Cornish Crabbers going bump?

[John_Silver]

A bit more information, on Marine Industry News. Liquidation not a foregone conclusion. Here's hoping.....

 

[Chiara’s slave]

It's a sad day that a boat builder goes to the wall but I've just had a look at their website; their dinghy shrimper series are £50k for the 19fter and £70k for the 21ft. If you go up to their 26footer adventurer weekender its £152k - One hundred and fifty two thousand pounds! For a 26ft weekend sailing boat.

The market for people who are willing to spend the price of a house on a bare bones cruising boat with minimum comfort must be minuscule.

That puts them, length for length, on a par with my favourite make of boat, I had no idea. I thought Dragonfly were ploughing their own lonely 3 furrows. The DF25 is very close cost wise, made of exotic materials, high tec sails etc.

 

[benjenbav]

A bit more information, on Marine Industry News. Liquidation not a foregone conclusion. Here's hoping.....

I’m sorry to have to say that the London Gazette wording is a very standard formula. This is the means by which notice is deemed to be given to the world.

The meetings have been called because the company meets a statutory definition of insolvency (and failure to call the meetings would expose the directors to personal liabilities). This is not me being a gloomster. It’s just how these things have to be arranged.

The members meeting is a necesary preliminary to the creditors meeting and I expect that all alternatives will have been considered already.

 

[fastjedi]

“There are too many crabbers out there, loved by many people, for the company to disappear completely." ... There lies the problem. It's a niche market that has reached saturation in challenging times. If you want one, you can buy a second-hand example at a fraction of the new price.

 

[nevis768]

Grossly overpriced...not surprised they've gone bust

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Grossly overpriced...not surprised they've gone bust

Overpriced implies excessive profit, clearly not the case, I suspect they are priced according to what it costs to make them and cover the overheads of the yard plus a notional profit but that price is more than people are prepared to pay for such boats and thus there is a lack of orders and the overheads have crippled the yard without an income stream to offset them against.

 

[E39mad]

Not good news.

I assume they are very labour intensive boats to build with no or little internal mouldings.

 

[Hacker]

Not good news.

I assume they are very labour intensive boats to build with no or little internal mouldings.

Have you been in one?

 

[E39mad]

Have you been in one?

Not that I recollect.

 

[Hacker]

If you had you would be aware of the internal mouldings. Having owned a Crabber 26 I can attest to the build quality (including encapsulated lead keel) which goes a long way to explain the price.

 

[Snowgoose-1]

I happened to visit Fox's in Ipswich this week.

There were four new Oyster mega yachts being commissioned. At least there's one
British builder still going.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

I happened to visit Fox's in Ipswich this week.

There were four new Oyster mega yachts being commissioned. At least there's one
British builder still going.

Darren Newton is still going in Millbrook. Much the same market, just different taste. You get a lot of boat for the money from either of them. As I remarked, the Crabbers seem similarly priced to Dragonfly, I can’t see that makes. Crabbers look good value. Obviously the same people aren’t going to change their minds between the 2, which they might with oyster and Dazcat.

 

[E39mad]

If you had you would be aware of the internal mouldings. Having owned a Crabber 26 I can attest to the build quality (including encapsulated lead keel) which goes a long way to explain the price.

OK - so are the internal mouldings extensive or is there a lot of internal fit out of quality wood. Just trying to ascertain why they were so costly/foot.

 

[ylop]

Overpriced implies excessive profit,

Not really it means expensive compared to alternatives.

clearly not the case,

some profitable businesses go bust because of how their debt is structured. No idea in this case, but often if you didn't have that yoke around your neck you could cut other costs early enough to muddle through bad times.

I suspect they are priced according to what it costs to make them and cover the overheads of the yard plus a notional profit

But could "essentially the same boat" be made cheaper?

but that price is more than people are prepared to pay for such boats

that's the killer - for that money you could have something that sails better, or is more comfortable etc. They are quite pretty boats but my guess is that their average owner is "getting on a bit" even by yachty standards. As we get old we start to want different things in a boat...

and thus there is a lack of orders and the overheads have crippled the yard without an income stream to offset them against.

Yeah, all boat builders have realised its easier to make money on bigger boats. Its a shame they didn't follow that trend as there would be people who don't want an AWB that might have been swung by the nostalgia if it came with some comfort.

 

[Tranona]

Yeah, all boat builders have realised its easier to make money on bigger boats. Its a shame they didn't follow that trend as there would be people who don't want an AWB that might have been swung by the nostalgia if it came with some comfort.

They have gone bigger but with similar results. The market for older style boats is very limited and you mop up a handful in the first couple of years but it is not sustainable. The 2 boats were very different, the first a bigger version of the Crabber that actually goes back 40 years and has had 2 Lazarus type resurrections since and the second was the Mystery 35. This is s ort of spiritual follow on from boats like the Contessa 32 of the 70s but modern underwater, rig and equipment. The sort of boats admired by people who probably can't afford to buy new, Whereas the people with the money want something different.

 

[doug748]

Just seen this review of the modern Cape Cod day boat:

Some nice features, but similar premium prices to the Crabbers. Small boats in small numbers are always going to cost, where Cape Cod have been clever is to cover their bases. Here is their 896:



Probable price tag of £150,000 ++


.

 

[Frogmogman]

Just seen this review of the modern Cape Cod day boat:

View attachment 173901

Some nice features, but similar premium prices to the Crabbers. Small boats in small numbers are always going to cost, where Cape Cod have been clever is to cover their bases. Here is their 896:

View attachment 173900

Probable price tag of £150,000 ++


.

The cape cod boats are beautiful. They are made by a company called Rose West.

Not the only yacht builder to name themselves after a mass murderer, of course. Shipman went down that road too.

 

[Snowgoose-1]

The cape cod boats are beautiful. They are made by a company called Rose West.

Not the only yacht builder to name themselves after a mass murderer, of course. Shipman went down that road too.

Some brilliant unique features that really work.

 

[sail sail]

Oh no. I love them. First ever yacht I sailed.

 

[eddystone]

I had a Crabber 17 once but the last time I looked at a CC at the Boat show a few years back they had just introduced the last re-incarnation of the Crabber 24. Seemed a much better boat than the Shrimper 21 but I've seen a few of the latter in the wild but never a Crabber 24 (latest version). I had a general impression CC were less innovative than Swallow Boats in a similar market place but then I don't know how well Swallow are doing. That the last men standing in the UK are Oyster and Rustler (and of course Sunseeker, Princess and Fairline) is not in the least surprising. In the world of "prestige" cars, the bigger the price tag, the longer the waiting list.