LIBS

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seastoke said:
there have been very few comments on the show this year is that a sign of low attendance or more enjoyed this year.
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I visited along with other forum members on Thursday evening.

The show seemed about the same size as ever ( there was however a huge Jacuzzi stand that I assume padded out a few missing exhibitors.

Now whilst thursday was cold and we had all of 1mm of snow the place was very quiet.

Thursday at 6pm is usually when the parties start on the prin / fair / sun stands and other than a singer on the Sunseeker stand there was nothing much going on .... and more importantly no people. Usually the parties are packed.

Comment from one dealer is numbers low, quality high. Comment from a relative who runs a charter business was not quite so favourable. So based on my 4 hours there numbers of visitors has collapsed ( not just an adjective - but really from packed parties to nothing).

The new sunseeker 66 is lovely and seems like a far bigger boat.
 
LIBS; It felt dull and dying when I visited last year, after my visit a friend suggested I try the Dusseldorf show some time and so I went there a week (or two) later, what a difference! It's a bit of a trek, but well worth the effort I think, am off there again in a week or so, but didn't feel the need to go to Excel this year, I doubt I will again, I suppose it's hard for the organisers to pull the plug on the London show... but it seems that lots of people have given up on it.
 
I find it hard to believe fairline sold ten boats in the first hour ,but i hope so as no new sales no second hand
 
I spent a fair amount of time on both the Sunny and Fairline stands. The Sunny stand was very busy, and I had a good crawl over the 52 and 66. Like them both a lot! Both sold out for 18 or so months, and good orders at the show. A couple of 52 pre orders have now changed from the 52 to the 66 on the back of the show. The 52 is about as big as you really want in the U.K. Cracking boat imho.
The guys on the Fairline stand were also very pleased with their orders too. No new launch, as the 53 Squaddie is at Boot. So my conclusion is visiting numbers are quality not quantity.
I really enjoy LIBS. It is tight and compact, and meeting up with forumites is great. Worst aspect? Waiting 2 hours for a pizza afterwards. Great company though ��
 
My first time at LIB'S since early 90's at Earls Court. Quite a difference, saw everything I was interested in after only a couple of hours.

Was tempted with one boat though......I thought this Riva Aquarama model was nice:

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Went to the Show yesterday (Sat) with her indoors and we had a lovely time. Yes smaller than the Southampton show but some nice boats there and in the end a nice day out in the horrible dull winter. We were lucky and saw the dancing show on the stage which was a nice extra.

Some things we noted:

1) Open speed boats are getting larger, more expensive to buy and with monster v6 and v8 petrol engines in them. Of course these are American boats so what do we expect. In my view they are not that suitable for the UK boating scheme

2) Sunseeker had an amazing stand which was open to all and very clouded. As my wife said any one of these people viewing could be a future lottery winner.

3) Fletcher needs to come back and challenge these American boats

4) Very few sports boats at the 17 foot size

5) Some lovely big ribs but again at silly prices

All in all we enjoyed the show even though we cued up for the wedding show on arrival (That's what happens when you follow the croud :0

Dennis





 
Popped along on Thursday and had a thoroughly enjoyable day.

My ticket came from Princess and I enjoyed under cover parking just by the entrance to the show. If you have bought a new boat from any of the exhibitors or if you are genuinely there to buy something you will hopefully enjoy similar privileges.

Possibly could do with the show being a week later. Flew back into the UK 4.30am Tuesday morning after a Christmas holiday and wrestling with an 8 hour time difference. 8.00pm UK time was 4.00am the next day in my world :)

Had been looking forward to seeing the all new Squadron 53 for a year but sadly that wasn't to be. Will have to wait and see. On the plus side it would seem you can sell 10 boats in the first hour of the show by stocking your stand with a 65 foot flybridge that's 20 years out of date and 53 foot sports boat with sleeping arrangements best suited to Willy Wonka's confectionery technicians. You know you've over egged the pudding when even Sunseeker, previously uncontested masters when it comes to optimistic spin raise their eyebrows.

I had another look round Sunseeker's Manhattan 52 to see how things had evolved from the first production boat shown at Southampton. Undoubtedly a huge improvement over previous offerings in terms of internal space I'm still not sure it's for me. Some practical usage concerns and a class leading galley held back only by a 1960s caravan fridge freezer.

The boat I was interested in was the S60 from Princess. The S class concept attracts polarised views. Some people struggle with the relatively small flybridge. I don't need a huge flybridge particularly if you add step though seating on the bow as the S60 has but I like the cover a flybridge provides over the cockpit. It also offers a helm position with uncontested visibility.

The S class boats are a bit sleeker and better looking than traditional flybridge boats, they also tend to be a bit cheaper than their flybridge cousins. For a first production run I thought it was a good effort. I didn't clamber all over the boat so reserve judgement but first impressions were generally favourable. I still struggle a bit with the galley compared my old fashioned galley down P50 but there were green shoot signs of hope. The microwave is in line with the entry gap meaning you can move backwards to use it, a proper fridge freezer and so on.

Nothing about the boat is going to upset fans of the brand, the starboard window serving the main deck is astounding and the forward cabin once again sees increased glass. Flat floors and ceilings are the order of the day, a dining area in the master cabin provides somewhere to eat your salmon & caviar. Not sure the crew cabin has sufficient hanging space for your butler's jacket though.

A tender garage keeps things tidy astern and also prevents sun damage, there's a high low bathing platform for swimmers and / or a jet ski. I sense Princess has another hit on it's hands.













 


















A final thought from Excel is how the catering has come on in leaps and bounds from the good old days of Earls Court. When the move was initiated I wasn't a fan. Excel is the opposite side of town to us. There is hope when cross rail opens but for the moment it's an hour in the car on a good day, parking is excellent though. I enjoyed a sit down lunch with highly edible food and there was a noticeable increase in places to plonk your bum.

Henry :)
 
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mjf said:
H. I think you will find the S60 is £200k more than the P60
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Why do you people always have to let facts get in the way of a good story :)

The P60 may be about to get replaced by the P62. I saw renderings and that looked very sleek. I was half expecting Roger L. to put his arm round my shoulder and tell me there would never be a better opportunity to buy a P60 :)

I need to sit down and look at prices as well as have a good rummage through the S60. As I eluded to in my ramblings I was half in another world whilst at LIBS.

Henry :)
 
I too am not a fan of galley aft but can see why nearly all builders are going this way.

I works on the SS 52 which I liked at SIBS and prefered the LIBS craft - darker wood etc.

The Sq53 will be interesting as I looked at the many variants they have on offer incl. galley midships and down.

What I have noticed on the galley aft craft is they have no way to make the galley private. Close the door but no curtain nor blinds. Curtains are tough because of the worktop between the cockpit and galley leaving only a split long and short blind system.

You need this in the UK in winter when getting the first cup of tea as with lights on, the world astern gets a fine view of your PJ's if they are there at all..............
 
henryf said:
Why do you people always have to let facts get in the way of a good story :)

Sorry to be another one but the 65 foot flybridge you referred to on the Fairline stand was actually a Squadron 48.
Hope you recover from your jet lag shortly.
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MJGH said:
henryf said:
Why do you people always have to let facts get in the way of a good story :)

Sorry to be another one but the 65 foot flybridge you referred to on the Fairline stand was actually a Squadron 48.
Hope you recover from your jet lag shortly.
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Was it really? The one on the right as you walked onto the stand? It looked much bigger. In that case I can easily see why they sold 10 boats in the first 60 minutes..... :)

To be honest I walked on and off the stand fairly quickly as without the new Squadron 53 there wasn't much to tempt me. I'm waiting to see what New Fairline brings to the table. The S53 will be a really important boat as it shows their way forward.

I didn't even have a proper drink in the Princess hospitality area either for fear of falling asleep :)

Henry :)
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henryf said:
Boat2016 said:
I think I've stumbled on their sales technique. Badge it and price it as a 48, chuck a 65 in the box.

By the time everyone's told their mates the tarmac outside Oundle will be worn out !

Henry :)
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Perhaps its just as well Roger L didn't put his arm around your shoulder, no telling what you might have bought.
Still would have made an interesting build thread:)
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MJGH said:
henryf said:
Perhaps its just as well Roger L didn't put his arm around your shoulder, no telling what you might have bought.
Still would have made an interesting build thread:)
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You aren't wrong. By the time I'd converted through $US, Oman rial, UAE Dirham, Indian Rupees, Malaysian Ringgit, Singapore and Hong Kong Dollars, oh and Euros at the start of our trip I wouldn't know If I'd swum the channel or sold my shirt. Well if Roger was smiling I'd know I had done something wrong.....

Henry :)
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