Sealine - Nothing under 35ft!?

ari

ari

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Just idly browsing the MBM Buyers Guide and noticed there were no Sealine boats listed under 35ft. Figured they must simply be missing so I had a look on Sealine's site.

Nothing!

Boats like the Sealine 285 (Howards Way theme boat), Sealine S25, those smart little 218's they did back in the nineties, F33 - the budget British flybridge boat, all gone.

No wonder they're struggling, they've abandoned the very segment that made them successful and brought people into their brand.

I've obviously not been keeping up at the back (again), but I'm genuinely amazed.
 
The S25 and the S29 went out of production in 2008 or threabouts. I think the SC29 carried on a little longer . Now leaving the SC35 as the smalllest model still being manufactured.

There was a hint of a new S28 being in design over a year ago but no news since.
 
The new S28 has been put on ice, because the only way they could make it work financially was to build it in the Brunswick factory in Poland. But, they are not part of Brunswick any more. Plans are to launch the current range into the USA.
 
Locki said:
Not to mention the F34, which was MBM Boat of the Year in 2004 (which was why I bought one). It was a brilliant first boat!
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F34 are you sure? I thought it was first an f36 as the kad 44 was just out on the Market then for it to fail on the round Britain tour in major mechanical failure, due to what is see most days in boats, which is the boat built around the engine, in the f36 case was the floor moulding above the engine so the valve cover could not be removed without the help of a chainsaw!
 
volvopaul said:
F34 are you sure? I thought it was first an f36 as the kad 44 was just out on the Market then for it to fail on the round Britain tour in major mechanical failure, due to what is see most days in boats, which is the boat built around the engine, in the f36 case was the floor moulding above the engine so the valve cover could not be removed without the help of a chainsaw!
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Defitely sure! What I can't remember is whether it replaced the F33 or the 310, but it definitely won the award in its debut year - I bout the article online from MBM, and it was a deciding factor before shelling our £200k+ for a new one!

I actually bought the SQ55 in part because it won the same award (though four years later for the over 50 foot category), so Ive trusted MBM/MBY for more than £1m in purchases so far *gulp* :)
 
volvopaul said:
F34 are you sure? I thought it was first an f36 as the kad 44 was just out on the Market then for it to fail on the round Britain tour in major mechanical failure, due to what is see most days in boats, which is the boat built around the engine, in the f36 case was the floor moulding above the engine so the valve cover could not be removed without the help of a chainsaw!
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Ha Ha , love it , you know you love a challenge Paul , are you still up for a service when its due next ? ;):)
 
volvopaul said:
in the f36 case was the floor moulding above the engine so the valve cover could not be removed without the help of a chainsaw!
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With modern engines requiring little attention, is this really a big issue?

Afterall, I guess the trade off is improved space in the boat, which is an everyday benefit.

A modern motor is not my old T6's needing the tappets looking at every five minutes.
 
Not that modern!
Valve clearances still needed to be checked on KAD43 every couple of years, and bad things would happen to KAD44/KAD300's if they went too far out of adjustment.

Only the latest generation of D4/D6 are self adjusting.
 
On a tour of Sealine , we were told the 35 series are the entry level boats. I found that strange as , IME, boat owners are more brand loyal than , say , car owners. To me , having a (relatively) low cost starter boat will give them a loyal future customer base . One of their sales guys opined that some dealers felt the same. Strange also in that Sealine's attitude to show visitors is to welcome anyone on board , the view being don't judge a book by it's cover and who knows who will win the lottery / inherit etc.
I have to say when it is your boat on show , we got a little snobby about some of the oiks going round :D
Regards
Rob
 
Locki said:
Not sure the Conran styling will work in the US. It's more Ikea than BMW. Wish them luck though! Penton Hook Marine Sales were awesome!
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I agree, can't see the ' Ikea' interiors going down well in the U.S. They like more 'flash for your cash' than the current Sealine range/models provide.
 
Maybe they will create some alternative "Cadillac" interiors for the US, with all the internal doors taken off, plus extra chrome, leather, and illuminated bottle racks.
 
I agree that not having a small 23' ish cruiser in the range is a big mistake.

Many buy that, because lets be honest we can't all afford a 29-30 footer - and then stick with the brand as they (inevitably) move larger.

We are currently looking around 21-23ft - but once the babies are bigger, we will almost certainly want to go to 25-28 and a proper cruiser - but we'll be forced to go American soon if the manufacturers stop making the smaller boats.
 
ari said:
Just idly browsing the MBM Buyers Guide and noticed there were no Sealine boats listed under 35ft.
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But it is not only them is it? Virtually every other manufacturer of (now) large boats are the same - Sunseeker for example, though in their case they've now created a niche market.

We have a sub nine metre aft cabin(Nimbus). Suits us perfectly. It was built seven years ago, one of a 'run' of twenty five, but those were the first for ten years, and no more being built. Real shame IMO.

Specially so considering cost of fuel etc.

Being this is the policy of so many, I am wondering if there would be a reason not apparent to us?
 
Economics!

Sealine never made much money on the S240 / S24 / S23. The "trade-up" policy worked for a while, but in reality, enough owners defected to other brands on trade-up to make it not worthwhile.

But I would have still thought it possible to make it work at around the 30ft size, especially with increasing fuel prices.
 
FlowerPower said:
Economics!

Sealine never made much money on the S240 / S24 / S23. The "trade-up" policy worked for a while, but in reality, enough owners defected to other brands on trade-up to make it not worthwhile.
.
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Last week came across build details for Sealine in Jan 1995, models 330, 310, 270, 240 and 210 production was 21 boats out of 30 built that month. Out of the 21 built only 5 were sold in the UK, remainder were exported.

Profit came from very good production methods.

Brian
 
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