London boat show

Just returned from the show. We spent a pleasant couple of hours this morning chatting with a couple of people we went to see specifically, Allspars, Dek-King and North sails.

When we left it was a little busy for my liking, which is obviously good for the exhibitors. Yachts on display were a little thin on the ground if you're into browsing, plenty of mobo's if you like that sort of thing.

Of the non boaty stands - pool tables. Quite a nice modern take on a pool table with a bit of LED lighting underneath.

£32,000 to you!

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Mate Paul looking interested in the background, I ducked out at '32 thousand,'.
 
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Got there before opening time left at closing time still did not see everything
Missed Ben Ainsle which was a pity
Note the comment earlier post about raymarine but as a result i had a good chat about autopilots & although i had already got an ST 2000 ended up buying the Evolution from Mainsprite. on that stand I mentioned that the AIS interface on the plotter they sold me last year was not excellent & they said they had similar comments from professional users so had a software upgrade done by Lorenze. As i was having autopilot I could have the upgrade for my plotter installed for free. ( Discount on autopilot was excellent as well)
I got deals on everything from Reeds £35-00 to Dubarries less 10%. When i went to buy a book from sam llewelyn he had gone for lunch so Tom Cunliff signed it PP sam llewelyn.!!!! Got a deal on a Musto fleece. Was going to get 6 Anodes for my Brunton prop but due to heavy weight decided to get later but was told that they would still do a deal if ordered in next 2 weeks.Got a deal on a holdall. The wife got £ 40-00 knocked off a jacket & I think that if I pushed hard enough Jeneau would give me a decent deal on a 34. They reduced the price by £12K in the preliminary discussion. Now getting very tempting!!!
Have to admit that even though i am an avid Hanse owner jeneau's 34 was much better than the Hanse version for stowage & saloon layout. Dunno about performance though

In fact every stand would give a discount on anything if you ask. Bit busy mid day but soon died down & i later realised I missed bits
Surprisingly enjoyable
 
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Went on Sat with OH. Had an enjoyable day for the both of us. Halls did seem larger than last year now thats been mentioned. A bit too hot but just about bearable. Overall entirely happy with the show. Nice mix of everything, and some fun stuff thrown in as well. Not sure the 4D stuff really worked, but still mildly entertaining!
 
Beyondhelp said:
Went on Sat with OH. Had an enjoyable day for the both of us. Halls did seem larger than last year now thats been mentioned. A bit too hot but just about bearable. Overall entirely happy with the show. Nice mix of everything, and some fun stuff thrown in as well. Not sure the 4D stuff really worked, but still mildly entertaining!
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Have to say the 4d thing was a complete mystery to me. I dont know who put it on but what a waste of money.
 
Yeah, it was technically clever, but kind of pointless. Saw a few young kids with parents who were quite scared by the demo, but there was no real need to step on the grill things as it didnt add that much to the effect, but meh, to someone who has never been on a boat in the water I guess it could show some kind of insight if perhaps they even noticed the scenes played around them.
 
Spyro said:
Have to say the 4d thing was a complete mystery to me. I dont know who put it on but what a waste of money.
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At the show now assisting on Moody owners stand.
Moderately busy.
4D thing as others have said is wasted opportunity.
Very impressed with Fairline stand. Very well presented and excellent staff.
Looked at 48 flybridge and if I ever switch from sail to motor that would do very nicely.
Looked at the competitions 48 and wasn't nearly impressed.
Colleague just ordered new engine. The discount was too big to walk away from.
 
Robih said:
As one walks in from the western end there are shuttered halls on the south side, several doors with shutters down I would say. Didn't pay too much attention though.
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As far as I could see pretty much the entire south side is used by the Boat Show, starting from its far western end. I didn't venture East of the Sunseeker skyscraper things. Many shuttered walkthroughs between the S Hall and the centre aisle are closed off because there are other shows on the N side (Classic Car, and Cruising), so there are only two access points to the Boat Show, both manned. S5 is the one to first get into the Show if you have a ticket, then S2 (near the W end) is usable thereafter to come and go, they slap a wristband on you.
 
S1 to S4 - Mobos, big RIBS, Range Rovers, champagne, seafood, gourmet lunches and Billiard tables with a difference

S4 to S8 sail boats, dinghies (more than usual), chandlers, holidays, sea schools , marinas

Petrol-heads paradise on the N side, with superb range of old classic cars - for an extra £10!

Sunday, you could move around un-hindered, and didn't have to wait for more than 5 minutes to contact someone knowledgeable.

Central hall eating places chock a block, with big queues and lucky to find a seat from 12:00 to 15:00.

Charter and holiday companies reporting good business.

Gimmicks (rainy entrance and 4D tunnel). Yes. Well. Lead balloons?
 
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I went today. I thought it was the worst London Boat show yet. Even aside from the rip off £15 car park, the show itself seemed to have very little to offer. I left after 4 hours and I will not be going next year.
 
Norman_E said:
I went today. I thought it was the worst London Boat show yet. Even aside from the rip off £15 car park, the show itself seemed to have very little to offer. I left after 4 hours and I will not be going next year.
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I agree about the car parking but I hever had to pay that. I know i couldn't possibly have done everything I wanted in 4 hours. What was it you were looking for? What would have made it better?
 
Just the one hall this year. Other hall has a cruise and classic car show.

Looked around boats from Bavaria, Jeaunau, Beneteau and a few smaller manufacturers.

Really liked the new Easy 9.7, a lot of boat for £40k (hull and spars) or £60k fully fitted, sails, instruments and delivered. Lots of interest apparently from younger sailors who can't get on the property ladder to live on, then convert into a house deposit.
 
Went on Saturday. Much better than last year. Not impressed with the waterfall feature as you walked in, did not stop for me, but hey I am from Fort William so am used to the rain.

Spoke to lots of people about all sorts of things; some ideas for the current boat and plans for the next.

There were a few sailing boats, all identical and clearly not built for the UK market.
 
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Beyondhelp said:
Fantastic! more room for those who enjoy it ;)


One thing for sure was MUCH busier this time than the first Saturday last year.
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:encouragement:

I like LIBS - as a local, I always have and have no complaint (apart from food, but we usually take our own). Was surprised to see nothing at all outside this year, but then we never look at anything out there anyway. I like it for the chandlery and technical advice available. We went on Saturday and stayed all day. Lots of research and information, lots of ideas for own boat improvment, lots of chat, met up with pals - what's not to like. I hope it survives.

Don't understand the perennial complaint about rip of parking. Don't know where else you can park all day for £15 - certainly not in London (nor S'ton). In fact, even though we are only 2 DLR stops away, with 5 of us travelling it would have been far cheaper to park than use Oyster.
 
Daydream believer said:
Do not get the point about not for uk market. Certainly those I went on were more than Ok for Uk market & I thought there was a bit more than "a few"
But to each his own
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DB's made the same observation i was making last year about the plethera of white boats on the pontoon at Southampton, remove the decals and product iteration information from them and you'd be hard pressed to tell which was which.

Monohull boat design = total yawn fest at present, your choices (for the inside) are either the nautical equivalent of an 19th century hunting lodge or a 21st century city apartment, with no real visual distinction externally apart from the boat at Southampton that reminded me of my aluminium scaffold tower, even had the checker plate on it too.

Multihull design on the other hand..................................
 
Daydream believer said:
& £ 70-00 in petrol getting there
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As we are there for the duration (plus building and breaking down) the £10 difference is significant. Based in Gloucestershire, the difference in distance is not significant as we only do one round trip by car.

I do not like Excel as a venue and it is much more expensive to exhibit there. NEC however, would be more central (and we could commute!). I accept that it is not possible to exhibit large boats there because of the transport problems but, as an equipment show, I think it would be ideal. Boats that could be transported, could be afloat if it really makes a difference. (I seem to remember a show in the past when that happened?)

There were a lot of free tickets given out for London so the attendance figures might be misleading.
 
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