What makes a British boat better than USA boat?

AndieMac

AndieMac

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G'Day all,

Keen to get opinions on why the local boaters seem to frown on the USA built production boats as opposed to their own British brands.

Have people had serious structual issues, are they lightly built? Are there genuine problems that warrant the stigma?
 
Depends on specific brands. Different US brands cover a range in quality. Plus, our most popular brands in the US are designed and fitted with freshwater as the primary use (at least where trailer size models are concerned). I doubt that is the case with British boats.

Kelly Cook
 
Thanks for response Kelly, wasn't expecting such a prompt reply, I guess your time zone must be closer to ours than the Brits.

The last ten years or so have seen an influx of British boats to Australia, but the American boats have been here for more than twenty years. I guess that has been directly related to affordability.

Both the countries offerings are keenly sort after, but I have noticed on the forum that some peoples opinion of the USA brands are less than complimentary.

In our marina, the British boats seem to deteorate just as quickly as the American ones, using say mid 90's models as an example. It may be something to do with the Australian sunshine!

All the best
 
In general you will find the structure and layout of the glassfibre to be more robust on the British built boats, as they are designed for choppy seas not the freshwater prevelant in the states. You will also generally find better quality materials used in the fit and finish. Not an absolute because there are some verey good US boats as well, but the cheaper sports boats are built down to a price.
 
American manufacturers more often use chop strand spray lay up on their boats and they also often do not flow coat the inside of the engine rooms.
 
This may be just as result of very early boats being produced with no thought to longevity,this may no longer be the case with most owners now reporting they are very pleased with their US boats.
Without doubt my 1980s Regal was the most appalling example of bad design and most inappropiate use of materials ever to be prematurely ejected from a factory any where ever.
Aluminium fuel tank directly lying on bottom of boat.....rotted out.
Tank filler cap fixed to the thin aluminum of fuel tank with six self-tapping steel screw anda thin rubber gasket.
Deck glassed into boat requiring chain saw to get at tank.
No access anywhere to bilges.
Plastic port holes surrounds that snapped and then leaked as super flexy cabin roof distorted when you walked on it.
Interior that fell to bits when cabin leaked
Crap constuction grade chip board floor that crumbled when damp.
And as for the wiring.....argh
Plus the chipboard transom which sort of disintegrated fom inside when water got in via stern drive fittings and gave a nice hollow sound when you tapped it
Plastic cleats ????
and..... no its all coming back now... please do not get me going on those 2 petrol Mercruisers with those outdrives..................Sob.
/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
No, not an absolute as my cruisers 420 would more than match any British boat in terms of build and finish quality.
 
I think it is a bit of a myth put about by owners and dealers of british boats. I have seen poor build quality in both.
Some of the smaller US boats have had a poor reputation in the past but on the whole the cruisers are well built. Having seen the thickness of the transom when the wholes were cut to fit the drives on my Chaparral I can vouch for the build quality, the dealer has the same peice from a simular sized Fairlline and the US boats is noticably thicker.

On the whole British boats tend to have a deeper V so handle the rough better but I wouldnt say they were all better built.
 
I have had them all Us built European built and now Aussie built !

It all depends on which type of boat you get and your expections?

I had a Mainship which was a cheap sort of built us trwler but I loved it, since you knew what you are getting, Great hull, but the rest was lets say the value range but lots and lots of space and very clever design !

You get what you reserch for and pay for, regardless where it comes from?

Tom
 
some of the deadrise on smaller USA "lakeboats" isnt ideal for UK choppy seas, but then not all USA sportsboats have smaller deadrise anyway. But that has led to some "scoffing".
Also, many USA boats are pretty open cabin design, which doesnt always find favour in UK.
In UK, boating is a major expense at any level, so it might be that UK boaters look for a more solid boat. In USA having a boat can be almost like having a second car, so it could be that some boats (quite rightly) are built with that in mind.. ie, more of a plaything than a prized possession.
Looking at USA cars, they dont have the same quality as European cars.. but then look at the price difference!
 
Economy boats built for Intracostal waterways are oftem lighter built than European and they also cater for a different market.

But tell Hinkley that their boats are inferior to European and I can imagine their reply !
 
There's a much greater variety of US boats than Brit boats, everything from muscle boats with knife edge deep V hulls and enormous engines to offshore fishing battlewagons to pontoon boats only suitable for lakes. Basically you can't generalise. The second point is that the sheer numbers of boats built in the US means that there are bound to be more problems compared to the relatively small numbers of boats built in the UK. Also the litigious nature of the US means that problems are probably highlighted more
Is a Fairline or Sealine built better than a Searay? I don't think so. Is a Hardy built better than a Hatteras? No, again I don't think so. You can only compare one manufacturer against another not one country's boat building industry against another
 
The American market is so big and diverse, I'm not sure that any kind of generalisation is meaningful. They make everything from pontoon boats that are only suitable for lakes and rivers, to very scary looking "Sportsfishers" that will charge out 100 miles into the ocean, grapple with Marlin / Tuna, then charge back 100 miles again, 1500hp+ muscleboats etc.

But: all the major UK builders have abandoned the sub-30ft market (the smallest being the Sealine SC29), so for the smaller stuff, we mostly have a choice of USA or errm USA, with a few interlopers from France and Italy.

In the 30ft-50ft market: UK boats have a reputation for hull designs that are good at squashing waves, and nicely finished interiors. But, reality is that other Euro builders (e.g. Cranchi) are producing hulls that squash waves well too. Interior tastes are very much a personal thing.

Some of the cheaper USA built boats struggle in this market for two reasons:
1.) The visible fixtures & fittings don't appear to be up to the same standards as the Euro boats: some boats look like they were fitted out by the same designer that also did the RV's.
2.) USA boats, express cruisers in particular, seem to be more "open plan" and have fewer enclosed cabins than the Euro equivalents. Quite why American boaters need to remain in sight of each other when asleep is something I haven't worked out /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

dv.
 
Thanks for the feedback, your responces are very balanced, and well informed.

As you can see I am new to this forum and look forward to continuing.

I have been an avid reader of MBM for many years and think the Brits have a great attitude to cruising in company, on those pre-arranged cruises.

cheers
 
i have to say if u say the best of best US vs EU
the US still builds the best around, especially for medium sized builds 40 - 80 ft
for example the cold molding technology used by mostly custom Sportfish builders is not heard much of in EU if at all, and is regarded among the best building method altough is not a production building method too
now this is not a new technology and is been around like some 20 years
yes the US has low quality builds sub 30 ft builders too, but this is not say that all are so bad in this size too
I think Cobalt and Formula in the medium bracket are super seakeeping boats handling better to EU equivalent altough accmmodation is less to SFPrCrAtSe too
there is also good production builders who give value like Tiara which is such a good boat, I think if you want the best production boat I would go for this is detail is impressive and makes all others look second
as for the open layout for them I think is important to feel in a spacious enviroment, and the doors do make u feel this in sub 40 feet

money for money yes the EUROS i think build a better boat, but if cash is not your problem I think they are ahead
 
I agree with the "you can't generalise" comments on build quality. There is wide range of US boats, from junk to beautifully built Hinkleys et al

But you asked why Brits/Euros prefer local to US. Answer is much more style than build quality imho. To most European eyes, Americans just cant style a boat or a car, or indeed a house. American stuff just looks ugly (I'm generalising hugely, and there are many exceptions). Whereas to Euro eyes Euro stuff looks right. In fact to many sophisticated US eyes, Euro stuff also looks right, and many Euro products (boats and cars often) are seen as premium products for US buyers. A claim of "Euro-styling" is a selling point for lots of stuff in the US
 
Just to slightly change the line of thought, jfm mentioned Euro styling, and the clear influence it has had. In the last 15 years or so the British and Euro and some USA boats went from the more "traditional" look with flared bows and walk around decks with practical sheer lines, to what we know now as the contempory look.

Do the boaters of Britain, putting aside the obvious look factor, really find the reverse sheer, narrow walkways and general "round" appearance, make their modern boats particuarly better than their predecessors.

This reference is made with full planning hulled vessels in mind.

What do you think?
 
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