London Boat Show

[Chelsea14Ian]

Gracie likes saily  thingies 

[Broads01]

Thanks for all the replies. I shall be driving as far as Slough then train/tube/DLR. Based on the comments above I'll definitely take my own food with me!

I know in reality there'll be a load I won't be interested in but hopefully I'll find plenty worth seeing apart from Richardsons. I'm not really a 'gin palace' or even a Sunseeker kind of guy, so that rules out lots of the exhibitors then! However, given I have a distant dream in my head of owning a boat one day (maybe or more likely shared ownership) it'll be good to nose at potentially affordable craft. I know Viking are there for example.

I'll let you know how I get on.

[Liberty]

If you are a member of the RYA, there is a cloakroom and restaurant for members upstairs.  Much quieter!

 

[Matt]

These look a bit familiar!

[Matt]

That's the boys worn out

[ranworthbreeze]

1 minute ago, Matt said:

That's the boys worn out

 

Hi Matt,

Is that the latest tender 

Regards

Alan

[BuffaloBill]

What would the tolls be on that then if used on the Broads 

[Matt]

40 minutes ago, ranworthbreeze said:

 

Hi Matt,

Is that the latest tender 

Regards

Alan

Not too good in tide and wind I imagine!

[Labrador]

Be handy for those who run aground on Breydon, they can roll themselves off instead of imposing on the RNLI and coastguard.

[Matt]

Least friendly stand of the show award goes to Brooms!

Ironic given we moor there!

[Chelsea14Ian]

We went today we  also went to see Brooms boats,they were fine with us we joked that if we won the lotto tonight we would buy a brooms.He said for that money we would get a Bigger boat.

Got ourself new ropes from English Braids not cheap,but the chap was very helpful.If you are going to the show and need new ropes give them a try.

[SweetKingfisher1]

Hi, as Ian said we had a good trip to the Boat Show today. DLR is the best way to get there. We had a nice chat with the guys from Richardson , but if you are out on the Broads they told us if you require fuel then Moonfleet is open all year. We then went and had a chat with James from Shetland Boats (this is where we brought our first boat, a 4+2 called Little Kingfisher).

The RYA hospitality hall is a great place for a rest or lunch and somewhere to leave your coat .

I still think the boat show is not as good as it was a couple of years ago, but of course it does depend on what you are looking for .

Regards

Marina 

[LondonRascal]

I went last year when some said it was a poor show, and found it actually pretty good - this year I had high hopes but alas I was left wanting.

The general 'feel' to the place did not have the buoyant atmosphere of the past and I found many exhibitors stands either smaller this time around, or just showing less - Broom boats last year were warm and welcoming, I got several 'freebies' and had a good look around their boats.  This year, upon waiting to have a look on the Coupé 30 HT (a boat you can hire and the hull of which is to be found on the likes of Brinks Duet, Siesta etc) did not go very well at all.  Maybe I just don't look like the type who would be a Broom owner, but having been looked up and down and asked a few odd questions the chap asked directly "do you have the money for this?"

No, but he did not know that and the Sealine stand offered some show special prices and had the costs of their boats Inc VAT proudly displayed on their sterns and like for like offered far better value for money to my mind than Broom - how can they justify an option of a digital aerial to be fitted for over £700.00 and why does heating have to be optioned in too?  Meaning for a river boat with a modest 60HP if you went for the coloured hull, an electric toilet, aerial, heating etc the boat would come in at £157,000!

Moving on form there I noticed over at Prestige Yachts two of their salesmen were texting with heads down to their phones - over at Vetus Shiela was looking at a display of Windlasses and pressing the buttons (we both expected they would work as as a display piece) but no, and as I turned to look at some horns on show she was actually told 'don't touch those please madam'. Did Excel become a museum without anyone noticing?

Shetland and Viking were nice and friendly and we had a good look about and chat, their boats have come on a long way in quality and fit out and yet their prices are very keen and their down to earth attitude and eagerness to engage with everyone who visited them impressed me.  Richardson's at the back of the hall was a welcome sight too - notice no Faircraft Loynes (NBD) this year.  Greg Munford was there along with a bunch of regular Richardson's employees we have a look on Comodore and Broadway.  I found both rather cramped - if Commodore had not got three showers/toilets it would be much more spacious and I can't help compare it to Brinks Rhapsody which internally does have the edge on the space especially the saloon with huge seating area, fixed table and no stairs to get in the way from the upper steering position.  Broadway too the galley was very narrow and a small sized sink for a family boat, this because the mid cabin was made more spacious.  Of course something has to give but I'd prefer more 'day time' living space and a more 'cosy' cabin.  Both boats though were beautifully fitted out and as we know are regulars to be seen on the water so hire well so many a customer is happy.

We passed by Princess - well we did see a amazing Project 31 - I am none too sure if this is one that has been refurbished to amazing standards, or if Princess found a mold and made it from new as an exhibit but I much preferred it to the new stuff they have which all looks so much the same, but each year more glass finds its way into the side of hulls (or so it seems) which I think looks awful form the outside even if internally it looks great and adds light.

Sunseeker doing great - who else has though of a 'fold out' mini balcony and I like their interiors which always seem that little bit more lush and showy than other brands, which is what many want if you are splashing out on the sort of money these craft cost.

We had a look at Garmin, Raymarine and Furuno.  Good (expensive) gear, but much of the radar shown was the older high wattage microwave based stuff and their larger displays generated a lot of heat and seemed a bit sluggish if you asked a lot of them.  Akin to a cheaper Android tablet you wish had a bit more 'omph' to it. Simrad were not exhibiting, but if I was in the market for marine electronics  and navigational aids, it would be them I would choose.  Since they work closing with American sports fishing types, they latest line up has a lot more features and 'bling' added in than much of the competition and their new side scan sonar is impressive not to mention the and 4G radar that does not use microwave energy and is good from about 6ft away from the boat to several nautical miles - simultaneously. It was a shame I could not get hands on experience and have to rely on You Tube and the web for the low down of their products.

I was disappointed at a lot of old generation LED lighting solution's on show but with high price tags and some that were clearly had the same cheap Chinese drivers and power supplies of sets you can pick up on Amazon for a fraction of the 'marine' price. I was actually surprised how many navigation lights featured old filament power hungry bulbs too.  Generally it did not strike me as a great deal of innovation and new ideas were coming from the established manufactures.  

No Guinness bar was in evidence so after a final look about we left.  If you, for example had set your heart on a new Garmin Plotter and you wanted to see how it worked in person and knew what you wanted to ask you might find the show good, or perhaps you had a specific item to look out for - but generally not a place to go if your not an avid boater, and too many exhibitors seemed not to want to engage and talk to people who stopped by and had a look things or maybe it was the fact Shiela and I just were not in the right 'age bracket' or 'look' - neither looking like old experienced sea dogs, nor young money rich bankers so I think I will stick to getting good information and pricing from the Web, real life footage on You Tube and pass up going to the 2017 show.

 

 

 

[Matt]

Similar Brooms experience to me then!

[Chelsea14Ian]

As I said on Facebook  brooms were fine with us,but for him to make a comment  like that is not on most people  look round boats and will not buy if I was you I would complain to Brooms.We have never brought  from them but we get fuel gas pump outs etc and they have always  been good to us

[JawsOrca]

Sadly sounds like nothing changes then. Rip London boatshow... Disgusting attitude from broom. We had good experiences with the brokers at broom direct so I would be very surprised if its the same people perhaps an external broker or a non salesman employee of broom getting a bit bored.

[NeilB]

Does sound very unusual behaviour for Brooms, as Alan said maybe an external broker as there were some on the stand. 

The Senior 31 is an original boat but it's a bit like Triggers broom !  It did have the original 2 x AQD21's for a while but they were in a sorry state and were changed for a single D3 before arriving at the show. 

The Guinness bar is along the back wall not far from the pool area.

[Oddfellow]

I went last year and found it a waste of a day and fuel. 

I won't be making that mistake again in a hurry. 

This show used to be about boats and boaty bits. It was the go-to place for a boat owner looking to pick up a bargain or to buy something new to screw onto his modest boat whilst drooling over the majesty of the likes of Sunseeker. 

Last year, there were probably no more than five stalls with chandlery, a few with deck shoes, at least one selling drones. There were no boats on the water (one of the key benefits of Excel as you can drive in the mega-yachts through the docks). 

To get in you could opt to walk through a interactive rain shower that would stop for you...... All very pointless. 

We got only part of what we wanted last year which was inspiration, mostly from the Sunseeker stand where this slightly scruffy rabble were welcomed towards the end of the day. However, for me (and it seems a lot of people on here), it is not worth the money or time any longer. 

 

[Hockham Admiral]

42 minutes ago, FreedomBoatingHols said:

I went last year and found it a waste of a day and fuel. This show used to be about boats and boaty bits. It was the go-to place for a boat owner looking to pick up a bargain or to buy something new to screw onto his modest boat whilst drooling over the majesty of the likes of Sunseeker. 
Last year, there were probably no more than five stalls with chandlery,

From 1980 we went to Earls' Court every year and did just that, Andy, for the next 20 years or so! Our old Freewaed 30 was almost completely refurbished with "Boat Show Specials!

One visit to the new venue a few years ago was enough...................

[Broads01]

I went to the show yesterday and really enjoyed myself, mainly because I spent so much time on the Richardsons stand! I enjoyed the freedom to really chew over Commodore and Broadway, much more so than I would be able to from a look aboard in Stalham on changeover day. The Richardsons staff were great, very friendly and willing to chat and answer questions. I had a good chat with Greg Munford and he appreciated my positive feedback about the 5 day breaks that Richardsons offer. I'll post my views on the Richardsons boats in the hire boat section.

I had a good chat with the lady from BCBM Boat Share and I also liked the Vikings, the classic Project 31 (beautiful) and the people who's name I forget that had fitted out a Broom 28 forward drive rather luxuriously.

On the down side, my experience on the Brooms stand was incredibly similar to Robin. I was genuinely interested I the Cadet as a potential hireboat. I realised that it was a sale boat version on display so I asked the guy how different the fit out was from the hireboat version. He seemed to look down his nose at me and gave a very brief, non-informative response. As it happened, I was underwhelmed by the interior. It had a plain grey sofa that looked like it had come from Ikea. Also, I was disappointed there was no reference anywhere on the Broom stand to their hire boat operation - do they want to do business or not?

The Princess and Sunseeker stands were kind of surreal for me. They were full of suited dealers paired up with well-healed clients and of course the boats were mega off the scale ships that would need a full time professional crew! Both had private client areas with no shortage of potential customers it seemed. With the sumptuous carpet under my feet I felt as if I was in a luxury hotel room I had no right to be in.

As others have said, there was plenty of exhibitors that were nothing to do with boating, e.g Landrover, luxury lodges, drill bit sellers. This annoyed me to be honest, because as a customer of a boat show I expect it to be a boat show 100%, not having businesses who are there just for the footfall.

[Broads01]

A few pictures from yesterday.

[MauriceMynah]

One oif trhe highlights for me was the Earls Court Guiness stand. can anyone advise me if the stand at wherever it is now is as good???

Whatever! I am attempting to go Thursday. If my luck is in (and his is out) I'd love to meet up with Mark (baitrunner). The only way I can dress in a manner where you might recognise me is that I shall wear my old NBF tshirt.

When the NBN assists, I shall make some NBN ones and discard my NBF ones.

[JennyMorgan]

John, see:

http://my-eshop.info/epages/1bc85796-d323-48b1-9ff4-523ca4413126.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/1bc85796-d323-48b1-9ff4-523ca4413126/Products/5%5B4%5D

[BuffaloBill]

Regarding the show..........

Has anyone seen the new Sheerline yet? I really would

like to see it 

I might just take a moment to inform that Peter Applegate

died on New years Eve (I believe) who was the owner

of Wroxham Marine along with his son Gary. I was told this

morning in a phone call which took me by surprise to say

the least. He had been ill since last August.

[Baitrunner]

MM look out for some ruffians and that will be us!! Should be there from about 11/11:30.

Cant guide you on attire yet as not had a look in the wardrobe, but it will not be a suit to unlikely to get on the Sunseeker stand.

I shall keep my eyes peeled for you.