Sealine - Nothing under 35ft!?

I think Sealine have made real progress with their styling, and other boats look dated to me. However, styling is a very subjective art.

When BMW changed their styling theme 7 or 8 years ago, I thought them nuts. The E46 and E39's were great cars. When the then new 5 series (E60) came out I was not impressed. After a couple of years I totally changed my view, and still love the style.

I think the same may happen with Sealine, particularly the SC's 35 and 42 and the F42. For me they all have a real presence.
 
I suppose... I liked the S35 too. The thing is, when you look at he T50 and T60 you also imagine where you'll go from there, and so if you think you'll eventually jump to Fairline/Sunseeker/Princess at some point, I felt I might as well do it after 40 ft... A year later and I find myself wondering what to do if I choose to go beyond 80 feet, though I see JFM having so much fun speccing sub-80s,that I can see there's no rush!

As for letting anyone on board, I have to say that Fairline are just as open/friendly, and it's exactly because of that, that I bought my Squadron 55 (I was super-scruffy at that boat show, and most stands we're rude/dismissive). Fairline were lovely, and I ordered the SQ55 brand new on the spot :)

I hope Sealine stay just as friendly! I loved that attitude...

My theory on boat size, is that with revenue exponential to size, and boatbuilders factories often limited by length, per-square-foot revenue is much higher for bigger boats.
 
PhilipF said:
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.
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Very true, but I think the difference is that Sunseeker are in a different league for quality (be it actual or just perceived).

So in the same way that no one expects Aston Martin to build a car under £80K (that ridiculous little Cygnet monstrosity ignored for the moment, just like all the buyers seem to have), no one really expects a sub £200K Sunseeker.

However if BMW looked at Aston and said "hey, they've got it right, much bigger profit margins in £70K plus cars, lets just build them" then it wouldn't work.

Appreciate it's a tenuous analogy since the manufacturing scales between BMW and Aston are very different (and comparing a Sealine to a BMW is probably a bit generous), but you get what I mean I hope?

Sunseeker are a heavyweight quality brand, people don't expect cheap ones. Sealine, on the other hand, have a status and build quality that sits nicely between 20 - 40ft, and translates less well the higher they go (although it would perhaps be easier to sell those higher end Sealines to people moving up through the brand that have a relationship with their dealer and are perhaps likely to get a better part exchange price)
 
Locki said:
As for letting anyone on board, I have to say that Fairline are just as open/friendly, and it's exactly because of that, that I bought my Squadron 55 (I was super-scruffy at that boat show, and most stands we're rude/dismissive). Fairline were lovely, and I ordered the SQ55 brand new on the spot :)
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Crikey, I bet not many people choose their boat based on the friendliness of the boat show staff (who are presumably often agency people not builder employees anyway) rather than buying what they actually want! :)
 
I was interested in it because it won the MBY Flybridge over 50 foot in 2008, and I had read about Gavin Henson's adventures in his. I knew about Fairline's reputation for seamanship, so it's truer to say that the friendly reception was the deciding factor, but not the sole driver of my decision.
 
ari said:
Very true, but I think the difference is that Sunseeker are in a different league for quality (be it actual or just perceived).

So in the same way that no one expects Aston Martin to build a car under £80K (that ridiculous little Cygnet monstrosity ignored for the moment, just like all the buyers seem to have), no one really expects a sub £200K
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Sunseeker have certainly done well with the brand but quality? I wouldn't touch one with a barge pole. Boats built with inappropriate gel coats, poor joinery (especially on the launch portofino 48), weakening and failing floors are just some of the more recent horror stories.

Plus, look around at second hand values. The mid size manhattans and coupes drop like a stone - and that's compared to other boats not normal things. They loose money so fast it's like paying for the fuel in a 737.

The Birmingham navy are welcome to them
 
You may well be right (I've no idea), but without doubt they have the look and the feel of a high end premium product, and the brand image to match.
 
Locki said:
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* :)
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Blimey that is trusting because you know that these 'boat of the year' awards are really no such thing because they're limited only to the boats that MBM/MBY have tested throughout the year. So, if they only tested 1 flybridge boat over 50ft during the year, then thats the boat of the year in that category:) Having said that, you probably won't go wrong following that buying policy but there are plenty of good boats out there which have never been tested by MBM/MBY
 
Moody said:
It certainly is a Marmite boat :-)
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I think it will be a boat I will consider in four years time when we move permanently to the south coast, either the sc35 or a windy hard top, though the volume of the sealine really speaks for itself over the windy.

I wonder how much of a snip the sc35 will be in four years time over the windys, who knows, one thing for sure the price of fuel won't be any cheaper than it is now!
 
SC29

Although it is not the style of boat i am currently looking for i find the SC29 appealing. I think i saw 3 in Torquay / Brixham last year.

What were the engine options ?. Did Sealine make one with a D6 ?
 
FlowerPower said:
Single d6 was an option, although almost nobody went that way. Usual engine is twin d3's, either 160, or 190 (better).
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It's the d4 260 or 300, though I was in Chichester Marina a few weeks back to see one with cummins mercruisers drives with the axius system on... Even more to go wrong!
 
s28

I had the S23 when they when it was at the london boat show, had it 3 years before trading up to the last of the S28 great boat, but as stated now stuck as the cost is above my pocket. A great boat the S28, served us well.
 
volvopaul said:
It's the d4 260 or 300, though I was in Chichester Marina a few weeks back to see one with cummins mercruisers drives with the axius system on... Even more to go wrong!
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Early models (e.g. 2007) were offered with D6-350 until the more powerful D4's appeared later.
This is the Sealine brochure page for the SC29 from 2007:

sealine1.jpg
 
beejay190 said:
Although it is not the style of boat i am currently looking for i find the SC29 appealing. I think i saw 3 in Torquay / Brixham last year.

What were the engine options ?. Did Sealine make one with a D6 ?
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I had an SC29 and think that they are absolutely fab boats. Mine had D3 190's which I think is the best option....
 
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