Why have the Big 3 abandoned the "ordinary" man

[halcyon]

Sealine back then used a lot of hardwood for fitout, the 365 was oak, so not cheap, but to-day it is still sellable as the boats are still selling at a reasonable value, the question is what will to-days flash finished boats be worth in 25 / 30 years ?.

Brian

 

[greenace]

Perhaps the answer is a return to basics , a decent British builder gives you a finished boat with basic spec, you can then go and use your local contractors to up grade as you go , a win for all concerned perhaps, and if you don't want to go that route pay the £0.5 mill and stop moaning, just a thought..........

Agreed.

Makes me wonder if the plushness and mod cons really is what we want/expect.

Is it more a case of the manufacturers giving us that stuff because they think that's what we want? Or worse, they give us that stuff so they can (surprise, surprise) charge us more whether we want it or not?

Most boats these days are more like luxury floating apartments. I'd be so worried about ruining it I'd never take it out.

 

[stuartwineberg]

Thats very interesting because I believe the so-called trawler yacht market is one area of the market which is showing some growth. Certainly, Beneteau have done very well with their Swift range and by all accounts, Azimut and Absolute are doing good business with their Magellano and Navetta ranges. I have wondered for some time why the mainstream UK builders are just producing the same old designs of planing boat and ignoring this sector of the market. There must be a market for a British take on the trawler yacht

That'll be a Hardy or an Aquastar then?

 

[oldgit]

I'd be so worried about ruining it I'd never take it out.

It will come as no shock then as to the number of boats where the proud owners would prefer you not use the boat bogs or showers and would " request " that you trek at 2AM the lonely 200m to the Gardiennage in your nightie to attend to any call of nature.
As for actually using the highly sophisticated and expensive cooking equipment installed ,,,no chance ....its orf to the marina resturant for your morning coffee and croissant
Did once try to smuggle some Crisps/suncream/sandy swimming trunks onto a friends boat....failed miserably......it was the compulsory strip search which revealed all,even though I had signed the forms in triplicate stating I had none of the above about my person.

 

[halcyon]

Agreed.

Makes me wonder if the plushness and mod cons really is what we want/expect.

Is it more a case of the manufacturers giving us that stuff because they think that's what we want? Or worse, they give us that stuff so they can (surprise, surprise) charge us more whether we want it or not?

Most boats these days are more like luxury floating apartments. I'd be so worried about ruining it I'd never take it out.

Not always true, adding extras takes time, moving boats down the production line is what makes the money, by fitting extras as standard you can optimise production flow and maximise output, hence profit.

Then they started offering people more choice, and thought lets make more money by charging customers for having them. Unfortunately, like Sealines new owners found, it need more staff and takes longer to fit-out the boat, so instead of profits going up, they come down. It now costs more to make a small boat than it can be sold for, so you stop making the small end of the range. But make bigger boats as they sell for a higher price and still show a profit, but you loose your starter boats and their owners, so sales drop. To counter that you stop making the smaller boats in the range and invest in high tech production, but the volume now is low, so high tech equipment sits doing nothing and cost go up. The merry-go-round carries on until the whole thing collapses and you go bust.

All production engineering.

Brian

 

[paul salliss]

It will come as no shock then as to the number of boats where the proud owners would prefer you not use the boat bogs or showers and would " request " that you trek at 2AM the lonely 200m to the Gardiennage in your nightie to attend to any call of nature.
As for actually using the highly sophisticated and expensive cooking equipment installed ,,,no chance ....its orf to the marina resturant for your morning coffee and croissant
Did once try to smuggle some Crisps/suncream/sandy swimming trunks onto a friends boat....failed miserably......it was the compulsory strip search which revealed all,even though I had signed the forms in triplicate stating I had none of the above about my person.

I am pleased to have opened this debate, when I was moored in Swanwick there was a group of people me included buying new boats, I was kindly invited on board a number of them, one owned a Aquador, I felt very uncomfortable, every time I moved they jumped up and asked me to be careful, I know for a fact that some owners don't use the holding tanks, don't use the showers in case it causes damp, never use the barbecue because it can stain the teak deck with flying sausage fat, don't use the tech as they don't know how to, and the list goes on, yet the up market boat builders give us what a well known instructor on here refers to as " plastic fantastics". I vote for a change , lets offer a non fantastic semi finished product.

When you buy a new house in a development you don't get a furnished show home, offer boats in the same way, if you want a show home, pay up, but offer the choice please

 

[DougH]

I am pleased to have opened this debate, when I was moored in Swanwick there was a group of people me included buying new boats, I was kindly invited on board a number of them, one owned a Aquador, I felt very uncomfortable, every time I moved they jumped up and asked me to be careful, I know for a fact that some owners don't use the holding tanks, don't use the showers in case it causes damp, never use the barbecue because it can stain the teak deck with flying sausage fat, don't use the tech as they don't know how to, and the list goes on, yet the up market boat builders give us what a well known instructor on here refers to as " plastic fantastics". I vote for a change , lets offer a non fantastic semi finished product.

When you buy a new house in a development you don't get a furnished show home, offer boats in the same way, if you want a show home, pay up, but offer the choice please

Must be a 'Solent' peculiarity caused by the owners not getting enough sun.

Oldgit always mixes with very strange people.

Out in the sun owners use their boats to the full and the sort of person you talk about above is virtually unknown.

Raggies if course do act like you suggest and are the ones who use the showers and loos, but they do exist on very basic vessels.

 

[paul salliss]

Must be a 'Solent' peculiarity caused by the owners not getting enough sun.

Oldgit always mixes with very strange people.

Out in the sun owners use their boats to the full and the sort of person you talk about above is virtually unknown.

Raggies if course do act like you suggest and are the ones who use the showers and loos, but they do exist on very basic vessels.

I have come to realise we don't need half of this stuff

 

[DougH]

I have come to realise we don't need half of this stuff

Most Solent based boaters rarely travel further than Yarmouth (IofW) and consider themselves master mariners if they ever circumnavigate the Isle of White.

Down in Poole most peeps seem to exit the harbour and turn right and moor in Studland Bay or go to the West side of Brownsea Island and moor there.

Of course there are some who do much longer trips and cross the Channel with impunity but these are the exception rather than the rule.

For sure the Med boats are not used as many days but they do get well used when the owners are on board.

We regard spending a week or two doing the round trip of Mallorca or crossing to Menorca or Ibiza etc the norm and I assure you we are not an exception.

All of out equipment on the boat is used to the full and we would not relinquish any one item, particularly the ice maker. Remember the sun shines here and it is hot.

The World doesn't start and end with the Solent.

 

[superheat6k]

Wimpey, John Laing and Barretts used (and likely still do I guess) offer you a new house with inflated price to pay for all the appliances - over a 25 year mortgage.

Seems boats are remarkably similar.

The only equipment on a boat I do not wish to use are the flares, fire extinguishers and liferaft - the rest if not used should be left ashore !

 

[paul salliss]

Most Solent based boaters rarely travel further than Yarmouth (IofW) and consider themselves master mariners if they ever circumnavigate the Isle of White.

Down in Poole most peeps seem to exit the harbour and turn right and moor in Studland Bay or go to the West side of Brownsea Island and moor there.

Of course there are some who do much longer trips and cross the Channel with impunity but these are the exception rather than the rule.

For sure the Med boats are not used as many days but they do get well used when the owners are on board.

We regard spending a week or two doing the round trip of Mallorca or crossing to Menorca or Ibiza etc the norm and I assure you we are not an exception.

All of out equipment on the boat is used to the full and we would not relinquish any one item, particularly the ice maker. Remember the sun shines here and it is hot.

The World doesn't start and end with the Solent.

I agree with a lot of that, I am already planning my Solent exit

 

[DougH]

I agree with a lot of that, I am already planning my Solent exit

:encouragement:

 

[oldgit]

Must be a 'Solent' peculiarity caused by the owners not getting enough sun.

Oldgit always mixes with very strange people.

You are correct in your assumption...they are called boaters

 

[DougH]

You are correct in your assumption...they are called boaters

Can't argue with that description.

 

[jfm]

I once went to look at a boat in GB waters and the selling owner went on about how the showrs and loos had never been used, except that he said ladies were allowed to do #1s. The boat was immaculate but I thought the guy was a bit of a dork
I'm with DougH. All the loos/showers/holding tanks get worked hard; the kitchen works hard and has dings to prove it that will get fixed in refit; the ovens get taken apart and deep cleaned often, such is their hard life. Exterior upholstery gets more use than train seating and is away for re-upholstery as I type. And so on. You have fantastic fun and make great memories from actually using the boat; there are no great memories and fun from not using it and getting £whatever more at resale because it has never been used.

 

[MapisM]

Blimey, ovens? How many of them have you got?
I would have thought it was a typo, if it weren't that you also wrote "their hard life"...

Regardless, I couldn't agree more on the principle, as my worn out, never re-upholstered boat proves!

 

[jfm]

Yup, 2 touchscreen Meiles in a stack :encouragement::encouragement:

 

[Pinnacle]

C'omon P - you know that J always has a backup for every system on board!

 

[paul salliss]

I once went to look at a boat in GB waters and the selling owner went on about how the showrs and loos had never been used, except that he said ladies were allowed to do #1s. The boat was immaculate but I thought the guy was a bit of a dork
I'm with DougH. All the loos/showers/holding tanks get worked hard; the kitchen works hard and has dings to prove it that will get fixed in refit; the ovens get taken apart and deep cleaned often, such is their hard life. Exterior upholstery gets more use than train seating and is away for re-upholstery as I type. And so on. You have fantastic fun and make great memories from actually using the boat; there are no great memories and fun from not using it and getting £whatever more at resale because it has never been used.

Makes sense, but sadly think you are the exception, not the norm!!

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

That'll be a Hardy or an Aquastar then?

No not really. What the Italians and French have done is a much more modern take on the trawler yacht genre which has a much wider appeal than Hardys or Aquastars. No disrespect to these builders as they make excellent boats but they are slightly stuck in a time warp in terms of styling and their pricing is towards the top end of the market as well