London boat show

[[2068]]

Just heading back now on the train.

Some thoughts:
- Why is it so damn HOT inside there. Lighting? Some oxygen from the outside would help.
- Managed to get on all the boats we wanted to. Decided that a Princess 60 Fly ticked almost all the boxes, except the ones to do with affordability.
- The cars were a cool addition, esp being able to sit in them.
- Really not sure why hot tubs are there.
- Some vendors must be making so much money that they can't be bothered to make any more. Tried to buy a sewn ensign from one stall, "sorry, none left, more stock upstairs, can't get it now". Redirected to another flag seller. Oh good, has ensign on the table. But where is the vendor? - A few stalls up, having a chat. Lady from another stall tries to pull him back. I gave him 5 mins, and left. Ho humm.
- Favourite brands are still Sealine and Princess. The F42 and V39 are both superb in their own ways.
- The show was quite busy today: mainly because the people that would have visited on Friday came today instead.

 

[rwilson]

Had a really good time there today. Picked up a couple of Crewsaver 190n lifejackets for £99.99, 1/2 price as it was the outgoing model and a wetsuit for my eldest daughter. Had a good chat with 2 chaps on the Yamaha stand and a helpful guy on the Garmin stand just to cover a couple of techy bits. Regarding entry costs, had lunch in the RYA lounge, parked, 2 adults to pay for show entry (2 children free) which came to a total of £53.00, a cheap day out!!

 

[neale]

slightly off topic, could someone tell me how tall Nick is?
Unless he's 6ft+ some boats had alarmingly low spaces

cheers

V.

He is most definitely 6ft+

 

[mjf]

I agree nice job on the video. I see you managed to keep your shoes on throughout. No sox or over shoes for MBM then.
?

 

[MRC]

One of the lessons I have learnt about boat shows is that it's usually best to go on ones own rather than with friends. With friends there is usually a fast track to the bar and very little looking at boats.

I did go with friends so funny enough only looked at a few bits.

Sunseeker. Loved the feel of the large open saloon on the Manhattan 73 but wouldn't want to sacrifice the 4th cabin to have a lower level galley. Great as a day boat but that's not really what it is aiming for other than in China etc.

28M felt really nice, ignoring the price tag this one was great to go round, great fly, superb bow area, liked the lack of saloon dining on this one and balcony is brilliant. BUT seen similar size San Lorenzo and the finish is of a different league.

San Remo - possibly the bargain if the SS range? 51ft sports boat with hard top, gen etc all included. £550k ex tax. I may be wrong but the new sales model seems to be have a high starting price and allow for larger discounts. This boat with a 15% sales discount would be relatively good value, I paid £500k+ tax paid for a portfolio 53 over 8 years ago. The portfolio finished its run at around £800k, pred 53 is a million quid inc tax.

Some of the other SS have gone a bit 'bling' and made them feel cheap. If you can look beyond the interior design packages there are some good layouts. The P80 was at least finished unlike the one at SIBS.


Had a look round the usual Fairline models, sq78 well covered on other threads but didn't realise how big the cockpit was. Didn't have furniture there though.

Star of the show for me was the Princess 82, loved pretty much all of it and if (I'm not) I was in the market for a new boat that would be getting a more detailed look over. Made me look at the 72 but that wasn't quite as fresh.

Stopped off in Canary wharf on the way back for some food and drink, last train home and still feeling it now.

 

[henryf]

Hugely disappointing lack of hobnobs on the Fairline stand this year, although they did try to make up for it with pringles...

Cheers
Jimmy

Following the Pringlegate scandal at Fairline earlier in the week I am happy to confirm that it was business as usual at Princess.

Henry

 

[Nick Burnham]

Hi,

Just wanted to add my own note of thanks for all the kind words about our video. Graham did a great job with it!

And to answer the two questions posed, 6ft 3in, and no special shoe dispensation as can be seen in the video aboard the Princess, the Sunseeker, the Prestige etc. The only couple of boats we were allowed to keep our shoes on were ones without carpets.

I thought it was a really good show this year. Keeping it all in the one hall made it feel much fuller and busier, and there was certainly plenty there to keep me entertained for the three days I was there. Many exhibitors seemed a lot more upbeat too, so lets hope it's a sign of things to come.

All the best,

Nick