Price of new boats

[ashtead]

For what it's worth our the price new now of our boat has gone up by about 25 to 27 per cent looking at displayed number of the same model on the pontoon at SBS since ours was shown at the show in 2015 . To some degree it might be that the increase is more as I tend to look at the price with extras being what we paid and compare it with the price displayed which would then need marking up and this years show boat was very much at the budget end of extras. Personally I would prefer to have factory fitted kit . The extras we resisted was the furling in mast and the higher spec sails mainly as I am not a great fan of Elvstrom and currently of an age to manage without the worry of in mast furler. We would have liked to have bought a 2 or 3 year old version but not many about particularly if you want a certain configuration below and even if we accepted older Scandi bred models they are likewise rare once you start adding in requirements . That said we don't plan to change any time soon even if the new Discovery Southerleys did look lovely below at SBS and have the lifting keel attraction.

 

[Tranona]

That does fit with the view that the RCD is more about protectionism than safety.

The purpose of the RCD is often misunderstood and people read into it things that are just not there and were never intended. Its sole purpose is to provide a standard set of minimum requirements for the design and construction of boats using accepted specialist standards.

You might accuse it of being protectionist, but it is no different from any other EU directive that underpins the single market and is no different from similar regulations that apply in other major markets such as the US, Japan or China.

As to safety, if you follow these fora regularly (or indeed any media related to boating) you will know that there is no common view about what constitutes "safety" and particularly in the UK it is left to the individual to make his or her own decisions. There are of course many sources of good practice to help the individual. There does not seem to be a need a rigid prescriptive set of "safety" regulations, although there is a place for specific standards related to safety orientated equipment such as liferafts, emergency communications etc.