Sealine for sale again

  • Thread starter Thread starter Deleted User YDKXO
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BBC 'Midlands Today' running the story again last night. Showed only four boats in production, at least one looked like the new F380. Administrator stated lots of interested parties, many forieign, including Chinese.
 
Sad news of course. The long term question is: Are there enough buyers for 4 "big" manufacturers in the UK? Sealine allways had to go their own path because they couldn´t compete with Pr, Su, Fa in their part of the market. They took a bit of gambling with the latest very "box like" design in their range. Im not sure if that was the right path to go. Ok clients that love to get absolute maximum space for the size of boat may like it. But the others, like me. Who also look at the exterior design and want a rather sleek, good looking boat. i was looking at the sc38 and the Sessa 35 footer at the last show here in Stockholm and clearly i would go for the Sessa. Little bit less space and comfort but i happily sacrifice that for the overall design and styling och the boat. I know many people love the Sc35/38 and it is a nice boat. But i could by the Sessa for the same money or for example a Bavaria 39 sport Ht for less money. In fact the Bavaria interior finish is not far behind Sealine these days if you go for a couple of interor options on the Bavaria.

It´s tough for a brand like Sealine. It´s a little bit lika Volvo or SAAB here in Sweden. Want to be a premium brand and compete with BMW and MB etc. But they are not there (Yet?). It´s difficult because you want to offer great finish and build quality but you cant charge premium prices. And the "budget" competition like Bavaria and the french brands, improve their level of design, finish etc every year without increasing the price.
 
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If Sealine doesn't get picked up by a new investor, I hope it does, but if it doesn't, will this have an effect on used values for this brand?

I remember when Birchwood went bust for the last time it seemed that the used prices of Birchwood's took a hit in value and they seemed to stick for a very long time on the market. OK perhaps not fair comparing the two brands as significantly more Sealines out there and a much stronger brand but not an unreasonable comparison. What would you expect discount wise on similarly priced Sealine vs Fline etc now?
 
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No Regrets said:
I'm glad.
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I think that is out of order, lots of people losing their jobs as we speak and not to mention the knock on effect to Sealine's supply chain plus the worry for those with deposits with Sealine for builds and or warranty issues. You might not like them but to be "glad" you must also be an @@@@hole.
 
wakeup said:
I think that is out of order, lots of people losing their jobs as we speak and not to mention the knock on effect to Sealine's supply chain plus the worry for those with deposits with Sealine for builds and or warranty issues. You might not like them but to be "glad" you must also be an @@@@hole.
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+1
 
Wakeup Wakeup!

Read it again, for what it is, not what you thought it was.

I did not write 'I'm glad, I always thought of Sealines as a bit pants now but 'I'm glad I always thought Sealines as a bit pants now'

Look at the comma. It indicates I'm glad I always thought they were pants and didn't actually buy one, rather than I'm glad they went down...

Sheesh...:rolleyes:
 
I struggle with anyone being glad about this situation. While Sealine had a different brand value from Fair/Prin and SS, they had a strong brand of their own, and one that has been fairly successful till now. To lose a builder as prolific as Sealine, with all that this means to the rest of the industry, and the suppliers to boat builders is a tragedy. I for one really like their recent styling direction. It is bold and forward looking, but styling is a subjective matter, and I equally understand that some people prefer the more traditional styles. It doesn't mean that either of us are wrong.
I really hope that Sealine can rise from the ashes. There is a good business in there somewhere, and to buy the assets from the Administrator at a sensible price will be a gamble, but nonetheless something with potential. Clearly management mistakes have been made, and clearly this is a really tough time for the industry. The supply chain must continue to diversify, it must be incredibly tough in the boat industry. While Prin/SS are moving upmarket, this means fewer boats, therefore bigger cashflow issues. I personally fear for Fairline. The have the brand capacity to move further upmarket, but are physically in the wrong place. Do they have the means to move to the coast? Now is as good a time as any, with depressed real estate values, and help from BIS it mamy be possible?
 
FlowerPower said:
This has be one of the most smug and unhelpful comments I've seen here in ages.
If there was an award for such a thing, you would get my nomination.
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FP, although I agree that it's an unhelpful and a tad pointless comment, I'd suggest you visit PBO and see the first few pages on the sunk trawler thread :(

Personally being Greek and living in Greece, in theory I couldn't care less, but apparently I do and feel sorry everytime i see/hear of a company going down, especially if it's one that has been producing v.decent products and keeping a large number of families employed!

cheers

V.
 
Like them or hate them, sealine were one of the very few ( if not the only) brand who genuinely innovated.

Didn't get it right all the time but a lot if what we now see as traditional ideas came from the sealine stable.
 
rafiki_ said:
I agree. Fuel is a relatively small part of the running costs. Depreciation, mooring, maintenance are the top 3.
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Yes thats true but fuel is the most obvious cost of boating and the cost most directly related to usage so every motor boater is regularly reminded of the huge cost of his hobby every time he fills up. I can afford to put fuel in my boat but I begrudge the excessive cost of it, in particular the large % that is tax, and I admit that it does make me think whether boating is worth it every time I hand my credit card over at the fuel station and I bet there are many motor boaters who feel the same. So I have no doubt that the high cost of fuel in Europe has had a significant effect on the mobo sales market and thats before we start talking about the environmental impact of using all that fuel. I'm not one of those people but there are plenty of people around who could well afford to fuel a mobo but their environmental conscience wouldn't allow them to own something which guzzled so much fossil fuel. IMHO and as I've said before on this forum, the planing mobo manufacturers either have to find ways of making their products significantly more fuel efficient or there'll be more going the same way as Sealine
 
Deleted User said:
Yes thats true but fuel is the most obvious cost of boating and the cost most directly related to usage so every motor boater is regularly reminded of the huge cost of his hobby every time he fills up. I can afford to put fuel in my boat but I begrudge the excessive cost of it, in particular the large % that is tax, and I admit that it does make me think whether boating is worth it every time I hand my credit card over at the fuel station and I bet there are many motor boaters who feel the same. So I have no doubt that the high cost of fuel in Europe has had a significant effect on the mobo sales market and thats before we start talking about the environmental impact of using all that fuel. I'm not one of those people but there are plenty of people around who could well afford to fuel a mobo but their environmental conscience wouldn't allow them to own something which guzzled so much fossil fuel. IMHO and as I've said before on this forum, the planing mobo manufacturers either have to find ways of making their products significantly more fuel efficient or there'll be more going the same way as Sealine
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very true. i not overly concerned about the fossil fuels i burn in my life but i do begrudge paying the huge fuel costs to the point that was a very significant factor in selling our last boat and is the main reason my money has gone elsewhere rather than into another boat for this season.

Really sad to see Sealine go. I hope something can be rescued and my thoughts are with all the staff and suppliers that are disadvantaged at the moment. I wonder what percentage of us cut our boating teeth in a Sealine.
 
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