Cannes Yachting Festival 2017

[henryf]

Azimut. It’s been a long time since I looked at Azimut, they were all circles and the styling was just a bit too way out there for my liking back in those days but things have changed. I looked at their new galley up 50 flybridge. In principal I’m not averse to the location of the galley but there just isn’t enough space to the point where you have to go down 5 steps to reach the galley refrigeration and additional storage. Making a cup of tea becomes an aerobic work out. Once again a full beam master, forward VIP and 3rd cabin bunks but that split level galley put me off. They have also taken the bold move of doing away with a saloon completely and replacing it with a cushion storage area. JFM, you have met your match (see what I did there). I think I counted just shy of 30. They have a new 55 planned which might be a better option subject to emptying out the cushions

What I did like on the Azimut stand was the Magellano range. Let me start by saying it’s a like in principle thing. I looked at a lot of boats over 2 days so only skimmed the superficial but I do have a soft spot for trawler style boats and the Magellano seems to span trawler / Dutch and more contemporary flybridge boats. The 53 and the 66 were appealing, the 76 most definitely wasn’t. I think the designers had been given too much space with the 76 and took their foot off the gas. As I banged my head on a window mullion coming back up the curved stairs into the saloon I knew we weren’t going to part as friends. But I really like what the Magellano 53 and 66 bring to boating. The 53 has an aft galley which is in effect full beam as the 3/4 size fridge freezer is on the opposite side to the main kitchen units.

The Magellano 66 has a bit of customisation possible but the version shown would lend its self to a small crew where you might have a skipper and cook / hostess. I need to find out who supplies epaulettes for their uniform The galley and helm position can be shut off from the rest of the upper accommodation. Lovely wide side decks and good bow seating aft / cockpit. The lower accommodation is possibly a bit lacking when compared to the upper space but that may be more a case of the upper areas over delivering rather than downstairs failing.

Like so many of the boats I looked at the unknown for me would be the standard of construction and engineering when compared to the Princess we currently have and are used to. Some things I could see immediately but to be fair you are saving money, the question is what the engineering side of things that might impact on reliability or safety. Having had Fairline and Princess boats for 20 years I haven’t had to think about what bits are fitted behind the scenes, they’ve done that for me.

 

[henryf]

There were a couple of stand out boats at Cannes, the Numarine 62 and an Outer Reef thing. They say a picture paints a thousand words, I will have to let you be the judge……

Princess simultaneously launched the new 62 flybridge at Cannes and Southampton. I’m there next week when I also get to see the new 55 so I shan’t say much other than the 62 is lovely. The old 60 was a bigger version of the smaller boats with nothing to offend and the 62 sort of carries that on only now it’s part of the current range. Aft galley, full sized fridge freezer, port side upper helm, starboard side lower helm, separate inside dining area, that lovely little seating area port side opposite the helm. I’ll spend more time on it and also the 55 at Southampton but initial thoughts are very positive I could move up to one tomorrow and I suspect it would fit like a glove.

 

[henryf]

Another range which caught my eye was Absolute’s Navetta. A similar concept to the Magellano I saw the 52 and 58, they wouldn’t let me on the 73 because I hadn’t made an appointment. The only refusal I got at Cannes and it was surprising because the Maltese dealer was a lovely chap who spent plenty of time with us and treated us to a couple of cans of fizzy Tango at the end. Like the Azimut Magellano my feelings for the Navetta are superficial, I know nothing about boats. From my quick scan I can see see there are some engineering shortcomings compared to what I am used to on the Princess but they are quite a bit cheaper even with a suicidal GBP / Euro exchange rate. You pay your money & you take your choice.

 

[henryf]

A decent sized galley with 3/4 size fridge freezer, the 52 was galley aft, the 58 mid galley starboard. The forward VIP cabin features an angled bed that allows really easy access all round. In any other boat this would be a main cabin, the 58 main cabin feels huge thanks to a lobby area when you walk into it. Lovely wide side decks which are covered although the edge treatment of the cover moulding looked a bit cheap. I guess that’s why they save money. A simple but great feature was to be found in the crew cabin. Accessed from the bathing platform when you walk in there is a toilet and a sink immediately in front meaning you can use it as a “beach club” bathroom. It saves walking through the boat all wet and going down stairs. Everyone else seems to hide their crew cabin bathroom at the back of the crew cabin space to my mind this is a much better solution.

The Swiss Army knife award must surely go to Galeon. I have never seen so many features, openings, rams and electric covers on one boat. I have a theory here and bear with me, I’m guessing the chief designer is 43 years old. Why 43 you ask? Well Transformers first came onto our TV screens in 1984. If a boy was 10 years old in ’84 he would be 43 now. The Galeon boats are essentially sea going Transformer toys. I can see the appeal of having your own fold out floating resort but there’s just too much going on for me and you need the perfect weather. Too hot or too cold & it doesn’t work. You’ve a 4 ºC window of opportunity.

 

[henryf]

There are some peculiarities with Cannes, as has been mentioned already many of the boats go out on sea trials towards the end of the day which can be frustrating if you’re trying to look around them but it does mean that you see stuff moving around.

We walked all the way to the other side of the show to see the Fairline Targa 63GTO only to find it was getting ready for a sea trial so couldn’t take a look. We returned the next day and were able to take the grand tour. This is the first truly new model from new Fairline and so I was intrigued to see what it was like. I’m more of a flybridge than a sports boat man but memories of the Targa 53 at Southampton just prior to old Fairline’s demise are still fresh in my mind.

There is no escaping the fact that this boat isn’t finished. I wouldn’t have shown it as there are some glaring quality issues and we all know that Fairline is better than that. I suspect they felt under pressure to deliver on a promise made last year and so rushed it through when tweaks to the basic design meant construction was running late. Were this my first experience of Fairline I would have walked away never to be seen again, but I viewed it with more friendly eyes and saw it as a mock up concept. There are no headroom problems and the huge steps of old down below have been ironed out. No longer do you step out of the day head and have to abseil down to the forward accommodation. The way the patio doors disappear is clever, particularly the opening section, it had me scratching my head for a moment! Fairline are offering a number of different options in terms of galley location and cabin numbers. In theory it means you can have the boat which works for you but there is a danger your taste isn’t that of everyone else come re-sale. I'm probably more interested in seeing the Squadron 53 at Southampton which has been out for a while now, is up to hull 7 or 8 and so can be seen as the finished item.


We had a great time at Cannes. The sun shone for a while but we also saw a bit of rain, most notably when having dinner on Friday night. It was a meal that we will remember with fondness for a very long time to come. When seen on the world stage I can fully understand how shows like Cannes are placed above Southampton in the pecking order and can see ourselves returning. That said Southampton works very well for the home market and is a showcase for British manufacturers like Princess and Sunseeker both of whom had a significant presence at Cannes. I'm looking forward to the weekend when we hit the pontoons of Southampton. It may not be as sunny but at least they won't skin me 12 Euros for a 50p plastic bottle of Evian water

 

[mcanderson]

Henry,

A great post of your time in Cannes. Thank you for taking the time to post it and the photos.

I really like the Cannes boat show. Big variety and it's location is perfection for me.

 

[petem]

Great write up and pics Henry. Definitely brochure quality. Thanks for the pic at the end .

 

[Portofino]

And the winner is ( was )
Taken form FL s website -------- I think they have turned a corner style wise .Congrates to new FL

Fairline’s Targa 63 GTO crowned winner at 2017 World Yachts Trophies
British luxury motor yacht manufacturer, Fairline Yachts, was last night announced as the winner of the best exterior design in the 50-80ft yachts category at the highly coveted World Yachts Trophies, the annual ‘Oscars’ of the yachting industry."

 

[petem]

And the winner is ( was )
Taken form FL s website -------- I think they have turned a corner style wise .Congrates to new FL

Fairline’s Targa 63 GTO crowned winner at 2017 World Yachts Trophies
British luxury motor yacht manufacturer, Fairline Yachts, was last night announced as the winner of the best exterior design in the 50-80ft yachts category at the highly coveted World Yachts Trophies, the annual ‘Oscars’ of the yachting industry."

I saw that. Considering the worldwide competition and the fact that's it's a new collaboration I think they've done remarkably well. And I guess that's a very competitive and prestigious sector size wise.

 

[Andrew M]

Great report Henry , thanks for taking the time , interesting to see the photos of the Magellanos, there's a smaller one at SBS which is the 1st one we've seen and it looked like it offered a lot for it's size and had nice feel to it, it's a style of boat that could appeal to us sometime ahead.

 

[PowerYachtBlog]

I know nothing about boats

I guess you said it. But still a nice review from someone who knows nothing about boats .
As for the Fairline 63 Targa GTO, the cockpit layout as of hull one will work in Europe and the med while the other will work mostly in the US and down under Australia.

Absolute do not have any engineering shortcoming. What they have is a short luxury shortcoming to a Princess.
They are priced shorter cause all the naval engineers and designers are actually share holders of the company.
That is like Bernard Olesinski having a share in Princess.

 

[henryf]

Thanks chaps.

I really enjoyed the show, particularly knowing I would be going to Southampton the following weekend. It allowed me to get stuck into the non British side of things. I'll do that in a few days.

I didn't step foot on the Sunseeker stand and only had a quick look round the new Princess 62. I must say I'm looking forward to having a poke around their new 55. Expect a big write up!!

I also saw Fairline's award yesterday and whilst not wanting to take anything away from them for me the award grated a bit given the poor finish of the boat shown. That might as well have been judged on computer renderings. Maybe it was?

The one thing I have glossed over of course with my comments is the fact that a lot of the boats which caught my eye are IPS powered and I have been a shaft boater for nearly 20 years now.

Some interesting boats none the less......

Henry

 

[Portofino]

all the naval engineers and designers are actually share holders of the company.
.

Arh , that explains the all extra motivation we see -- they have "skin in the game "

As opposed to just another job .

Well it's a winning formula from nothing , not long ago .

 

[Portofino]

I also saw Fairline's award yesterday and whilst not wanting to take anything away from it for me the award grated a bit given the poor finish of the boat shown. That might as well have been judged on computer renderings. Maybe it was?
Quote Henry




Nah , they would have gone out for a ride in it .
Accepted hull # 1 shortcoming s in terms of ran out of time ,and cross referenced the fit n finish from the other FL modals .

Judging panel are looking at the bigger pic going fwds ,

I even think an Itama -- yup believe it or not one year won it for the Itama 4O ( from memory years back ) for it size cat .
Went on to sell over a 100 .
I think the winners end up commercial sucesses it's not just a skin deep beauty pageant .
But as said there's a lot of " skin in the game " Not 9-5 guys clockwatching

 

[Nick_H]

Nah , they would have gone out for a ride in it .
Accepted hull # 1 shortcoming s in terms of ran out of time ,and cross referenced the fit n finish from the other FL modals .

Judging panel are looking at the bigger pic going fwds ,

I even think an Itama -- yup believe it or not one year won it for the Itama 4O ( from memory years back ) for it size cat .
Went on to sell over a 100 .
I think the winners end up commercial sucesses it's not just a skin deep beauty pageant .
But as said there's a lot of " skin in the game " Not 9-5 guys clockwatching

They won the external design award, so it was very much a skin deep beauty pageant

 

[petem]

They won the external design award, so it was very much a skin deep beauty pageant

Quite true Nick.

And I assume that it will go back to the factory to be finished properly (as was the case with the first SQ53).

 

[mjf]

Great write up Henry, nice pix too

Thanks

 

[henryf]

I guess you said it. But still a nice review from someone who knows nothing about boats .
As for the Fairline 63 Targa GTO, the cockpit layout as of hull one will work in Europe and the med while the other will work mostly in the US and down under Australia.

Absolute do not have any engineering shortcoming. What they have is a short luxury shortcoming to a Princess.
They are priced shorter cause all the naval engineers and designers are actually share holders of the company.
That is like Bernard Olesinski having a share in Princess.

It was actually the Maltese dealer who showed us round !!

I hear what you say but I could see differences. One of the things we were discussing on here before I left for Cannes was battery location and how they are secured. On our Princess and on most of the other boats the batteries are contained in a sturdy GRP box with a lid that has a vent pipe coming out of the top which goes to the outside world.

On the Absolute I looked at there were 3 fairly small looking domestic batteries and a couple of equally small engine batteries sitting on some racking in the engine room. When I asked about venting I was told they vent to the engine room and the engine room has ventilation. To my mind if you have a problem battery that is shoving out Hydrogen (and I've had it happen) you don't want to fill the engine room with hydrogen. The first thing you would do is turn on the electric fan to vent the area and....... bang !

Door hinges, latches and so on were all less substantial. I don't particularly mind the wood effect finishes used as they are hard wearing whilst still visually pleasing and they managed to create curves on doors which added to the luxury feel. But I could definitely tell a difference beyond just the "luxury" superficial stuff.

Henry

 

[henryf]

This is the larger 58 and you can see what look to be engine batteries un-vented on the right and domestic batteries sitting on a rack far left of the picture.

It was the 52 engine room which I went into.

Henry

 

[petem]

This is the larger 58 and you can see what look to be engine batteries un-vented on the right and domestic batteries sitting on a rack far left of the picture.

It was the 52 engine room which I went into.

Henry

I know very little about such things but isn't there more of a risk of something metallic being dropped on the open battery terminals?