London Boat Show 2013

[John Kennett]

I finally managed to get to Excel on Sunday for the last day of the show. Given the general doom and gloom, coupled with a few inches of snow, I thought I'd find an echoing hall with tumbleweed blowing along the aisles. Actually it turned out to be much busier than I expected.

This year the boat show just used the south hall, but unlike the last couple of years it filled the whole length and didn't have great gaps between the stands. The Outdoor and Bike shows were in the north hall, which again seemed to be a good fit with the boat show.

In previous years I've driven to Excel, taken the DLR, or used the River Bus. This year we went by cable car. The Emirates Air Line is the newest way to get to the Royal Docks and it's only a five minute walk to Excel when you land. The view is excellent!

[John Kennett]

So on to the boats, in no particular order, and probably not comprehensively:

Ribeye were there in force as usual, but instead of their usual ranks of lookalike pale-grey-and-blue there was a big innovation: another shade of grey

Their custom range was on show with rather smart dark grey matt finish tubes, as well as a range of different seating and deck layouts.

[John Kennett]

No such changes at Barnet/XS and Cobra who's stands looked pretty much as you'd expect if you had ever seen them before.

[John Kennett]

The Wolf Rock Boat Company had a good selection of Brig RIBs on display

[John Kennett]

Barrus/ABC Marine were showing their AB Inflatables from Colombia, ranging from the 13DLX at just under 4m to the mighty 28VST which looks a lot bigger than its 8.5m

[John Kennett]

The immaculate British built Williams jet RIB tenders looked as superb as ever - brilliantly finished, works of art almost

[John Kennett]

Slightly confusingly Piranha RIBs had prominent Union Jacks on their Polish-built boats. Their range has gown a lot since their tie-up with Techno Marine, and the boats were generally well finished and looked good in their Piranha colours of two tone grey with orange accents. There was a more traditional properly orange boat too for those that prefer that sort of thing.

[John Kennett]

Slightly tucked away to one side was the Scorpion stand - I can't remember ever seeing them at Excel before. They had Ben Ainslie’s new Serket 88 on display, complete with Ullman seats and a pair of 300hp Verados. The J P Morgan BAR America's Cup team obviously isn't feeling the pinch just yet!

[John Kennett]

Also sporting a pair of 300s (Yamaha this time) was the striking red 10m Technohull seaDNA 999 cabin version.

[John Kennett]

And finally in the traditional "but it's not a RIB" section is the Parker 660 Weekend. A hard boat based on a RIB hull - there's a turnaround!

Anyway this little boat, just over 6.5 metres long, manages to include a full cabin with four berths, a well designed helm that is actually usable, a galley and dinette, loads of storage and a decent size cockpit. Oh, and about 7 foot of headroom in the cabin

[jambo]

Thanks John for taking the time to post for those of us who could not make it down. Some interesting ribs to wet the appetite but sadly most are way out of this pensioner's range Were the no other British ribs on view dare i say RC for one?

B

[Ian M]

Yes, thanks John.
I've always thought that if 6 certain little numbers were to be in the right place at the right time I would be very interested in a Scorpion, but that Technohull looks very interesting. Like to know how it would cope with the Solent chop

[mister p]

John,

A surprisingly well fed insight into something that I'd turned my nose up at.

Thanks for that, well covered and justly chosen stands.

You may get into trouble though, with this sort of coverage you'll stop people going to the show mister.

[whisper]

Yep Scorpion for me every time

[jambo]

Originally Posted by whisper

Yep Scorpion for me every time

You must have far to much money

[falcon0310]

i think i could smash the market, alot beter and alot cheaper
when are builders going gap in the market
we all like new boat but most including me do not like the prices
i know you cant change engine prices
but you can change fancy offices
over top over heads
produce boat in uk
pay worker 700 week
and be beter than cheaper than import
maybee i should start it off
or am i mad

[falcon0310]

Originally Posted by whisper

Yep Scorpion for me every time

dave marsh is nice bloke and sure his designs work but bet he doesnt get that much from them

[tumnus]

Cheers John for pulling this together. Much appreciated by a long time lurker of the forum. :-)

[Poly]

Originally Posted by falcon0310

i think i could smash the market, alot beter and alot cheaper
when are builders going gap in the market
we all like new boat but most including me do not like the prices
i know you cant change engine prices
but you can change fancy offices
over top over heads
produce boat in uk
pay worker 700 week
and be beter than cheaper than import
maybee i should start it off
or am i mad

Emmm... ...good luck...

Not sure which rib builder in the UK you think has fancy offices?
Not sure that any rib builder has ever been sustainable and successful without a professional sales and marketing effort?
Doubt many UK boat laminators or riggers are getting £700 / wk.
Engines, electronics, trailers, tubes, etc is all cost you can't control. True production savings can only come from mass production type efficiencies, but you can only get to those numbers with a proper sales / marketing / after sales overhead.
Many a UK boat builder has started with a little cottage industry product that is either a "me too, but a little cheaper" or "a bit different, but nobody is sure they want it" product; very few have become wealthy, in fact very few have lasted 10 yrs!

[biffer]

Mixed feelings over this last post. Trying to get the price down on building boats usually means cutting corners or quality. Having worked for a good few builders and still build custom stuff to order I've seen it all. Scorpion are dearer because they are made better. If you want a good boat you'll have to pay the price