Barnet Marine

[pettal]

Sorry but I have to say this......

Barnet Marine are superb, not only have they managed to get me a very good price on the boat that I wanted, but also managed to bring the delivery date forward from the original estimated date.

Their customer service is superb, they have been helpful, attentive and removed a lot of worries and fears about buying a new boat without getting the hump with being in-undated by my constant questions.

I cannot praise them highly enough. Well done Laurence and Co. a very proffesional yet personal service throughout.

Let's hope when the boat finally slips into the water it doesn't sink!

[Jono]

Not quite sure why you are sorry... it's nice to hear good news Perhaps you can shed some light on where the hulls are made? Cheers, Jono

[ashbypower]

Pleased to hear this Our XS 550 due in Feb Would also like to know more about the origine of the hull. So far our dealings with Barnet have been great, even had an invite to their premses to discuss/view the fit out.

Brian

[John Kennett]

Originally Posted by Jono

Not quite sure why you are sorry... it's nice to hear good news

Absolutely! It's always good to hear about things being done right

John

[Jono]

Just a thought... if they buy the hulls in, won't it have the manufacturer/country of origin on the CE plate? It's only idle curiosity on my part, but as a naturally “nosey” individual I am quite intrigued by who-makes-what?

[pettal]

The sorry was poor attempt at humour

They have been superb though and would whole heartedly recommend them to anyone.

I've tried asking Laurence and he won't tell me, despite nagging. All he would say is that it is a british hard boat manufacturer and would shock the market once everyone finds out in spring.

So who does that leave us with?

If it's Aquastar I'll bl**dy kill him as they've just shipped it right out from under my nose!!

Fairline?
Languard Marine?
Princess?
Sunseeker?

That's me, I'm right out of big names for the UK market. But it is the sort of thing you could see Sunseeker doing!

[pettal]

The more I think about it the more I'm convinced it's sunseeker!

They already have a range of boats called XS (i.e. XS-Sport etc) they are a big manufacturer in the UK, they've no problem with premises and it would cause a big stir in the boating world.

Anybody live near Sunseeker's build yards and see if they have any ribs kicking about!?!?

[thorper]

I'd heard it was a family business that made them.... Barnets contract means they can't say who makes the boats. My guess is that the CE plate says XS-Ribs, which will be a trading company for the other manufacturer, or by Barnet.

Ricky

[ADS]

Originally Posted by pettal

The more I think about it the more I'm convinced it's sunseeker!

They already have a range of boats called XS (i.e. XS-Sport etc) they are a big manufacturer in the UK, they've no problem with premises and it would cause a big stir in the boating world.

Anybody live near Sunseeker's build yards and see if they have any ribs kicking about!?!?

Begins with an 's'
Not Sunseeker..........Shetland

[pettal]

Originally Posted by ADS

Begins with an 's'
Not Sunseeker..........Shetland

Oh christ it is going to sink!

[Bilge Rat]

The hull is a pulled off a Tornado hull, so at least it has pedigree to a degree, now wether tornado make them as there liesure side or not i dont know.

[thorper]

Originally Posted by Bilge Rat

The hull is a pulled off a Tornado hull, so at least it has pedigree to a degree, now wether tornado make them as there liesure side or not i dont know.

No they aren't built by Tornado, although the hulls are very similar.

Ricky

[Louise]

Originally Posted by thorper

No they aren't built by Tornado, although the hulls are very similar.

Ricky

We've had this discussion before!

Having examined both an XS and a Tornado side by side at SBS I couldn't see any differences aside from small cosmetic ones to do with the fit-out (e.g. seats, A-frame, fuel filter). The hulls certainly looked identical (admittedly to an untrained eye!).

I await the Spring 'announcement' eagerly!

[CJL]

I can confirm that there is nothing remotely RIB sized in the Poole Sunseeker yard!

Walked passed it a month or so ago and they were all rather large moulds!

Chris

[Bilge Rat]

Originally Posted by thorper

No they aren't built by Tornado, although the hulls are very similar.

Ricky

No thats correct and as i said i didn't think they were built by Tornado, however the hull is a tornado hull, i had this confirmed by laurence himself early this year when i looked at buyin gone.

one other good point..... barnet also sell Tornado boats !!! so if the two manufacturers were completely remote from each other then there would be a conflict of differences at the dealership !!!

[Phil Davies]

Shakespeare begins with 'S'

[TIM]

I thinks someone knows on this form and is staying QUITE... so If you know it time to speek up

[swginn]

Originally Posted by TIM

I thinks someone knows on this form and is staying QUITE... so If you know it time to speek up

TIM if you are referring to me, you're wrong. Fair enough I 've talked about this before but I still don't know. Done my detective work though!!

It is a Tornado hull design. Compared it with my buddys Voyager and they are identical.

It is not built by Tornado and there is not a conflict in interest as Tornado can not build enough hulls fast enough to fuel demand, XS-Ribs was Barnets solution to their customers that couldn't wait for a Tornado instead of turning them away.

The hull is not built by Tornado, but is built by a major UK hardboat manufacturer who can churn out the hulls faster than Barnet can fit them out.

The CE plate, says built by XS-Ribs and I've pestered Laurence for long enough with the only reponse being "you will be very surprised!!"

Heres some tips for some of you detectives out there:

The Tornado is made of modified Vinylester resin while the XS is polyester.

XS-Ribs were formally known as X-Rib but changed name to distinguish themselves from another Rib manufacturer. (guess that rules out the XS Sunseeker link, sorry Pettal!! we can all dream!!)

The deck is fully encapsulated (fibre-glassed on both sides) with marine ply sitting on braces and stringers, and the hull void is fully fibre-glassed inside and sealed. The under deck loom is sealed from the hull, preventing water seeping in, and the consoles are bonded down. This is in contrast to the cheaper method of building which uses a hollow hull with a thick deck. In the long term, hollow hulls may fracture at the point where the hull touches the deck at the tube join, due to flexing.

Oh and the fuel tanks are aluminium and made by Alumacraft. These have to be delivered to the premises where the hulls are built as the consoles are bonded on over them before being sent to Barnet.

I can see it now a mass stakeout on Barnet Marine. Anybody up for following some trucks!!

[swginn]

Originally Posted by pettal

Barnet Marine are superb, not only have they managed to get me a very good price on the boat that I wanted, but also managed to bring the delivery date forward from the original estimated date.

Their customer service is superb, they have been helpful, attentive and removed a lot of worries and fears about buying a new boat without getting the hump with being in-undated by my constant questions.

Sounds like a similar post I wrote after picking my one up, you certainly don't feel like you are buying a budget/value boat by the way you are treated. Top notch service, its always nice to see good customer service still exists!!

They even upgraded my engine from a 135 to a 150 free of charge so I wouldn't have to wait an extra week to pick her up!!

[pettal]

Yeah I mentioned Sunseker to Laurence.......I think he's still laughing!!

Anyway the whole point of this thread wasn't to bring up the suspicions on who's the manufacturer (we'll find that out in good time), but to praise a company that offers a proper proffesional service.

As mentioned previously we should be shouting from the roof tops about companies like this so that all others are forced to follow suit and offer the same service we'd all like.........not necessarily just in RIB buying either!

I asked Barnet to put a rush on it as the recent (current) weather conditions are perfect for a little trip across and although I'd asked him to bring the fitting down from a week to 3 days they said they would try their best. You can't ask for much fairer than that!

As it happens the weather is set to break early next week so the rush is now off and we are sat waiting for the next weather window to appear! Any budding meterologists out there then I need a 3 day window with little or no wind across Dover, White and Portland during the next two weeks!?