Sunseeker Hawk 38

petem said:
Indeed! Nobody minds an FB (or Mancini or Olensinski or whatever) design but to take a hull "off the shelf" as they seem to have done here feels like cheating to me.
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Yeh it goes on “ cheating “

Bingo Pete “off the self “
I,am very close to an architect ( sibling ) who informs me doe eyed couples rock up with visions of there “ unique “ dream house .
The sketches are discussed the ideas listened to etc etc .
As soon as there backs are turned in fact before they reached the street a click of the computer up comes a prepacked template and with a bit of mousing using CAD , the “ unique “ design is done .
So FB boats share the same features as we see here v similar to the xs2000 , he’s just widened it and added a foot or so between the air steps and subbed the arse for a outboard wells .
Before computers they just pulled a drawing out of a draw when the client left .
Feels like FB has done that .
Why does he not risk building it under his own name ?

If Sunseeker are in collusion then the R+D has cost 0.4 pence .:)
Hugo’s lake trip comes out of the marketing dept .
I bet they spend more on marketing than R+D it’s feeling that way .

Problem is we as a forum whinge at the big U.K. three for forgetting the starter / sub 35 ft range and ironically when they attempt to pamper to this supposedly loss making size we slag them off .

So welcome Princess R 35 and SS Hawk 38 .

Maybe we are in a different age demographic to the “ market researched “ target buyers so we can’t see it .
 
Superhawk .

It’s over 20 years since there very successful debuts .They made the most of VP sterndrives and trimax drives available at the time .Long thin pointy hulls .Things have move on a bit since with both the economics of building at a profit and buyers jumping in size point .
We can’t turn the clock back as it was then .
So for me considering market maturity has diluted the preditor range performance wise , they basically have got lardier and pampered the charter market I think it’s time to bring back the Superhawks .

This time start at 45 ft , then a 55 then a 65 .
All mid engined with the associated rear cabin as the engine room splits the boat .Med biased .Sunpads , large cockpit table , Hilo platform , hard tops theses days .
45 either straight shaft or surface drive on jackshafts the others surface drives ( Arnesons or trimax - what ever SS do some R+D ? )

To compete with Italian rivals cruise near 40 knots max near 50 knots .
And offer a nutter engine spec in each size to add 7/10 knots or what ever .
Cabins two for the 45 , three for the 55 , four for the 65 .

Adjust the beams to make those performance numbers .
Centre the design round performance, so no mid cabins compromising engine location , no V drives - ditto , low superstructures etc etc .

Oh and don’t forget to badge them Sunseeker Superhawks :encouragement:

Stand back = kerchung !
 
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Portofino said:
Superhawk .

It’s over 20 years since there very successful debuts .They made the most of VP sterndrives and trimax drives available at the time .Long thin pointy hulls .Things have move on a bit since with both the economics of building at a profit and buyers jumping in size point .
We can’t turn the clock back as it was then .
So for me considering market maturity has diluted the preditor range performance wise , they basically have got lardier and pampered the charter market I think it’s time to bring back the Superhawks .

This time start at 45 ft , then a 55 then a 65 .
All mid engined with the associated rear cabin as the engine room splits the boat .Med biased .Sunpads , large cockpit table , Hilo platform , hard tops theses days .
45 either straight shaft or surface drive on jackshafts the others surface drives ( Arnesons or trimax - what ever SS do some R+D ? )

To compete with Italian rivals cruise near 40 knots max near 50 knots .
And offer a nutter engine spec in each size to add 7/10 knots or what ever .
Cabins two for the 45 , three for the 55 , four for the 65 .

Adjust the beams to make those performance numbers .
Centre the design round performance, so no mid cabins compromising engine location , no V drives - ditto , low superstructures etc etc .

Oh and don’t forget to badge them Sunseeker Superhawks :encouragement:
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Why not just badge Itama's as Superhawks?
 
petem said:
Why not just badge Itama's as Superhawks?
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For the same reason Ferrari did not badge a 308 -Mustang or corvette :)Each has its own marketable brand .

Superhawks being the true performance SS that can sit nicely under the now lardier and more domestic Preditor range .
Itama has its own well established niche identity peddled by the Ferretti group alongside Pershing amongst others .
Otam ,Baia Pershing , magnum and if you wish Pete I,ve no objection to dropping Itama into my notional Superhawks competition.Tnx for the back handed compliment- it’s not like you :)

Was thinking new hulls ,new manufacturing technique ( low weights ), new buyer demographic, new line for SS .They already have the “ brand “ image name currently dormant .

Sell it on TRUE performance not midcabin domesticity fairline can keep that image with the 31.9 knot WOT - 63 GTO and any spin offs .:)
 
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Watched the thread with interest as its developed.
Some of you may know that we are rigging these boats and I feel that they can legitimately be called a Sunseeker.
True the hull is from FB, true the foam filled concept is from FB, everything else is pure Sunseeker design.
Yes they are quite narrow beamed, but it will be fast and stable.
As Hugo has said performance is there, he has tested the first boat on Como, and it is quick enough !
So will it sell? I think it will as there is still a massive value in the name as a sports boat and there is a market for this like of boat.
We have boats in build now against a tight schedule and we are pushing hard to get them ready for the official launch.
 
Pennpromo said:
So will it sell? I think it will as there is still a massive value in the name as a sports boat and there is a market for this like of boat.
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You might well be right on that.
RB (RIP) did a truly outstanding job with the brand recognition of his company, and I can easily imagine that while most clients potentially interested in a boat like this are well aware of S/skr, they don't even know (neither care) who FB is.
Which is sort of funny, considering what the latter actually did for performance boating - to which S/skr doesn't hold a candle. But... Hey-ho!
 
Ian h said:
See that it is not even being built by Sunseeker
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You are saying that as if it were a demerit.
For a boat like that, I can't think of any better hull pedigree than being built at the FB boutique workshop! :cool:
 
Pennpromo said:
Watched the thread with interest as its developed.
Some of you may know that we are rigging these boats and I feel that they can legitimately be called a Sunseeker.
True the hull is from FB, true the foam filled concept is from FB, everything else is pure Sunseeker design.
Yes they are quite narrow beamed, but it will be fast and stable.
As Hugo has said performance is there, he has tested the first boat on Como, and it is quick enough !
So will it sell? I think it will as there is still a massive value in the name as a sports boat and there is a market for this like of boat.
We have boats in build now against a tight schedule and we are pushing hard to get them ready for the official launch.
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I see that you also have Mark Pascoe on the build team as well. Who has his own brand of boats.

I do not for one moment think it will not be a fast boat with a lot of style, What I find hard to grasp is that it is badged as a Sunseeker,

to quote
Wood has put together a European performance-boating dream team for the new boat, bringing on board well-known racer, boatbuilder and engineer Mark Pascoe to work on the project while the boat’s twin-step bottom design was drafted by legendary Italian boatbuilder and racer Fabio Buzzi.

What part is Sunseeker ?
 
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MapisM said:
You are saying that as if it were a demerit.
For a boat like that, I can't think of any better hull pedigree than being built at the FB boutique workshop! :cool:
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Just questioning the fact its "Badged" as a Sunseeker . It will obviously be a fantastic boat looking at the team building it,
 
MapisM said:
You might well be right on that.
RB (RIP) did a truly outstanding job with the brand recognition of his company, and I can easily imagine that while most clients potentially interested in a boat like this are well aware of S/skr, they don't even know (neither care) who FB is.
Which is sort of funny, considering what the latter actually did for performance boating - to which S/skr doesn't hold a candle. But... Hey-ho!
Click to expand...

I think that those whom would be interested in this boat "WILL" know whom FB is they will also know about the team that is building this boat in Lymington. Performance boating has a small fan base and most people will know and understand where this boat has come from, After all the previous Sunseeker boats in this class were know to be from FB.
 
Ian h said:
After all the previous Sunseeker boats in this class were know to be from FB.
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This is a lie. So this boat is based on the XS2000 which previouly Fabio Buzzi sold to Sunbird from the UK if I remember well. Before Sunseeker went on to buy the rights from FB.

Fabio Buzzi only did this design SS, and it is possible (not sure but I heard a rumour) that he was consulted on the surface drive for 40 Superhawk, which is a 34 Hawk with surface drives.

As for pedigree, I think in reality Fabio Buzzi (FB Design) has not twice more to Sunseeker but like 100 times more.
His records with Cigala and Bertinetti especially with the 50 Nitro in a ten year period, and previous to this are volumes ahead.

Sunseeker in reality never won much in the offshore race circuit. Even though the hull of the old 34 XPS Portofino was for example the same as alloy build Cuv from Viareggio 38 designed by Don Shead.
A hull which at Cuv won a lot, but when Sunseeker raced with it in both the shorter 34 XPS and exact 39 Cobra versions but in fiberglass never won anything.
I think they place once second in the respective class of the Cowes race in the eighties.
 
PowerYachtBlog said:
it is possible (not sure but I heard a rumour) that he was consulted on the surface drive for 40 Superhawk, which is a 34 Hawk with surface drives.
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If you are referring to the so called Trimax transmissions (which btw S/skr used also in the Superhawk 50, IIRC), it doesn't take any rumour to understand that they came from FB Design.
In fact, the Trimax system was designed and patented by FB, even if later licensed to ZF (no less!) for actual production.
 
Ian h said:
I think that those whom would be interested in this boat "WILL" know whom FB is they will also know about the team that is building this boat in Lymington. Performance boating has a small fan base and most people will know and understand where this boat has come from, After all the previous Sunseeker boats in this class were know to be from FB.
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I missed your post in my previous reply.
Well, I'm not pretending to predict the exact profile of the prospect clients for this boat, of course.
But as a former (and also current, at heart!) performance boat fan, a boat like this would never enter in my radar.
The "original" FB one, yes, most definitely. But a sort of bow rider/center console version? Naah, no way.
My guess is that it's rather targeted at megayacht owners, which might well be attracted by the idea of having, among other tenders, a superfast one.
This is the potential buyer which I think would not be so interested in FB heritage.
But I'm just guessing, of course - time will tell...
 
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