Fairline Gone Pop

[Bouba]

If they charge the price they need to to have a comfortable operating margin, the niche is too small or non-existant.

If they lower the price to what the nice market is prepared to pay, they do not have enough of a differentiator vs Beneteau, Bavaria etc to stay in business.

To charge 2 x on the selling price, you need to be a hell of a lot better than just a bit on the perceived quality. Particularly at around the 50ft mark which is not really big enough for a real luxury product.

What the British manufacturers must do is tailor their boats to be uniquely suited to British waters….much like Finnish boats and other Scandinavian boats.
Not only does this give you a boost in the domestic market…but when you export it will have an inbuilt Britishness that will hopefully appeal to a segment in every export market…again just like we value Finnish boats because of the perceived ruggedness and utilitarian look

 

[potentillaCO32]

Ok so you know how they work , I am looking to invest in Fairline as the Admin how will you convince me to get my wallet out.

As administrator i might not want your money. Their prime responsibility is to the creditors. If they think the best way to get some, or all, the creditors money back is to keep the business going then they will and sell it.

However, in many, many cases they conclude that doing that is not best for the creditors and that pulling the pkug and disposing of all assets is best.
Entirely down to what they find.

 

[PowerYachtBlog]

What the British manufacturers must do is tailor their boats to be uniquely suited to British waters….much like Finnish boats and other Scandinavian boats.
Not only does this give you a boost in the domestic market…but when you export it will have an inbuilt Britishness that will hopefully appeal to a segment in every export market…again just like we value Finnish boats because of the perceived ruggedness and utilitarian look

Your idea is not wrong, I have advocated for it in the past, but may be it is too late for that...

The British looks and style builders are Haines, Cockwells (Duchy, Hardy), and Dale.
All these three together have a smaller business to Fairline, let alone Sunseeker and Princess.

Two others in this style have stopped or changed style, Broom stopped producing in around 2015, and Pearl changed its line to more Mediterranean looks.
Sealine used to be the most British looking of the big four up until 2010. Princess and Fairline used to have a British aura about them, although that has slowly gone.
Fairline tried to tap the market with the Phantom 43 AC in 1999, what did she sell like fifteen units in two years.

If you go British I think you have to change the model of offer and also reduce in size, not only of boats (40 to 60ft) but also the turnover.

 

[oldgit]

The Sealine 350 Statesman launched in 1991, mostly due to the fact that the wife of Tom Murrant (boss of Sealine) complained to him that she couldn't easily bring a cup of tea up to the flybridge.

The Princess 500 was a very gentle facelift of the Princess 48 which launched in 1990, a year earlier (and certainly isn't a 'superyacht'), at which time ALL small to medium sized aft cockpit flybridge boats had ladders.

The first aft cockpit Princess with stairs to the flybridge was the Princess 440, it launched about 18 months later in 1993.

So you are correct that Sealine was the first to introduce stairs to the flybridge for smaller aft cockpit boats (aft cabin boats like the Fairline Turbo 36 and Princess 435 had moulded stairs in the eighties), someone had to be.

But your claim that this proves Princess (and every other manufacturer at the time) was 'behind the curve' is, I'm afraid, nonsense, not to mention irrelevant to this thread.

Have always been an admirer of Princess eventually spending money on three of them.
First a Princess 25, then a Princess 33 and after a dalliance with a Broom, coming back to a Princess 35.
All gave sterling service, lets not mention outdrives.
At some point boat owners decide inevitably to upgrade and a search began for something bigger and newer, in the fortunate position of being able to do so.
Naturally it would be a Princess of some description.
Did look at several P360s and a P380 then in a temporary lapse of reason suffering fom Boat Price Inflation Syndrome a worryingly cheap P500.
Viewing a couple of Covid priced P420 then bought the cash available into sharp focus.
The next boat had to have proper stairs and all the Prinline 12M boats within budget on the market at the time still had ladders.

 

[ari]

Fly bridge moulded stairs or ladder is yet another one of OG’s many hobby horses that he likes to wax lyrically about …..
Do you think I should mention to him that the Humber 38 fly bridge had moulded stairs in the 80’s…

Odd, isn't it? Ah well, back to the Fairline situation.

 

[Fire99]

I hate to de-drift a thread, but I don't think Princess's choice of access to the flybridge in the 90's has a huge amount to do with Fairline's issues in 2025... (nor Princess, nor Sunseeker)..

 

[Nauti Fox]

I agree with you.....we don’t use our fly bridge because the dog can’t get up the ladder

 

[LBRodders]

Nice - who is playing the piano in the crew cabin?

Sorry - couldnt resist!

 

[stelican]

Nice - who is playing the piano in the crew cabin?

Sorry - couldnt resist!

Jim Davidson?

 

[Bouba]

Can the dog get down ?
Unfortunately like his dad, the older the dog the more likely the ladder will be a problem....we got our boat for it’s dog friendly layout....wide side decks and boarding door....I guess we always knew the fly was going to get little use

 

[Grubble]

Odd, isn't it? Ah well, back to the Fairline situation.

Am I correct in thinking that Fairline's woes are to do with an overreliance on a model line up that only included petrol powered outdrive driven soap dishes, complete with leaky canvas tent tops festooned with nail breakingly infuriating poppers designed to drive you mad and even on the boats with the type of flybridge that all right thinking boating enthusiasts would buy, ruined by vertigo inducing ladders?

Have I missed anything?

 

[Sticky Fingers]

…

Have I missed anything?

Devil’s egg whisks.

 

[Seastoke]

Am I correct in thinking that Fairline's woes are to do with an overreliance on a model line up that only included petrol powered outdrive driven soap dishes, complete with leaky canvas tent tops festooned with nail breakingly infuriating poppers designed to drive you mad and even on the boats with the type of flybridge that all right thinking boating enthusiasts would buy, ruined by vertigo inducing ladders?

Have I missed anything?

Take it u r a raggie.

 

[Nauti Fox]

Can the dog get down ?
Unfortunately like his dad, the older the dog the more likely the ladder will be a problem....we got our boat for it’s dog friendly layout....wide side decks and boarding door....I guess we always knew the fly was going to get little use

Unfortunately not, it was a strange thing, I was on thye flybridge comparing notes with another owner at Ramsgate when Lottie just popped up and has done so ever since.

 

[ari]

Am I correct in thinking that Fairline's woes are to do with an overreliance on a model line up that only included petrol powered outdrive driven soap dishes, complete with leaky canvas tent tops festooned with nail breakingly infuriating poppers designed to drive you mad and even on the boats with the type of flybridge that all right thinking boating enthusiasts would buy, ruined by vertigo inducing ladders?

Have I missed anything?

That's about the size of it!

 

[ari]

Take it u r a raggie.

Think that one went rather a long way over your head...

 

[Seastoke]

Think that one went rather a long way over your head...

I doubt it , I have a very large head, so it’s said.

 

[Alicatt]

Your idea is not wrong, I have advocated for it in the past, but may be it is too late for that...

The British looks and style builders are Haines, Cockwells (Duchy, Hardy), and Dale.
All these three together have a smaller business to Fairline, let alone Sunseeker and Princess.

Two others in this style have stopped or changed style, Broom stopped producing in around 2015, and Pearl changed its line to more Mediterranean looks.
Sealine used to be the most British looking of the big four up until 2010. Princess and Fairline used to have a British aura about them, although that has slowly gone.
Fairline tried to tap the market with the Phantom 43 AC in 1999, what did she sell like fifteen units in two years.

If you go British I think you have to change the model of offer and also reduce in size, not only of boats (40 to 60ft) but also the turnover.

Broom have recently announced that they are restarting production
One of Norfolk's oldest boat builders to resume production after six-year lull

 

[Seastoke]

As administrator i might not want your money. Their prime responsibility is to the creditors. If they think the best way to get some, or all, the creditors money back is to keep the business going then they will and sell it.

However, in many, many cases they conclude that doing that is not best for the creditors and that pulling the pkug and disposing of all assets is best.
Entirely down to what they find.

Sorry P but you are totally wrong , their first job is to run the company and seek a sale . But my question was to someone else who obviously has no answer.

 

[Bouba]

Broom have recently announced that they are restarting production
One of Norfolk's oldest boat builders to resume production after six-year lull

Probably more appropriate if the first L in lull was changed to an H