Southampton Boat Show

[Time Out]

Indeed come back Richard. The girls on the stand did not even offer me a beer .... and my name IS Richard.

Roll on Monaco ... I understand his new stand has a happy hour every night.

 

[stelican]

Yes, you are correct. Apologies, should go back and check what the iPad has "corrected" ��
55S is a lovely boat, as are most Azis. The Atlantis was very disappointing, but apparently selling well, as it is very well priced.

Really don't understand what you are condemning about the Atlantis 43, I thought it was great use of space, excellent styling, great fabrics and detailing. Leagues ahead as usual.

 

[[2068]]

We started with a good look around the Sealine stand.
The F380 is interesting, as a small flybridge, but I think I prefer SportsCruisers at this size.

An S450 ticks many boxes - it's like an SC35 scaled up, but with a better cockpit arrangement.
And a huge bathing platform, which is a mixed blessing.

The F530 has an impressive layout.
The cabinetry is not as detailed / intricate as found on Princess etc, but it still has a lot going for it.
There are blinds that drop down to cover the large side windows.

What are the boxes for ... storing Lego?
The forward box is actually a window.

I liked the foredeck seating area, a lot.

Amongst other boats, I also managed to get onboard a Princess 68.
I am sure that there are many deficiencies in this boat, it's just that I couldn't see them (it's difficult to be truly objective when you are walking around trying not to say "wow" too often).

There were a few boats that "didn't work" for a variety of reasons, mostly around poor ergonomics for someone who is tall and somewhat under-thin.
The Fairline 53 fell into this category: I'm sure it would work for some people, but I felt "perched up" on the helm, I had to lean forward to twirl the steering wheel, and the throttles were around my knees.

Hiding instruments behind the wheel isn't a great idea either, but Fairline aren't the only culprits here. Headroom around the master bed has been commented on before, but the main issue I had was that everything seems to be "split level". There's a step up to the ensuite, a step in the cockpit, and a side to side step in the saloon (which has no seating, which is kind of okay though, because the cockpit is massive). All in all, I think I would keep tripping up and falling over in this boat, although I did like the cockpit area, and I can see the point of it as a Med boat.

If I start to save for the Princess 68 tomorrow, I have calculated that I might have enough by the time I am 198 years old :nonchalance:

 

[Whitelighter]

Bow seating will be the next full beam owner cabin.
Soon every manufacturer will be squeezing it in

 

[PowerYachtBlog]

Yes, you are correct. Apologies, should go back and check what the iPad has "corrected" ��
55S is a lovely boat, as are most Azis. The Atlantis was very disappointing, but apparently selling well, as it is very well priced.

Yes considering that they said they re-branded from Gobbi to Atlantis to Azimut always as a step up to go more up market it is a bit disappointing.
But yes it is selling well and still same league price if not a bit cheaper to Princess V39.

I think older Atlantis had a higher quality aura to this. But kudos to them they made competitive and its working out well for them.

 

[MapisM]

Bow seating will be the next full beam owner cabin.
Soon every manufacturer will be squeezing it in

Pah! My 20yo boat already had that....

 

[Greg2]

House move has significantly impacted on our boating this year and this has included missing out on SIBS so this thread has been a good read!

Interesting that the perennial issue of the Fairline fences and gates approach has raised its head again. I get what Pete says about the intention but perception is reality and it puts a lot of people off. Been roundly criticised for a number of years so I wonder when the penny will finally drop

Would very much have liked to see the Elling E6 as we are fans of the E3 and E4. We love our Broom but if we were to change then an Elling would be high on the list (if we could find one at the right price).

For those that have expressed an interest in the AB ribs we can highly recommend them. We bought one last year having previously used one when chartering/sailing in the BVI and they are an excellent bit of kit. We did extensive research into the alternatives before buying and concluded that AB compare well with competitors. You pay for what you get though!

Look forward to SIBS 2017!

 

[Whitelighter]

Pah! My 20yo boat already had that....

we can all sit on the front of the coachroof (assuming the boat is big enough).
Mind you, all this fuss about galleys at the back and fully opening rear windows - been around for years

 

[Cheery]

Bow seating will be the next full beam owner cabin.
Soon every manufacturer will be squeezing it in

Pearl and Princess both have the sociable U shaped seating with table on their 75s, yet Sunseeker have a straight (well, slightly curved) arrangement. It reminds me of the benches you see 'In memoriam of Fred...', you'd have to lean slightly forward to chat to the person at the other end or get your drink from the cup holders. Not that it is likely to be a problem for me anytime soon.

 

[Wavey]

Went on Thursday and had a great day. Haven't been in years and that, together with a fairly extensive shopping list, made it all the more enjoyable. Didn't actually have time to look over any of the new boats but did walk the pontoons, and SWMBO had to physically drag me away from the Fleming. The big Elling looked absolutely stunning too.

Armed with new fenders, lines and various articles of clothing for SWMBO we struggled back to the car. Also dented the plastic with a deposit on a new RIB. Pity BoatSmart chose to show only Zars and no Walker Bays. AB tried to tell me no RIB manufacturer offers a 3m RIB with a console and bench seating. The Cabrio which promised much was very disappointing in the flesh. Total disinterest from the stand with Zodiacs and Avons, and Brig tried to persuade us in no uncertain terms that anything with an aluminum hull was an absolute deathtrap and we'd be guaranteed to end up upside down. The Highfield was top of the list initially as we really liked the concept of the console on a stalk to free up internal space (we use the RIB to stow fenders when underway). Unfortunately the only version they offer in the length we wanted used the much larger tubes and our cantilever davits lack the reach to do a clean lift. Settled ultimately (much to my surprise) on the new Excel 290 which has internal space exactly right to take our large fenders at a very nice price complete with a 15hp as a turnkey package.

 

[aquapower]

Fairline were a lot better when I visited again on Friday, they couldn't have been more helpful and said we could look on all the boats so we did, they also showed us on a new 48 which they managed to add to their stand the night before as was late being finished, I did pass a large boat on a truck heading that way at about 22-00 Thursday when I was driving back to hotel.

A sailer friend showed me around the X6 which is quite impressive, then it is about 3 million to the spec on show.

 

[rafiki_]

Really don't understand what you are condemning about the Atlantis 43, I thought it was great use of space, excellent styling, great fabrics and detailing. Leagues ahead as usual.

Styling fine, as was layout, but appalling use of materials, in my opinion. Apologies if you disagree, but the fit and finish didn't feel like an Azi to me.

 

[Whitelighter]

Styling fine, as was layout, but appalling use of materials, in my opinion. Apologies if you disagree, but the fit and finish didn't feel like an Azi to me.

Not enough cherry wood and cream soft furnishings?

 

[rafiki_]

Not enough cherry wood and cream soft furnishings?

Colours are a personal choice, but it all felt very flimsy Jez. Doors, cabinets, etc, straight out of an IKEA flat pack. I don't like square edges on a boat. Gonna hurt when moving around in a swell.

 

[Whitelighter]

Wasn't the Atlantis originally part of the Gobbi sub-brand? I guess they are dragging those smaller boats into the Azimut brand. I didn't go on it, or even see it so can't comment. The only boat I went on that surprised me was the Prestige 560 - really liked the layout and I thought the fit and finish was good. Though I did not dive to deep.
The 500 was also a nice boat, though garage instead of a crew cabin was a bit of a waste.

 

[DazzyWoo]

Go and look at Marex guys and see how to make a small boat interesting with texture and finishes.

Went yesterday - thought the Marex 375 was generally a well thought out boat. Loved the Fairline Targa 48, but a bit wary of pods... oh and I can't afford it

 

[prv]

Sorry to drift the thread a bit, but does anyone know what the wide glass panel below the plotters in this pic is? I saw something similar in the Seaward 42 at the show. I assume it's some sort of digital dashboard unit replacing the usual individual LEDs etc, but I'm curious to know exactly what it is and how it works.

Cheers,

Pete

 

[Anders_P42]

It's screen for digital readouts, you can see the screen briefly in Ybw review

 

[prv]

It's screen for digital readouts, you can see the screen briefly in Ybw review

Ta, interesting to see it lit up, but still curious who makes it and what it can do

Obviously not a Princess exclusive, as I say, I saw it on the Seaward boat as well yesterday.

Is it just for engines (perhaps it's actually supplied by the engine manufacturer?) or is it generic NMEA2k, or something else?

Pete

 

[PowerYachtBlog]

Wasn't the Atlantis originally part of the Gobbi sub-brand? I guess they are dragging those smaller boats into the Azimut brand. I didn't go on it, or even see it so can't comment. The only boat I went on that surprised me was the Prestige 560 - really liked the layout and I thought the fit and finish was good. Though I did not dive to deep.
The 500 was also a nice boat, though garage instead of a crew cabin was a bit of a waste.

Azimut bought Gobbi in 2000. Atlantis was at first a model name and in 2004/5 becomes a brand of its own. In 2009 Gobbi is totally stopped from the Atlantis brand.
In 2012 Atlantis becomes Azimut Atlantis. Atlantis 42, 47, 55, 50, and 50x4 where all projects started by Gobbi management and tweaked a bit by Righini for Azimut.
He did the biggest tweak with the 55. The models which followed this like the 39, 35 where all
Also to add in 2002 the Gobbi management Maggi and Be founded Absolute, first models are 25/41 and 45 all launching by 2003. In 2005 the Gobbi family joins in and in 2007 they have 75% share in the Absolute brand. So here is the connection of it all.
Anyways if you visit a 2003 Atlantis 42 and then go aboard an Absolute you can see the similarities.

I visited the Prestige 450 and Atlantis 43 but I think I preferred the last by some bits.
They are tying to put the Atlantis 43 to go competitive with the French, Polish and other Italian brands so I can understand that they did an important projection of costs.