jfm
Well-Known Member
Oops, Deleted User reminded me I have forgotten forum etiquette and just gone ahead and bort a new boat without posting lots of forum questions about possible new boat choices first. Sorry! 
So here's a quick update. This is boring on two counts. First I dont have any outside pics, yet. Second, this is the most boring boat swap ever, cos I've gone and bought exactly the same boat, a Sq58. But hey, at least you know that when I've gone on here over the years about how good a design the Sq58 is (I've done 9000nm and 800 hrs), I did actually mean it!
My current Sq58 is 5 seasons old and I want a new one, but with economy a bit messy I didn't fancy spending the extra £1.5m-£2.0m on berth + boat to get a 70footer. Also, I dont think I'd cruise any further or see any more places in a 70 than a 58; the 58 is a pretty good boat. So I decided to get something that fits in my current 5m wide berth in France. I looked at all the alternatives, and the Azi 58 came close, but I decided that (imho) the Sq58 is the best. Production of new ones has just ended, so I needed to act fast. Turns out the one with oak interior that was on display at Southampton boat show (hence my mention of p9 of Dec MBY in t'other thread) was available from Essex boatyards. I love the oak, and physical boat = no stage payments = no credit risk, so I bought it.
I'll have loads more to say later, when I do the fit out and load it on a ship to take it to the Med and all that. Right now I have a few internal pics (below) but no externals. The spec of this boat is nicely very high, Volvo D12 800s (my favourite engine in this size category) and I'm organising some mods. I'm fitting, among other things (a) Big 4-screen Raymarine system with ST70 / STNG network (b) Industrial strength utility room with separate wash mc + tumble drier, freezer, Tecma loo and single crew bed. (c) U/w lights 3rd generation LED (much more on this new system later, but my boat is hopefully having the prototypes fitted by the manufacturer of these lights, and a couple of forumites are involved with the company - there will be much more on this on the forum later I expect), (d) lots of sunbrella cloth (e) three of those fab Recaro helm seats (like the new Sq55, only I'll have 3 not 2) on the flybridge (f) some technical mods incl inverter (discussed on another thread), new Tecma WCs, etc etc.
Anyway, more on this later. One interim observation though - Essex Boatyards are a completely fantastic and fun outfit to do business with. I'll write more when the deal and the fitout work is all done. At this stage I've just paid a deposit and complete on the puchase in a month or two.
Here are the internal pics. You either love or hate the oak. I love it, but feel free to speak your mind and say you hate it. I reckon matt oak is the new black.
So here's a quick update. This is boring on two counts. First I dont have any outside pics, yet. Second, this is the most boring boat swap ever, cos I've gone and bought exactly the same boat, a Sq58. But hey, at least you know that when I've gone on here over the years about how good a design the Sq58 is (I've done 9000nm and 800 hrs), I did actually mean it!
My current Sq58 is 5 seasons old and I want a new one, but with economy a bit messy I didn't fancy spending the extra £1.5m-£2.0m on berth + boat to get a 70footer. Also, I dont think I'd cruise any further or see any more places in a 70 than a 58; the 58 is a pretty good boat. So I decided to get something that fits in my current 5m wide berth in France. I looked at all the alternatives, and the Azi 58 came close, but I decided that (imho) the Sq58 is the best. Production of new ones has just ended, so I needed to act fast. Turns out the one with oak interior that was on display at Southampton boat show (hence my mention of p9 of Dec MBY in t'other thread) was available from Essex boatyards. I love the oak, and physical boat = no stage payments = no credit risk, so I bought it.
I'll have loads more to say later, when I do the fit out and load it on a ship to take it to the Med and all that. Right now I have a few internal pics (below) but no externals. The spec of this boat is nicely very high, Volvo D12 800s (my favourite engine in this size category) and I'm organising some mods. I'm fitting, among other things (a) Big 4-screen Raymarine system with ST70 / STNG network (b) Industrial strength utility room with separate wash mc + tumble drier, freezer, Tecma loo and single crew bed. (c) U/w lights 3rd generation LED (much more on this new system later, but my boat is hopefully having the prototypes fitted by the manufacturer of these lights, and a couple of forumites are involved with the company - there will be much more on this on the forum later I expect), (d) lots of sunbrella cloth (e) three of those fab Recaro helm seats (like the new Sq55, only I'll have 3 not 2) on the flybridge (f) some technical mods incl inverter (discussed on another thread), new Tecma WCs, etc etc.
Anyway, more on this later. One interim observation though - Essex Boatyards are a completely fantastic and fun outfit to do business with. I'll write more when the deal and the fitout work is all done. At this stage I've just paid a deposit and complete on the puchase in a month or two.
Here are the internal pics. You either love or hate the oak. I love it, but feel free to speak your mind and say you hate it. I reckon matt oak is the new black
.
