| What's the point of going to the boat show if we don't buy a boat? |
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I've been going to the show on and off for 17 years, I first went when I was in my early teens and used to go along to spend the day looking at boats that I wished one day I could afford (and I'm still wishing!). Leaving the Show I'd be weighed down with bags full of brochures that I would then decorate my room with. Yes, some of my friends would have semi naked women, footballers and bands on their walls, and I'd have the latest models from Jeaneau, Sunseeker, Princess and Beneteau among others. Some things don't change, I still go to dream, but now I'm old enough to clamber all over the boats as well, and at leave feeling even more depressed when I return to my shabby elderly yacht.
Next up was to make ourselves feel totally inadequate by having a look at some of the display yachts, and then start sobbing bitterly.
And in the French Corner After all the drooling at the Legends - yes, I also took a look at the 44, even bigger and better - we wandered over to look at a new comer - Poncin. On their stand was their 44 footer, and the first thing that struck me was the wheel - it looked like something that should be found on an XR3i than a sleek sailing yacht. Apart from that, overall it appeared very... dare I say it... 'nice'! I don't know what it was, but it didn't really get me as excited as the Legend, it seemed to be lacking in "var var voom". The layout was similar to the Legend 41, but it didn't feel as spacious, although the list of standard equipment is very impressive, including colour radar, GPS colour plotter, and water maker. The price for this little baby - £167,948 ex VAT. Now onto those other French boys, Jenneau. As David currently has his eye on an old 35, we had a wander around the current 36 footer, which I have to say felt cramped (well we had just spent an hour looking at 40 footers!). There were 3 of us looking round these boats, and I have to say that it felt very tight down below, so we decided to look at something a bit bigger - a 38 footer. Not only did this still feel a bit tight, but someone at Jenneau thought it would be an idea to try using a different shade of wood - as in orange. It was absolutely horrible, how anyone could have thought it was a good idea is beyond me (well Jenneau wanted feedback - keel haul who ever came up with the idea, then flog whoever went along with it!). Even the larger Jenneau failed to impress me as much as the Legend, yes they were beautifully finished, yes there were some nice touches (like not using orange coloured wood), but I kept thinking about all the extras I could have with the Legend and still have change for fish and chips and a pint at the Boat Show (and that's saying something!). Finally before leaving, my girlfriend wanted to have a look at some of the motor cruisers (I know I shouldn't encourage her, but it was getting late, and she'd been very patient all day). Naturally we couldn't just go on any boat, not after looking at the upper end of the yacht market, so we went for something a little OTT, not totally, just a little - a Princess 61. I have to say it was rather pleasant, and shiney, and the cocktail cabinet was a nice touch, and the marble worktops, did I mention it had a fridge on the flybridge and.... The pull of the dark side was strong I must say, and I left wondering if the marina would give me a discount on 2 berths, one for the Legend and the other for the Princess, I also began wondering how much my grandmother would fetch on Ebay! Ben Long Related Items:
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Ok, who has thought or heard that before? Well, this time I heard it from a small child, who was complaining loudly to his father, but it got me thinking, why do so many people go to the boat show, they can't all be shopping for a boat, or boat bits - I guess the answer for most is to drool over the latest offerings from the marine trade.
First one we visited wasn't for sale, this year's 'interesting ship' attraction was the replica of Sir Francis Drake's Golden Hinde. The first thing you notice when walking around down below is just how low the ceilings were, especially on the gun deck, as I'm just over 6 foot, I spent most of the time not being able to stand up straight - just like home! After wandering around the ship, we caught up with a crew member and started pulling his leg about the not so authentic fire alarms, 13 amp sockets and safety glass. He did say he was getting a bit fed up with question like that, and that the most stupid question he'd had so far was "on the actual Golden Hinde how many people woke up with headaches after banging their heads" - this apparently was from a 10 year boy, so he forgave him. He did say, that although the original plans don't exist for the original ship, he was sure that that sort of information might have be entered in the ship's log - I think he was being sarcastic!
Also on Opal's stand were the Legends, and although an American friend of mine has made some slightly disparaging remarks about them in the past, I thought I'd take a quick look at the Legend 41. Wow! These are what the Bavarias should have been like. On climbing down into the cabin, you found yourself in a large 'L' shaped galley fully equipped with everything you could want, including separate fridge and freezer, a microwave and the price even includes a set of crockery (which you can store in the glass fronted crockery cupboard, ideal if you want to see what a force 7 does to china - it even has a light, so you can watch your plates get smashed to pieces at night too!). The owner's cabin is located aft, and features a queen size bed. Also aft is a head and shower. The guest quarters have an unusual layout, with the head at the forepeak, with a bed on the port side, and a wash basin to starboard. The main cabin features a horseshoe table layout to port, and a sofa to starboard.Finally, I must mention the huge cockpit sail locker, which the brouchure says is large enough to fit a generator or dinghy, but I don't think that description does it justice, I think a better description would be to say it's large enough to fit an unruly child or unwelcome guest! They were almost giving them away at the show - £105,691 including VAT (but excluding delivery and commissioning charges), so if you ordered one at the show, you would have saved £4,524! Apparently they also do a 46 footer that comes with an office instead of one of the aft cabins - is it big enough to run a website from? Well if those nice people at Hunter Yachts or Opal would like to donate one to me, I'd like to find out, otherwise, I guess I'll have to continue to save my pennies.
