Sealine for sale again

  • Thread starter Thread starter Deleted User YDKXO
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halcyon said:
Production had a extremely high productivity , a 240 Senator took 6 days from starting hull lay-up to shipping, 330 Statesman 7 days, 360S 10 days, 410S 14 days. Plus Sealine owned the dealership, so production cost minimized, profit maximized, around 80% of production was export.

Brian
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In my experience, it took a lot longer than 6days to get my S24 (240), it took several months from order to delivery, maybe because of demand at the time and the promotion deals. It certainly shows quailty control was not their strong point building those boats back then e.g. some fitting alignments, different screw heads on the fillers, and the stories of hull stress cracking which is a popular topic even today with the GRP repair people. BUT that is just cosmetic and I am still a fan of Sealine boats, you just get to know what to expect with a Sealine. No idea if the current new models are still having the same problems, I only wish Sealine still made 30footers, as now the only choice is non-british boats.
 
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Hi,

This might sound simplistic but I think the weather has got a huge amount to do with it. We've got an SC35 we bought at the start of last year after a dry summer the year before. However last year the weather was very poor, i'm not sure we would have done it this year.

I would say that the SC35 is a fantastic boat though. We needed one with 3 beds in the aft cabin and there really wasn't a lot to choose from for the price.

Difficult to move sideways though :)

Simon
 
Deleted User said:
Exactly, its about brand loyalty. Very few people start with a 60 footer. They start with a 30 footer and if the builder has a comprehensive range of boats, buyers can be enticed to trade up through that range. Having said that, all the UK manufacturers start with sub 40 footers so they're trying to play that game. It isn't realistic to expect them to compete in the sub 30ft market where there is such strong competition from lower cost builders and in any case, it can be counter productive, as Sealine found out over the years. If you're competing in the sub 30ft market, its very difficult to make the brand stretch to the 60ft+ market. Sealine always found it difficult to sell 50/60 footers because their brand was associated with smaller, cheaper boats
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Wouldn't it make sense for someone like Fairline/Princess to acquire a brand like Sealine and develop it as an entry level product with a brand association? At around 40' have an over lap where you can move from the "sporty, chic - but not as expensive" brand to the "refined, overtly expensive" brand?
 
Simon391088 said:
Hi,

This might sound simplistic but I think the weather has got a huge amount to do with it. We've got an SC35 we bought at the start of last year after a dry summer the year before. However last year the weather was very poor, i'm not sure we would have done it this year.

I would say that the SC35 is a fantastic boat though. We needed one with 3 beds in the aft cabin and there really wasn't a lot to choose from for the price.

Difficult to move sideways though :)

Simon
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Ok someone has to ask, why 3 beds in the aft cabin? There can't be many aft cabins large enough for 3.
 
"Yes that was the story as I understand it. Whether or not SS had a stake in the dealer or not I don't know but they decided to bail out the dealer I guess in order to maintain market credibility. A figure of £5m was mentioned. Looks like it cost Braithwaite his company though" quote Deleted User

I think another contributing factor at the time was the" loss " of £15M worth of boats ( I think 3-4 units) ? ,shipped to a Balkan state that never arrived - disappeared en route and not paid for .
Dealer established / cultivated a credit line before placing a big order etc then disappeared without trace .
This combined with the Spanish dealer debarcle ,was just too much of a black hole in the accounts in a short time - hence the sale of 51%

The 40 fter intro modal - debate - they are all dear especially SS Porto 40 and as suggested they do actually involve some sort of semi- customisation ,down at this level.
French dealer has told me its actually the 50-60 fter range that's the new intro in the SoF and if you look at website from SS point of view it does look a little congested modal wise .Tells me they have reacted to customer demand ?
As I have said far East buyers are wading in at 80+ ft .Indeed the 34M is flying of the shelf , sorry out of the mould .
Princess too have great range of boats similiar in size and a dry dock of Lursen esq proportions so in 20 Y time ,the owner
Lets call him" Mr Louis Vitton" along with his Hermes brand and Fizzy pop will probably align / control those brands very carefully i suspect
I,am afraid I too share the feeling expressed by others of being left behind ,
In 2005 SS strap line was " motorboats from 37 ft -to- 37 M "
Now it's ' truly global" Says it all. They are currently building 55 M boats -so shortage of takers .
 
Firefly625 said:
blooming heck, those were whipped up quick!!

Love to know how that compares to various other manufacturers for similar size boats... really interesting
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They were always behind Sealine, spent a year working at Marine Projects to upgrade there switch gear to Sealine spec. I would have a meeting one day at Plymouth on up specing MP boats, next day I was at Sealine working on down specing Sealine to MP level, trouble was you could not tell the other side. Perhaps that was the start of there problems ?

Sealine did by standardization, for instance a 240 switch had all the options that the boat had, it plugged into a loom that covered the whole boat, the helm consul was a complete pre-built lump that plugged into the loom. The looms were made on large pin boards, pre-plugged and cable tied. At Marine Projects the electrician would climb on board a boat with loads of cable reels, then run each cable one at a time.

Everything was speed of assembly, but quality was still there, Tom used to patrol the production lines, but when you consider Kidderminster was producing 30 - 40 boats a month to a good specification. I remember Sealine employed a designer, not long after I went to see Sam at Fairline and was introduced to a young chap fresh out of uni. Later at Marine Projects two chaps appeared ex Vauxhall deigned dashboards, at Sealine they had employed Roger the engineer who designed the Metro.

Love them or hate them, they used to lead in all area's, but they made a Ford, not a RR.

Brian
 
posted on the Sealine Forum this morning::(

DuncanTaylor said:
Hi guys,

Some news for you regarding Sealine, Inside news that Managing Director dropped keys and phone on table and left Car at factory, then was dropped off at airport on a one way ticket to return to states.

I am a bailiff and through the grape vine heard that unless a deal was struck yesterday 26/04/2013 the receivers were going in.

I also feel sorry for a friend that is an outside contractor who is owed in excess of £10k in invoices and for employees that face job losses.

Lets all hope the German interested buyers do come through and keep the guys in a job.
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Hoping a buyer comes through - fingers crossed.
Strangely, DuncanTaylors original post has been edited out of existence: the black van will turn up outside his house later to complete the "removal" process... :eek:

.
 
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Hi guys,

Some news for you regarding Sealine, Inside news that Managing Director dropped keys and phone on table and left Car at factory, then was dropped off at airport on a one way ticket to return to states.

I am a bailiff and through the grape vine heard that unless a deal was struck yesterday 26/04/2013 the receivers were going in.

I also feel sorry for a friend that is an outside contractor who is owed in excess of £10k in invoices and for employees that face job losses.

Lets all hope the German interested buyers do come through and keep the guys in a job.-Quote

Collective wisdom of the forum -kinda regretfully explains why the reason for above .
MBO - next on a smaller more doable/ profitable scale??
 
Its usually much cheaper for a buyer to pick up the assets of a company from the receiver after it's gone tits up and thats maybe what interested buyers are waiting for. Unfortunately it leaves all the creditors high and dry and having been in the position myself a few times of being a creditor of a failed company, all of Sealine's creditors have my utmost sympathy. I can only wish them and the employees of the company good luck because it looks like they'll need it
 
bear in mind guys the post this morning on the Sealine Forum from Duncan Taylor has been deleted and I think it was Duncan's first post on that site. Don't know him from Adam so could all be hearsay, Chinese whispers etc. Would be great if it's NOT true!
 
oGaryo said:
bear in mind guys the post this morning on the Sealine Forum from Duncan Taylor has been deleted and I think it was Duncan's first post on that site. Don't know him from Adam so could all be hearsay, Chinese whispers etc. Would be great if it's NOT true!
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Who is Duncan Taylor and why was his post deleted? Yes, here's hoping this rumour isn't true
 
Very interesting thread - from the jist of the responses, it would appear that Sealine have missed the big boat/big profit global market and that their current european market is in financial turmoil.

My suggestion, build a boat fit for the austerity times. Purchase price rarely the stumbling blocks for owners, it's the running costs and will i use it enopugh to get my moneys worth. So, I'd build it slow, 1 engine (saves on build costs and maintenance and fuel), displacement hull, build it short LOA for mooring costs (Sealine already know how to make commodious "fat" boats) that people can genuinely use as an alternative to holiday cottage. Keep it chic, keep the quality and keep the style - no one else making this boat. A stylish, well built, modern platform that potters along at 9kts for very little moolah - now there's an austerity boat for the times.
 
desperatelyseeking said:
Very interesting thread - from the jist of the responses, it would appear that Sealine have missed the big boat/big profit global market and that their current european market is in financial turmoil.

My suggestion, build a boat fit for the austerity times. Purchase price rarely the stumbling blocks for owners, it's the running costs and will i use it enopugh to get my moneys worth. So, I'd build it slow, 1 engine (saves on build costs and maintenance and fuel), displacement hull, build it short LOA for mooring costs (Sealine already know how to make commodious "fat" boats) that people can genuinely use as an alternative to holiday cottage. Keep it chic, keep the quality and keep the style - no one else making this boat. A stylish, well built, modern platform that potters along at 9kts for very little moolah - now there's an austerity boat for the times.
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Doesn't the Greenline meet your spec?
 
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