Sibs what’s your thoughts

[Seastoke]

Best boat , best price per what you get most shit boat , best accessories etc.

 

[Pennpromo]

Very compact show, half the size it used to be. Lots of what appeared to be unsold space, even inside the one large tent. Quite busy yesterday, Saturday, weather was very unpredictable … A shame really.

 

[Mileholm]

Having gone on the first Sunday for the past 3 years, today definitely felt quieter and less exciting than previous years. Despite decent weather, my sense was that attendance was significantly down on the same day last year.

E.g. I walked past the Powerboat talk stage at 16:04 where a speaker had started his session with a grand total of 0 folks there listening. Have to give it to him that he kept going talking to thin air about water toys…

 

[Seastoke]

For me the Absolute 52 , at £1.25 mil worst value for money was the Duchy 35.

 

[Sticky Fingers]

I’m going tomorrow. I’ll let you know what I decide.

 

[Fire99]

I've been told by a reliable source it is very very expensive to exhibit at Southampton, significantly more expensive than Cannes. Is this in some way part of the reason for a reduced capacity show?

Did anyone have a nose at the new Fairline models? I'd be interested to know how the boats are looking post-takeover.

 

[Sticky Fingers]

No new models since then. The Targa 40 I saw at Dusseldorf last year was awful at any price, looked shabbily badly built, nothing fitted, cramped, poor layout, all gloss and glitz but was also over €1m. The Sq58 on the other hand I thought was lovely, ok much bigger but seems a different league of build quality and design. “Only” twice the price of the targa 40.

Will look at both again tomorrow.

 

[henryf]

Ah yes, the annual boat show thread. Times move on, it’s still expensive to exhibit, food choices are no longer provided by a single supplier, disappointingly we weren’t turned away by any manufacturer who didn’t realise we had cash stuffed in our back pocket.

Bought a couple of chairs from the same company we last bought from 15 years ago and got great advice and face to face service (Onward marine).

Saw an aeroplane there for the first time in my memory, saw a new boating lake, got looked after really well by Princess (being a current owner) whilst also being welcomed by Fairline and Sunseeker who recognised us and shared some love.

Bumped into some old friends, made some new acquaintances, grabbed a meal on the way home and may well pop back towards the end of the week again to see the stuff we missed this time.

In terms of pure boats the Swanwick show probably does just as much for us as Southampton for a fraction of the price but the smaller exhibitors would miss out. I think the big manufacturers are probably subsidising the show on the basis it helps feed the wider industry.

 

[AllanG]

You were lucky with Sunseeker, Henry, as yesterday they only had one boat for one general public viewing, and was told all the other boats could only be viewed by an appointment with a sales executive…obviously they didn’t see the £Ms sticking out of my jacket!!

On the other hand, Princess had all their boats open for general viewing which, IMHO, should be the case for all exhibitors, as it’s the majority of visitors paying hard earned cash to go to the show to see boats!!

 

[Greg2]

You were lucky with Sunseeker, Henry, as yesterday they only had one boat for one general public viewing, and was told all the other boats could only be viewed by an appointment with a sales executive…obviously they didn’t see the £Ms sticking out of my jacket!!

On the other hand, Princess had all their boats open for general viewing which, IMHO, should be the case for all exhibitors, as it’s the majority of visitors paying hard earned cash to go to the show to see boats!!

Funny how things change - I recall that back in the day Sunseeker were notable in being open to and welcoming of everyone whereas others, particularly Fairline, were less so.
.

 

[jointventureII]

Just the €725 to get into Monaco this year, for 1 day

 

[ari]

You were lucky with Sunseeker, Henry, as yesterday they only had one boat for one general public viewing, and was told all the other boats could only be viewed by an appointment with a sales executive…obviously they didn’t see the £Ms sticking out of my jacket!!

On the other hand, Princess had all their boats open for general viewing which, IMHO, should be the case for all exhibitors, as it’s the majority of visitors paying hard earned cash to go to the show to see boats!!

Is that unreasonable? They are multi million pound boats after all. I would expect to be accompanied, indeed if I were in any way serious about buying one, I'd want to be.

All very well saying it’s the majority of visitors paying hard earned cash to go to the show to see boats!! but they're not paying Sunseeker for that privilege, quite the reverse, Sunseeker is paying many many tens of thousands to be there. And it is doing so with the expectation of making sales.

Back in the days of motor shows, the Ford stand might have been a free for all, but you weren't getting on the Ferrari stand without an invite or a lot of queuing, and understandably so.

 

[benjenbav]

​

Had an enjoyable day at SIBS today. Crawled over so many boats that they have slightly blended into one, all under the benevolent gaze of friendly and generally knowledgeable staff - one young man admitted he knew nothing having just been taken on for the show, but was nevertheless cheerful and pleasant about it.

Some of the exhibitors inside the main marquee seemed intent on avoiding eye contact with punters whilst yarning with their mates. They’ll probably go bust quite quickly and deservedly.

I did get asked to leave a stand after pointing out to the sales guy that he was wasting my time trying to give me an exact quote for re-rigging a yacht that I haven’t bought and just wanted a ballpark figure for. Again, I’m sure I can spend £30-50k elsewhere so any financial woes he might experience won’t be my problem,

All in all a cracking day out. Who knows what it might lead to.

 

[Bouba]

​

Had an enjoyable day at SIBS today. Crawled over so many boats that they have slightly blended into one, all under the benevolent gaze of friendly and generally knowledgeable staff - one young man admitted he knew nothing having just been taken on for the show, but was nevertheless cheerful and pleasant about it.

Some of the exhibitors inside the main marquee seemed intent on avoiding eye contact with punters whilst yarning with their mates. They’ll probably go bust quite quickly and deservedly.

I did get asked to leave a stand after pointing out to the sales guy that he was wasting my time trying to give me an exact quote for re-rigging a yacht that I haven’t bought and just wanted a ballpark figure for. Again, I’m sure I can spend £30-50k elsewhere so any financial woes he might experience won’t be my problem,

All in all a cracking day out. Who knows what it might lead to.

I’ve gotten the cold shoulder in many areas of life and commerce by asking for a ball park figure....I’ve come to accept that some people are uncomfortable about doing guesstimates

 

[benjenbav]

One thing that struck me - almost literally - about new boats was that whilst they need to comply with various construction metrics, these do not seem to extend to internal ergonomics.

I forget which boats now but noticed such gems as half-height risers in the middle of a flight of stairs, head height intrusions into cabin space, guard rails @ ~600mm - none of which would be acceptable under building regs for commercial or residential buildings.

Maybe accidents in boats are just somehow more acceptable and the price you have to pay.

 

[rafiki_]

A friend and I enjoyed a great day at Sibs today. We were welcomed on every boat we wanted to view. Great folk on all the stands, and a super array of sail and motor boats.
Highlights included the Rustler yachts. Super build quality, and great features.
Azi Megallano 60. Great features and super layout.
Fairline 58. Great build quality but eye watering price.
I like Axopars. However £720k for the new 45 day boat! Wow!

 

[Greg2]

We had a very pleasant day at the show today. We don’t tend to look on lots of boats but are selective in looking at what we like and we made a point of looking at the Hardy 45 European and the Sirius 35 Deck Saloon. Both quality builds and perhaps unsurprisingly we particularly liked the Hardy! Cockwells have done a good job with the brand but deep pockets are (understandably) required The engine bay fit out was particularly good but I suspect that not many found thier way down there.

A smaller show than previous years and seemed fairly quiet but that suited us and overall we enjoyed our day. We even got out on the water on the free trip boat for a quick spin around the port.
.

 

[jrudge]

Is that unreasonable? They are multi million pound boats after all. I would expect to be accompanied, indeed if I were in any way serious about buying one, I'd want to be.

All very well saying it’s the majority of visitors paying hard earned cash to go to the show to see boats!! but they're not paying Sunseeker for that privilege, quite the reverse, Sunseeker is paying many many tens of thousands to be there. And it is doing so with the expectation of making sales.

Back in the days of motor shows, the Ford stand might have been a free for all, but you weren't getting on the Ferrari stand without an invite or a lot of queuing, and understandably so.

They need to make a choice.

1. Punter pays.

He is paying for something and by default that must be to access the boats.

2. It is free.

Exhibitor rules

Boat sales is a long long long game. I have bought 2 from boats.co.uk. One used one new. They know I will eventually likely buy another and likely from them.

Sunseeker likewise always treat me well.

Princess were fine under boats.co.uk but I went to look at a new princess 64 one morning in swanwick. The salesman was clear sir clearly could not afford such a craft and could look from the outside. The next day sir bought a new squadron 65.

They feed their pipeline for the long term and people don't forget how they were treated - both good and bad.

I am surprised the organisers don't mandate that they should all have one publicly accessible boat or what is the point of going ?

 

[ari]

They need to make a choice.

1. Punter pays.

He is paying for something and by default that must be to access the boats.

2. It is free.

Exhibitor rules

Do they? Boat shows seem to work perfectly well as they are, the world over, for the vast majority of people (exhibitors and visitors) currently. And they have done for literally decades. They wouldn't continue to go otherwise.

I'm intrigued to know how you managed to convince someone at Princess that you definitely couldn't afford a boat though!

 

[jrudge]

The evidence says they are not in rude health in the U.K. quite he opposite.

London. Dead.

Southampton. Shrinking year by year

Sales people dismiss people in jeans at their peril.