European v British boats

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EME

EME

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Why is that almost everyone who contributes to this forum appears to prefer British boats. Having looked and crawled over almost every marque/model produced in the last 10 yrs up to 40 ft, I am convinced that both Style and Quality (not to mention VFM) are better served in French/Italian/Norwegian boats, and with € as it is they've been so much less than the British marques. Am I missing something or is it just that we are particularly patriotic?

A boat, a boat, my kingdom for a boat..
 
A matter of perception?

My perception of the same area (having lived there for a few years), is that most of the British-owned boats are in fact owned by Brits. Have a check yourself in La Napoule and take away the British-flagged craft and how many Brit boats are REALLY left.
Not quite sure what Cote d'Azur is representative of ! I grant that there are an amazing number of Sunseekers owned by Germans...not quite sure what to make of that. The concept of Italians buying British is ridiculous ...their own are so much better.
I would also accept that there the French have no great Sports Boats between 35-50 feet , but I only know one owner who has bought British (Sealine). What is also clear that many European manufacturers restrict export quotas hence the lasrge number of 'British' dealers down there...(Does selling British Boats to Brits abroad really count towrds S/Seekers export stats? If it does what a con!!! Bit like Boeing saying it's British cos its planes fly there!)

A boat, a boat, my kingdom for a boat..
 
I know a couple of Italian motor boaters whose view of British motor boats is this. Basically, they think the weather here is so crap and the seas so rough that any boat built here has got to be good and, in actual fact, thats not so far from the truth as Fairline/Princess/Sunseeker produce some of the best hulls in the business
As for the Germans, amazingly in my view, they dont seem to have a boat manufacturing industry of their own so they've got to buy somebody else's boats and it might as well be ours especially as we buy a very large proportion of their automotive output
 
Germany doesn't have a very big coastline, that might have something to do with their small, small boat industry.
 
The Germans

Doesn't usually stop them if there's money to be made.....and they always seem to build Quality/VFM.

Given the number of German flagged boats in the Med , they obviously enjoy the pastime and I have to concede they are BIG into British boats... can anyone really justify the premiums that are asked for British boats? Particularly given that generally boats do not traditionally attract 'Brand' premiums like cars?

Maybe that's what's really changed.

A boat, a boat, my kingdom for a boat..
 
Re: The Germans

They do attract brand premiums, Swan, Oyster, C&N, Hillyard, fisher, Westerleys (some of them) etc. Other boats are as well put together, but you seem to pay more for these. Maybe it's their perce1ved qualioty.
 
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