Not impressed

[Guest]

I went to the SBS yesterday and can honestly say I was not impressed. If I had been buying a boat, then yes thats the place to be, but I was looking at electronics/helmsmans seats/charts and radar reflectors etc. and it was a nightmare. The stands appear to be all over the place with little or no grouping at all. In future if I want to buy a boat it's Southampton if its anything else its London.
What do you think?

 

[nicho]

Peter, agreed - I went to look at colour cart plotters/radars, and they were all over the place. The Raymarine boat in the marina was the best bet, with all of their products working in their normal environment. I chose the Raymarine RL72 colour for our new boat - it's screen is rather small at 7", especially if you use split screen. However, the radar overlay on the plotter screen is superb, and the new high colour screen launched last week is absolutly fantastic even with bright sunshine directly on it

 

[Guest]

I'm glad you agree I seem to wander all over the place trying to find various stands.BTW I've heard very positive things about that unit, as you say its a bit small but I've always found that you "get used to it"
best of luck
Peter

 

[cynthia]

Try La Rochelle - a totally different concept - if you want to buy a boat, any boat that's OK, but try spending even a tiny amount on decent chandlery - impossible! Seems to be little more than a trade display exhibition - talk about missed opportunities!

 

[Guest]

One thing that always surprises me at either SBS or LBS is the amount of stands that have absolutely nothing to do with boating. If I want I can buy drills that will cut through brick (can't remember when I last saw brick on a boat), Outside hot water tubs / baths, Spices,Sauna's and many more.
Do these people actualy sell their product at these shows?

 

[Strathglass]

I was there on t
Thursday and was not impressed.
I purchased the hyper expensive Official Showguide. The particular stand (E21) I had travelled from the north of Scotland to see was not shown on the Show Plans in the guide. I did manage to navigate to it eventually.

At most shows each stand has a prominent 6x4 card which shows the stand number but not at Southampton. To find where you were, onehad to look for the nearest large stand, look up the index then interpolate the Show Plans.
There was no summary in the Show Plans or anywhere else of what was in each of the halls or display areas.
I bought the showguide to enable me to navigate my way round the show yet in spite of being there all day I only found the hall with chanderly for sale ten minutes before the show ended. Still I did save a lot of money.
On the positive side. Stand people were very helpful, I boarded all the craft I requested, did order the mast and even enjoyed the soggy chips, scampi and Guiness.

But the Showguide?

Iain

 

[Jeremy_W]

Yes - they do sell things and are return show after show. You're interested in boats and go to a boat show. There's some kind of logical link. But there are thousands of visitors who seem not to have made the connection between the title of the show and the content of the stands.

In my one experience of Earls Court as an exhibitor, it was amazing just how many show visitors were wandering around looking blank and showing no interest, understanding or enthusiasm in ANY of the nautical stands.

Is "going to exhibitions" a hobby in itself? Do they collect swap and trade show guides? Is one SBS worth two "Chip Shop 2002"? Would they be back next week for the Ideal Home Show, and end up buying a holiday from Sunsail?

More seriously there are plenty of less that enthusiastic spouses being dragged around the show. I bet if you were reluctantly trailing around the International "Drilling Holes In Brick" Show and came across a Jeanneau stand you'd fall on it with enthusiasm.

 

[Guest]

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