London boat show
- Thread starter st599
- Start date
newtothis
Well-Known Member
Don't worry, in 13 years time everyone will be complaining that it's not as good as it was when it first moved to Excel.
laika
Well-Known Member
Don't have to wait that long: It *isn't* as good as it was 10 years ago at excel: it used to be twice the floorspace inside, stuff outside in the dock and none of the major electronics manufacturers were missing from the exhibitor list.
Resolution
Well-Known Member
I've just got back home after a pleasant and hassle-free day visiting the show. Train, tube and DLR all punctual and very UN crowded. Complimentary ticket, so no worries about entry pricing. Only one part-filled hall, so no need to buy a programme. Plenty of time to crawl over all four main yacht stands (I cannot include Cornish Crabbers in this category, but their stand was busy with grey haired gents who may well have been Forumites.....). Few serious looking customers on the big yacht stands, several salesmen told me that interest has Ben light, the post Brexit twenty percent drop in Sterling certainly doesn't help. Most fun looking yacht was certainly Nigel Colley's new Sun Fast 3200. Over on the big motorboat stands things were a lot more positive, the drop in Sterling has of course helped sales to offshore buyers. There was even talk of a shortage of stock for UK dealers, and wait lists running into 2019. At lunchtime there was a fine presentation by two young Brits, whose names I have sadly failed to note, looking for funding for a campaign for the Vendee 2020. I hope they succeed. Also on stage was Ellen Mcarthur, as impressive as ever.
Post lunch I passed by the Land Rover BAR stand and declined the invitation to show my strength on their practice winch. But why could they not bring one of the "old" small Americas Cup catamarans?
Later, chatting over a drink with another old hand, we found ourselves listing the drawbacks to being an exhibitor at Earls Court, from the restrictions on size that would have excluded most of today's leading boats, to the midnight convoys through West London when traffic was cleared for the larger trucks, to the awful difficulty in shifting boats around inside due to uneven floors. Excel does have some advantages!
Post lunch I passed by the Land Rover BAR stand and declined the invitation to show my strength on their practice winch. But why could they not bring one of the "old" small Americas Cup catamarans?
Later, chatting over a drink with another old hand, we found ourselves listing the drawbacks to being an exhibitor at Earls Court, from the restrictions on size that would have excluded most of today's leading boats, to the midnight convoys through West London when traffic was cleared for the larger trucks, to the awful difficulty in shifting boats around inside due to uneven floors. Excel does have some advantages!
Tranona
Well-Known Member
The actual drop against the Euro is currently 11%, not 20% and doubt sterling prices have gone up by that amount. Most dealers hedge their currency for expected stock boats to ensure some stability in pricing. However with boats built to order, actual selling price tends to reflect the rate at the time of contract. I bought my boat in 2015when the list price was based on 1.2 euro to the £ (January 2015 rate) but the price I paid for the boat built to order reflected the rate at the time of contract of 1.36 - the saving shared between the parties and the dealer bought a forward to fix the rate.
Did a similar thing with my previous boat in 2001 which I paid for in DM and bought my own forward on a day with a good rate. Seem to recall saving just under £1k.
MikeCC
Well-Known Member
Probably Sam Matson was one of them? He's got some interim campaigning to fund first as well. See sam-matson.com to follow him.
Concerto
Well-Known Member
I visited today with a free RYA ticket and quite enjoyed the lack of crowds (I can remember Earls Court being so packed it was almost impossible to move upstairs). Talking with exhibitors was a pleasure as they were happy to chat (possibly to break the boredom at times).
Bit of advice for visitors by car. The parking ticket machines will take cards or cash, but not the new £5 note. As the fee is £15, you will need £5 in coins as the machines do not give change, or use a card.
Enjoyed easy access to a number of boats for a poke about. It was good to see a mixture of sailing boats and dinghies, plus mobos. The boats I looked at ranged from 20ft to 34ft and were all smarter than my boat, but I would not change. The Dehler 34 was interesting, but the Habber 620 was incredibly surprising in what has been crammed into a 20 foot hull.
Had a look at the chandlery stands, but nothing really said buy me. I ended up buying some 12v LED lights in white and red for my main cabin, a copy of PBO, plus lunch and parking- all for under £65! So the exhibitors will not be getting rich from my spending. By comparison I spent nearly £1000 at Southampton.
Is there a future for the London show? I am not sure as the market for selling sailing boats is almost stagnant due to the price increases of imported boats due to the Brexit vote altering the exchange rate. The massive increase in free tickets could be an indication that this is the only way to get people through the doors. If they are like me and spend very little, then the show is doomed.
Overall I enjoyed my day out as I met a lot of people I knew and many I did not.
Bit of advice for visitors by car. The parking ticket machines will take cards or cash, but not the new £5 note. As the fee is £15, you will need £5 in coins as the machines do not give change, or use a card.
Enjoyed easy access to a number of boats for a poke about. It was good to see a mixture of sailing boats and dinghies, plus mobos. The boats I looked at ranged from 20ft to 34ft and were all smarter than my boat, but I would not change. The Dehler 34 was interesting, but the Habber 620 was incredibly surprising in what has been crammed into a 20 foot hull.
Had a look at the chandlery stands, but nothing really said buy me. I ended up buying some 12v LED lights in white and red for my main cabin, a copy of PBO, plus lunch and parking- all for under £65! So the exhibitors will not be getting rich from my spending. By comparison I spent nearly £1000 at Southampton.
Is there a future for the London show? I am not sure as the market for selling sailing boats is almost stagnant due to the price increases of imported boats due to the Brexit vote altering the exchange rate. The massive increase in free tickets could be an indication that this is the only way to get people through the doors. If they are like me and spend very little, then the show is doomed.
Overall I enjoyed my day out as I met a lot of people I knew and many I did not.
Tomahawk
Well-Known Member
I wonder how many sales exhibitors managed to make.... Remember how Moodeys (or was it westerley?) had a bad show and the banks called in all their finance bankrupting them..
The whole place lacks feeling. Because there are no rigged yachts and it is square there is no atmosphere to the place... From the outside you would not know it was on... Not sure I will bother next year even if I have free tickets.
The whole place lacks feeling. Because there are no rigged yachts and it is square there is no atmosphere to the place... From the outside you would not know it was on... Not sure I will bother next year even if I have free tickets.
Last edited:
dunedin
Well-Known Member
Perhaps because all the annual moaners put people off from going, therefore causing less exhitors to attend
LePacha
Well-Known Member
No worries
Never went to Earl's Court. I am relatively new to the boating show (started sailing when I was a kid, but had a long gap, before moving to keel boats in 2006)... So I have basically 10 years to compare, and I missed a couple of shows I would say. Never went to any other boat show, so cannot say whether Southampton or Germany is better...
What I note from the posts on this thread, irrespective of whether people had a good time or not, is that it is apparently fairly empty.
Concerto
Well-Known Member
Just received a survey about the boat show. If you have not been contacted the survey is available here.
https://www.snapsurveys.com/wh/siam/surveylanding/interviewer.asp
https://www.snapsurveys.com/wh/siam/surveylanding/interviewer.asp
Angele
Well-Known Member
Well, it has been 5 or 6 years since I last went to the London show, but I attend the Southampton one every year without fail.
But, I've got my RYA freebie ticket and, as a regular London commuter, my marginal travel cost to get to Excel is zero. So, absent any 6ft snowdrifts, I think I'll be going on Saturday.
Seems wrong to join the "ah, but it isn't as good as Southampton/Earls Court/Paris/Dusseldorf* crowd" without recent experience....
(* delete as applicable)
Anyone else planning to go this weekend?
But, I've got my RYA freebie ticket and, as a regular London commuter, my marginal travel cost to get to Excel is zero. So, absent any 6ft snowdrifts, I think I'll be going on Saturday.
Seems wrong to join the "ah, but it isn't as good as Southampton/Earls Court/Paris/Dusseldorf* crowd" without recent experience....
(* delete as applicable)
Anyone else planning to go this weekend?
Angele
Well-Known Member
.... I'll take that as a "no" then. 
Talulah
Well-Known Member
I'm planning to go Sunday morning. I'll be moving the boat to Ipswich Haven Marina from Gosport in a couple of weeks so need to pick up the charts.
awol
Well-Known Member
Got there on Thursday (and Friday courtesy of Flybe who may have seen a snow flake so cancelled my flight). Guinness was watery - no Young's prawn cocktails - a rather nice Bordeaux wine counter hidden near the back, though all a little young to drink now - only one anchor stand (Rocna) - a surfeit of mobos - and are outboard motors getting bigger? Wandered onto Jenneau, Beneteau, Hanse, Dehler (are upward opening aircraft style lockers a gtood idea?), and Bavaria boats and hate to admit it but the Bavarias were the least bad. However, I suffered no boat envy. So many companies were not there but those that were had plenty of time to chat and to say how much better Southampton was. Spent a while on the Sail Scotland stand encouraging people to go to or stay in the Solent to avoid overcrowding our waters. Oh, and I met a Brexiteer - I thought they were a media myth!
I don't think I'll be making the effort again.
I don't think I'll be making the effort again.
maby
Well-Known Member
... and Earls Courts was a dump in the arse-hole of London... I always loathed the place. Parking was terrible - and that was many years ago - god only knows what it would be like now.
maby
Well-Known Member
P.S. we do usually go to the London show, but missed it this year - I was up to my armpits in the bilges fixing that blasted leak caused by a French engineer who had never met his father.
Resolution
Well-Known Member
You missed the fabulous looking and eye-wateringly expensive Ultra anchor on the Landau UK stand. Together with miniature sand pit to test half a dozen miniature different anchors.
Lucky Duck
Well-Known Member
I remember going to one of the early post EC boat shows and didn't really miss the place but the boat show felt a shadow of its former self when I last visited.
Last edited:
maby
Well-Known Member
It's difficult to justify two major boat shows per year, and Southampton is always going to win out given its location and late summer schedule.
