London Boat Show 2013

Yuck, one hall and that awful south one at that. I notice that the main cock boat vendors have confirmed, no doubt with the poser-friendly champagne bars. Personally, I hate the south hall and avoid it with a passion; it's everything I despise about boating in one hall.

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I guess the opening celebrity could be Harry Enfield.

However, the north hall used to be an excellent day's visit with its selection of sailing yachts, inland waterways, dinghies, chandleries, etc. Alas this has been in decline for the last 5 years and with this announcement has been eliminated altogether.

The one saving grace over the last couple of years was the merging of the London Bike Show and the outdoor show taking over the remaining north hall space. As my primary interest is boating, these shows were of secondary interest and not enough for me to attend.

I can only speak for myself, but I'm sure as hell not going.

SIBS must be really chuffed with this announcement.
 
Ok ExCel is now 50% bigger than it was two years ago, it has been EXTENDED as a venue which is why they have the new bit at one end and the sunken floor.

In doing this it has allowed the North Hall AND the South Hall of this years boat show to run the entire length of the South Hall.

Most of the "old" part of Excel was closed off this year which is why you had to walk miles down the boulevard if you came in the West entrance to get to the show.

So I say again it has not got so small it fits in the South they are simply using the whole of the South Hall which will be enormous.

If you dont like it dont knock it but 100,000 people seem to go year in year out and it also keeps a lot of us in jobs...
 
Reasons for going to a boat show...

- Look at new kit
- Browse for things that one doesn't normally see, e.g. chandlery, gadgets, anchors, wind vanes, propellers, clothing, engines
- Ask 'experts', e.g. electronics, wind vanes, sail makers
- Find suppliers, e.g. pram hood, cushion makers, holidays, insurance, etc.
- Look at new boats (big) -- a long-term marketing effort where one can see what the difference is between a Janneau and Discovery
- Look at new boats (small) -- dinghies, inflatables, folding boats (kayaks), tenders
- Have a boaty day out in the winter
- Grab a bargain

The problem as I see it is that I'm interested in the smaller suppliers which are priced out of the show. Even the bigger suppliers, e.g. the yacht vendors, aren't bringing sufficient boats to make it interesting. What was there this year, a dozen yachts? Compare that with 10 years ago when there would have been 50.

The internet's destroyed the bargains, along with the cost of a stand.

My personal issue is I find the hideous tacky mobo stands offensive and I just don't want to see them. Hence the tradition of two halls, even at Earl's Court, was fine. With one hall you won't be able to get away from them.

I found this year to be a real disappointment. I've spoken to quite a few others who went and I've not heard any positive comments. My own opinion was that I won't be bothering to go again which is echoed by many of the people I speak to.

I guess it's the split in the boating fraternity. Most of the people I sail with are 'average' people who enjoy life on the water and struggle to pay the bills. None of them are mobo owners; none of them have the odd million to spare; and none of them seem to fit the target demographic of what the south hall represents.

It's a real pity to see livelihoods of people in the industry under threat. I just think that LIBS has had its day and has become a minority interest. Thankfully there's SIBS.

Maybe renaming it to the London Power Boat and New Boat Show For City Traders would be more accurate.
 
GlennG said:
Reasons for going to a boat show...

- Look at new kit
- Browse for things that one doesn't normally see, e.g. chandlery, gadgets, anchors, wind vanes, propellers, clothing, engines
- Ask 'experts', e.g. electronics, wind vanes, sail makers
- Find suppliers, e.g. pram hood, cushion makers, holidays, insurance, etc.
- Look at new boats (big) -- a long-term marketing effort where one can see what the difference is between a Janneau and Discovery
- Look at new boats (small) -- dinghies, inflatables, folding boats (kayaks), tenders
- Have a boaty day out in the winter
- Grab a bargain

The problem as I see it is that I'm interested in the smaller suppliers which are priced out of the show. Even the bigger suppliers, e.g. the yacht vendors, aren't bringing sufficient boats to make it interesting. What was there this year, a dozen yachts? Compare that with 10 years ago when there would have been 50.

The internet's destroyed the bargains, along with the cost of a stand.

My personal issue is I find the hideous tacky mobo stands offensive and I just don't want to see them. Hence the tradition of two halls, even at Earl's Court, was fine. With one hall you won't be able to get away from them.

I found this year to be a real disappointment. I've spoken to quite a few others who went and I've not heard any positive comments. My own opinion was that I won't be bothering to go again which is echoed by many of the people I speak to.

I guess it's the split in the boating fraternity. Most of the people I sail with are 'average' people who enjoy life on the water and struggle to pay the bills. None of them are mobo owners; none of them have the odd million to spare; and none of them seem to fit the target demographic of what the south hall represents.

It's a real pity to see livelihoods of people in the industry under threat. I just think that LIBS has had its day and has become a minority interest. Thankfully there's SIBS.

Maybe renaming it to the London Power Boat and New Boat Show For City Traders would be more accurate.
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I think the point is that its not the internet its the government and local councils who has killed most businesses. By the time these poor people pay business tax, business rates etc etc they have to pass on the cost of their overheads and thats us. Give them a break and reduce these blood sucking councils etc.

bu gg er just fell of soap box again
 
Although visitor numbers will be 10% down from 2012 "the quality of the customers will be much improved". It's been true for the last 6 years, no reason for it not to be true next year as well :rolleyes:

I did try ExCel but it was soulless & boatless.
 
The Lazy Kipper said:
Although visitor numbers will be 10% down from 2012 "the quality of the customers will be much improved"
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I like the "will be" bit. What's their evidence? Some sales geezer blowing smoke perchance?

Following on from LIBS 2012, numbers will definitely be down next year; I've certainly not heard anyone praising its merits. I'd wager it'll be a lot more than 10% down.

LIBS is symptomatic of the demise of sailing in general, and possibly the economy in general. All the yacht manufacturers went after increasingly larger boats as smaller ones were difficult to make at a profit. Cheap, easily accessible finance meant people could borrow more on the backs of their homes.

End result is a surplus of large boats that are hard to sail short-handed, are way more expensive to run and maintain (compared with smaller boats) and the market's flooded. Now all the manufacturers are tooled up for large boat manufacture chasing a much smaller market and they're dropping like flies.

Alas the industry needs to go through some re-alignment and get back to making smaller, more affordable, more 'normal' boats.

At LIBS this year I saw a whole bunch of AWB-style yachts with 'torpedo' lobster pot line hooks on their skinny keels. What bloody idiot wants one of them? Obviously not someone who sails, but marketed at "lifestyle" "professionals" who aspire to "race" and with more money than sense. Seems like the typical target demographic for LIBS.
 
Not a bad idea

GlennG said:
Hear hear.

I did manage to get on the Discovery though. Nice boat.

Maybe LIBS should *pay* spirit yachts to bring some class to the show.
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And not just Spirit.

Rather than pay £x for someone I've never heard off but who wears a short skirt - why not pay for a major manufacturer to turn up?
 
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