SOUTHAMPTON BOAT SHOW-were you bored?

[penpal]

Thankfully I was given a set of tickets for preview day. It was very pleasant to wonder around without the crowds, however there was still a lack of seats, I took advantage of the MDL hospitality to rest my old legs, but there is a real lack of rest areas. Having said that the show has not changed at all in the last 5/10 years. All the same suppliers in the same positions in the show, except now you have to walk miles to get to the entrance. I used to hop onto the Hythe Ferry and walk in to the entrance by the terminal now you have to walk all the way over to the West Quays Car Park' This year I parked in the West Quays, on the 15 floor!

I think the Southampton Boat show is getting very stale, unless it is the industry itself. The prices of new boats is incredible, how they expect anyone to enter into this hobby is beyond me. I have a 32 foot cruiser, nice but I was thinking of changing it for a new boat as mine is 20 years old. I looked at the Nimbus, but a 33 footer is simply too tight, I bumped my knees on the dash board trying to sit at the helm, you could not get changed in the bedroom for lack of space. To get any space you would have to buy the 365, at well over £300K.

I would have liked to have seen a Hardy 32 footer or the new saloon, but the only ones on display are the 42 and 50 footer. There is simply not the choice these days for a reasonable price cruiser.

 

[Firefly625]

The reworked Hardy 32 Commander, now to be know as the Hardy 32 DS may be on display at LIBS this year. Boat build starting this week, sold unit. New interior & new layout. Have seen the CAD drawing, looks a great boat IMO.

 

[aquapower]

Thankfully I was given a set of tickets for preview day. It was very pleasant to wonder around without the crowds, however there was still a lack of seats, I took advantage of the MDL hospitality to rest my old legs, but there is a real lack of rest areas. Having said that the show has not changed at all in the last 5/10 years. All the same suppliers in the same positions in the show, except now you have to walk miles to get to the entrance. I used to hop onto the Hythe Ferry and walk in to the entrance by the terminal now you have to walk all the way over to the West Quays Car Park' This year I parked in the West Quays, on the 15 floor!

I think the Southampton Boat show is getting very stale, unless it is the industry itself. The prices of new boats is incredible, how they expect anyone to enter into this hobby is beyond me. I have a 32 foot cruiser, nice but I was thinking of changing it for a new boat as mine is 20 years old. I looked at the Nimbus, but a 33 footer is simply too tight, I bumped my knees on the dash board trying to sit at the helm, you could not get changed in the bedroom for lack of space. To get any space you would have to buy the 365, at well over £300K.

I would have liked to have seen a Hardy 32 footer or the new saloon, but the only ones on display are the 42 and 50 footer. There is simply not the choice these days for a reasonable price cruiser.

I just spent first 3 days there, could of done with longer but haven't the time, this year I thought things were set out a bit differently to the usual, I've not missed LIBS or SIBS, there's always plenty to keep you occupied.

 

[penpal]

What on earth would you have done for 3 days? Rather costly on the tickets as well

 

[colingr]

I thought it was virtually unchanged from last year with very few new boats or gadgets to look at. Again thanks to MDL for somewhere to sit down.

I ended up with white gel coat blindness

It does seem to be slanted at the upper end of the price range with the more affordable boats tucked away out of sight as much as possible. And I do wish they'd be more sensible about the pontoon access. Ridiculous to be only one way when the ramps were empty so we had to walk right round to the one and only access ramp behind the Sunseeker stand to get off :ambivalence: Particularly irritating as we were heading for the electronics tent at the time so were pushed about as far away as you could get from our destination.

 

[Firefly625]

............... And I do wish they'd be more sensible about the pontoon access. Ridiculous to be only one way when the ramps were empty so we had to walk right round to the one and only access ramp behind the Sunseeker stand to get off :ambivalence: Particularly irritating as we were heading for the electronics tent at the time so were pushed about as far away as you could get from our destination.

agree 100%, completely ridiculous, 3 walkways down and only one up which brings you out in the back of beyond...

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

I object strongly to the way that visitors are herded around these days at SIBS. Firstly, you can no longer get into the show from the Town Quay entrance; I guess they do that to force you to walk past the stands on the other side of the road (how very Ikea?) which is fine except for my SWMBO who broke her leg a few months ago and struggled to get over the bridges. Second, I object to the only exit from the pontoons being right at the Mayflower end so if you happen to be meeting somebody for lunch on shore at the Town Quay end, you have miles to walk. Once again, I guess they do this to force you to walk past the stands in Mayflower Park but why aren't all 3 walkways two way for visitors as well as exhibitors? It would just make it so much easier and more relaxed
I wasn't very impressed by the lack of exhibitors either. Very few foreign boats and it looks like SIBS is going the same way as LIBS and becoming nothing more than a showcase for the Big 3 mobo builders and not a lot more. Time to amalgamate SIBS and LIBS methinks; the UK can't support 2 international boat shows. Yes I agree with the OP on pricing of new boats. I know I have just spent a lot of money on a used 63 footer but I was shocked to find that had I spent the same money on a new boat, it would have bought even less than I thought. Maybe the sticker prices are just the starting point for negotiations down to a sensible level?
My boat of the show? The Fleming 58. Now this is one boat worth every penny of its elevated asking price. They've answered pretty much all of our criticisms of the Fleming 55 by making it a foot beamier and designing in a midships master cabin. Now this is one boat in which I'd happily sail off into the sunset. Surprised to see the Hardy 62 from last SIBS still being punted for sale on a no reasonable offer refused basis; this is fundamentally a great boat but with some shortcomings that could be put right by an experienced owner working with the factory
And yup, I was surprised as well by the lack of visitors on Preview Day

 

[Firefly625]

My boat of the show? The Fleming 58. Now this is one boat worth every penny of its elevated asking price. They've answered pretty much all of our criticisms of the Fleming 55 by making it a foot beamier and designing in a midships master cabin. Now this is one boat in which I'd happily sail off into the sunset.

I did have a look over this to, what a lovely boat. I am good friends with Duncan Cowie's brother (Duncan is Flemming Director who was on-board minding the helm) so we had a chat. Just for your info Mike, if you want a Flemming 58 you will be 15th in his current cue, expect delivery end of 2016.... not bad eh!

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Just for your info Mike, if you want a Flemming 58 you will be 15th in his current cue, expect delivery end of 2016.... not bad eh!

I'm going to need longer than that to sell a few grandkids and put the SWMBO on the game before I can afford one! What is the price btw? I forgot to ask! I'm assuming its close to £2m?

 

[Greg2]

Not sure I would ever get bored with SIBS as it is currently. There is plenty to see and it is a great day out in my view. I do agree with the comments about the ridiculous 'herding' of visitors though. A real pain for everyone who visits and of little or no value to exhibitors.

Saw the Fleming but didn't realise it was a new model so a bit miffed that we didn't have a look. Did manage to have a look at the Elling E3, which I have wanted to do for a while and quite liked it. In fact I really liked it!

 

[Firefly625]

I'm going to need longer than that to sell a few grandkids and put the SWMBO on the game before I can afford one! What is the price btw? I forgot to ask! I'm assuming its close to £2m?

if you have to ask...... so I didn't, I have no idea, but I wouldn't mind betting you would need all of your £2m! Its the longest staircase I have ever seen on a boat!

 

[Hurricane]

We looked round the new Princess 68
We weren't thinking of upgrading anyway but there are two other main reasons that it isn't for us.
Main one is the internal stairs - again - it just seems that nobody wants them these days - just cant see why - maybe people don't use their boats.
The other biggie is that on our 67 we put the dinghy away on the FB - and until you need it is is out of sight and out of mind.
This year we cruised the islands with the dinghy AND a Jetski - so that wouldn't have been possible with the 68.

The new 68 seems to have two options on the FB - with a hard top it gives a sunbathing pad which could have made space for a dinghy (if strengthened properly)
Without the hard top, the photos that I've seen imply a fairly low radar arch - the standard radar arch rakes back as usual - the hard top incorporates its aft supports facing forwards which IMO makes better use of the aft part of the FB.

Inside, they have swapped the Galley/Dinette with the Saloon
So you have to walk through the Galley/Dinette area to reach the comfortable seating.
That wouldn't work for us but it (kind of) answers one of the inside stairs arguments - easier to transfer food etc to the FB
When visitors come aboard our boat, they sit in the cockpit or in the saloon/lounge area
On the 68, they would have to traipse through the galley to sit comfortably.
Massive windows on the new boat give plenty of light though

On the accommodation deck, the owners cabin now has its own staircase access and there is an extra cabin forward.
Not sure about this - great for some people but we use our boat as a family home and having separate access to the owners suite might isolate you a little.

Another big point that should be addresses is storage.
The 67 is one cabin less and the extra space is used for storage - massive linen cupboards etc
On the SIBS 68, there was a washing machine and a separate tumble dryer - great but I think I would ditch the tumble dryer and use the space for storage.
Other than that there was very little storage space and the third heads were quite small.

Consider also that the new 68 is nearly a metre longer and 200mm wider than the old 67 (this makes it too big for our berth).
So, as I say, we aren't in the market for a new boat but if we were the 68 wouldn't be it.

I'm not sure if I'm comparing "like for like" though
I always felt that the 67 was an improvement over the very successful 65
Maybe the 68 isn't supposed to address that part of the market.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Main one is the internal stairs - again - it just seems that nobody wants them these days - just cant see why - maybe people don't use their boats

.
A mystery to us too. We use our internal steps a lot; in fact I'd rather get rid of the cockpit steps than the internal steps. It just makes accessing the flybridge so much easier and safer and they don't take up too much internal space either if they're well designed

Inside, they have swapped the Galley/Dinette with the Saloon

This is one point we are going to disagree about. We have the galley in this position on our Ferretti. At first we were dubious ourselves but it works brilliantly, at least in the Med, because we eat nearly all the time in the cockpit. I certainly wouldn't go back to a galley down/forward arrangement again; it just saves so much hassle not having to carry food and dishes through the saloon to the cockpit and back

Another big point that should be addresses is storage.

Our perennial bugbear too. Boat designers obviously never go cruising on their own products

 

[Whitelighter]

Had a good time all day on sunday.

Saw some interesting new boats - English Harbour Yachts 27 and the new Sealine 330 were of particular interest though also really liked the Prestige 420 and the Merry Fisher 855. Did a bit of creaming on the SS 86 Yacht and looked at some very interesting saily stuff.

Thought it was better than past years, good choice of food for lunch and never felt i needed to sit down.

 

[aquapower]

Had a good time all day on sunday.

Saw some interesting new boats - English Harbour Yachts 27 and the new Sealine 330 were of particular interest though also really liked the Prestige 420 and the Merry Fisher 855. Did a bit of creaming on the SS 86 Yacht and looked at some very interesting saily stuff.

Thought it was better than past years, good choice of food for lunch and never felt i needed to sit down.

Nice to see a different choice of food than in previous years.

 

[Pinnacle]

Did a bit of creaming on the SS 86 Yacht and looked at some very interesting saily

I hope you cleaned up afterwards!

 

[matt13]

Just come back and had a very enjoyable day, checked out the new sealine and had a wander around the bigger boats, access onto all boats no problem , nice lunch, free wine and sunshine. What's not to like!

 

[paul salliss]

The Elling is a great boat, and hope you read up the Elling owners club cruise, they went across the Atlantic to the USA all on single engines at 7knts and no reported problems, it took them just over 2 weeks

 

[Whitelighter]

The Elling is a great boat, and hope you read up the Elling owners club cruise, they went across the Atlantic to the USA all on single engines at 7knts and no reported problems, it took them just over 2 weeks

I have metb Anton the company owner on a number of occasions. They are great boats.

The Atlantic crossing was done by a team of mental Russians, one in a brand new boat with fuel drums strapped to the aft deck

 

[Garold]

To relieve the boredom and do something unexpected...

We bought a boat.

It was only a small one and took a while to get anyone interested but we did eventually sign a few forms. And we paid the deposit today.

I think some of the sales people are so unused to selling boats that they've lost a bit of heart and think that every enquirer is just a time waster.

But the food options are much improved. Even good stuff for the veggies.

Garold