SHETLAND BOATS

[Guest]

Why is such a famous name in small cabin cruisers, apparently non existant when it comes to boat shows, magazine articles and the internet. I believe my few pictures of my own boat "Kittiwake" on Webshots ( Part of Excite on the Lycos search engine) are the only substantial reference to this mark on the whole WWW. To date I have had 106 views and twelve downloads. Yet wherever you go in GB you are guaranteed seeing at least half a dozen of these stirling little boats. Even the manufacturers are absent from, magazines and the net. I suppose the name sells itself? But wasn't that also the philosophy of AJS and Matchless motorcycles?

 

[Guest]

Shetland Boats lost their edge on publicity when Jack Stokes/John Hardy sold out. The new owners didn't use the services of the ad agency that had made their name a household word. Before then Shetlands had appeared on TV Quiz shows, in The SUN and in conventional media world wide. This is a common mistake with many firms, they change ad agencies for change's sake or think they can do a better job internally. They are too short-sighted to see that if that were the case companies like Coca-Cola with unlimited funds would do it themselves.

 

[Guest]

Believe me, a lot of thought went into subliminal publicity of Shetlands. I know... I did it.

 

[Guest]

Well done, again it was very clever, and the product is good.

 

[Guest]

Here's a site from a man who wasn't happy with his new shetland

http://www.gpw600.demon.co.uk/shetland/shetland.html

 

[Guest]

One very disgruntled customer eh! Would never have happened in the good old days. Dealers had their allocation which they booked the year before and knew exactly where they stood.

 

[Guest]

They were at the Birmingham boat caravan and leisure show - and probably will be next yr.

 

[Guest]

I hope so, it's a shame they weren't at Southampton though, at the time I could have used some advice and a parts catalogue. I did however through some detective work track them down, and subsequently purchase some much needed parts, and I must say, once found they were very helpful.

 

[Guest]

I think you have some valid points. Growing up in the 60's my plastic bath toys even looked like Shetland cabin cruisers, and when I bought my boat 3 years ago the only ones I was interested in were Shetlands, a name and image that was tucked away somewhere in the recesses of my brain. So although I don't recal any specific advertising, and my family had no connection with boating, the advertising of the time must have been very clever.

 

[Guest]

Byron see my response to Fred.

 

[Guest]

Certainly a sorry tale Fred, I've come to the conclusion, through bitter experience of many things, that buying nearly new, ie 2yrs, is a much wiser move than new. At least you can see what your getting. Caravans are also a good case in point!

 

[Guest]

I wonder how many motor boaters started out with a Shetland

Mine was not quite my first boat but it was the first one which was semi reliable. I learned a lot from my 570 which was fitted with a 140hp yamaha (about 40hp more than Shetland recommend. She could pull 40knts but porpoised badly at that speed and it could not be trimmed out. Nonetheless, she was a good little sea boat and looked after us in some quite big water.

I think the present Shetland is about the third or fourth incarnation as successive companies have gone bust. Nick

 

[Guest]

Re: I wonder how many motor boaters started out with a Shetland

my first boat was a family four that was 18 years ago now i've just got another one, a shetland hawk i put a new 60hp marina four stroke on it and it flys along at 24kts , and returns almost 7 miles to the gallon. we brought it as a second boat , one to use out in the sea. it has genuinely surpassed all our expectations of what a small boat could do.

byron , thanks for the subliminal massages over the years, your marketing tactics have worked. what do you do now if you don't mind me asking. regards john hale

 

[Guest]

My parents started proper boating with a Shetland Family Four in 1977 - there seemed to be little competition , Norman or Microplus . That little Shetland led onto bigger things but was always remembered fondly.