually. I live 280km from there - everything's free.
The "lot of snow" is several hundred km south.

I'll be there for the whole time on the finnmaster stand - just in case anyone wants to come around and say hi. ;)

Chris
 
Wednesday for me. Never been before and spent a lot of time deciding if it was worth a visit, so much so that by the time I said yes flights had more than doubled so hope I get something out of it.

Like Henry, I see the growing distance between my boat value and a new replacement getting eye watering and possibly having nothing better than a newer model newer gear etc etc. But always good to plan and dream
 
I remember all the shows we went to as owners of used boats. Never in a month of Sundays did we think that we'd buy a new boat but when the moment did arrive it was almost an anti climax, over in less than half an hour. We knew the Princess range, knew what else was out there and so it was just a case of tickling the numbers a bit. I don't think it harms the cause to know what's out there so it the time does ever come you're well prepared.

New boats also become used boats of course so another possible bite at the cherry.

Enjoy the show, I'll try to leave some chocolate biscuits for you :)

Henry :)
 
Well it's a bright and sunny morning. The rumours of snow were very much over exaggerated - there isn't any. A little frost on the higher fields as We flew over yesterday but zero snow. Flight was painless, use of a lounge in T5 via the bank card which afforded a cup of coffee and a croissant, extra leg room seat made all the difference and as soon as we had taken off we were pretty much landing again arriving a little ahead of schedule.

Staying Air bnb in a pleasant apartment very close to the Japanese area - did you know there are more Japanese living in Düsseldorf than Tokyo? Well technically not true but I think I'm right in saying more than anywhere else outside Japan. If you like Japanese food this place is a must. Queued to each lunch at Na Ni Wa noodles and soup.

Dinner was at an incredible burger bar called What's Beef? Great layout, friendly staff, burgers were fantastic, avoided the milkshakes which are essentially all the calories you'll need for the next week packed into and overflowing out of a glass jar with a handle.

Looking for a way of being carried or wheeled round the show today :)

But so far a pretty painless experience. We do have to find a boat show though.......


Henry :)
 
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Interesting, I am out of City airport tomorrow. Hope mine goes as easy as that. Left tickets to last minute though and paid the penalty> Felt a little ripped off at £435 return each.
This show better be good
 
Sorry for the delay, been busy and loads of photos to download off phone. This is going to be a bit of a long ramble covering our journey round the show. So bear with...

London is no more so I found myself sitting in Heathrow Terminal 5 staring down the barrel of a bean to cup cappuccino, a slightly crusty croissant and a muffin whilst waiting for BA 942 which promised to whisk us seamlessly to the German city of Dusseldorf where accommodation had been booked via Airbnb. It’s a bit more hassle than popping round the M25, down the M11 and into the Excel underground car park but we had been promised a show that will make London look like a village fete. Let’s see.



Arriving safely in Dusseldorf I’m struck immediately by how many Germans there are and how few people are speaking English. French I can just about cope with but German is like a foreign language. Fortunately I found a little app that turns German into English, even signs and menus. I kid you not folks, those tax dodging scrotes at Google made it and it’s incredible. Children may starve due to tax dollars being squirrelled away on some sun kissed tropical Island but I was able to order Japanese food from a German menu whilst only speaking English. Lunch was Soup and noodles courtesy of Na Ni Wa. You have to queue up outside first but only because the locals love the place.



There are loads of Japanese restaurants in Dusseldorf to the point where on Monday night we availed ourselves of Na Ni Wa’s Sushi skills in the sister restaurant across the road.








On Sunday night we had a gut busting session at What’s Beef. Amazing hamburgers and if you’re that way inclined milkshakes which should probably come with a health warning.



 
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So on to the boat show and the reason we were there. It is bloody huge. Set though 15 or so halls there is everything you could dream of even remotely connected to boating and I do mean everything. Flamingo pedalo? Certainly sir, could I interest you in a matching Penelope Pitstop one as well or possibly an 8 seat octopus styled donut? A whole hall of art work, interior styling pieces for super yachts, fixtures from light switches to stainless steel backlit signs, all the electronics, fenders and cleats you could shake a stick at. Berthing options, charter possibilities from around the world, floating houses, inflatable bicycles, canoes that fit in a back pack, boats that have a funny pole sticking out the top instead of engines and the reason we were there motor boats in all shapes and sizes.








This was really cool, a canoe that fits in a back pack from British company Kayacat




I even found myself riding a wooden bike from Coco-mat



Some lovely chairs for the flybridge or cockpit. If sir has to ask the price he probably can't afford them. I presume you can sit on them once you've bought them...

 
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First stop was familiar territory Princess. A cup of coffee, some chocolate biscuits and say hello to the boys from the sales team in Swanwick.



Brand new on the stand was their F45 flybridge. Immediately you can see the collaboration with Pininfarina, the flybridge radar arch treatment is very different as is the transom area.






Being a 50 foot flybridge owner and previous custodian of a brace of 42 footers the F45 is of definite interest. Internally it is unmistakably Princess with huge side windows and a massive volume, compared to our old Princess 42 it seems vast. The F45 has a galley aft arrangement which seems to be gaining favour. The downside can be limited storage and my pet gripe a lack of refrigeration. Unlike the old 52 flybridge they use both sides of the boat with an under counter side by side double fridge and freezer. Princess have resisted the temptation to add a small island return and in so doing box in access to the galley, a mistake they made on the 52.



Storage on the F45 is extensive extending along the starboard side and underneath the saloon seating.



Still in the aft the cockpit has a little trick up its sleeve in that the seating retracts back to extend the cockpit space. I liked the small seat fitted in an otherwise dead space where the patio doors store when open. I also really liked the small half transom gate port side which allows either port or starboard side to berthing when you have a tender on the bathing platform. Two full sized gates would have compromised cockpit seating but this solution works well.





 
As with the previous 42 & 43 models it’s a 2 cabin / 2 bathroom boat. The previous master forward berth is now the VIP and there is a full beam master cabin mid ships. Full beam owners cabins are the holy grail at this size and whilst it is a bit of a compromise in terms of head room in places it ticks the box in a sector where previously you could only dream. I still remember when the Fairline Phantom 48 flybridge was launched around 10 years ago. At the time we though it was amazing and the height of decadence. Other than the head height compromise in that master cabin at no point do you feel cramped in the F45, Princess have laid down a marker for the mid 40 foot sector.





The flybridge area is a cohesive space with typical Princess well laid out helm position. Princess make boats to be used in anger and the proof is we see a lot of them on the water be it in the UK or Thailand. The F45 also has this years must have, forward deck seating. Particularly in the Med with stern to mooring along a busy quayside fore deck seating affords you a bit of privacy in the harbour. The sleepless nights for would be F45 owners is whether to dig deeper and buy the F50 with it’s 3rd cabin and full height master cabin.

 
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