Thanks to a post by Orwell Boy the other day my attention was drawn to a new boat show that promised to encompass all area's of boating and do you know what...it did. The Caveat to my quick review is that this is the only boat show I have ever been to and as such have nothing to compare it to.
My point of interest was of course RIB's and I expected as this is a niche market to have a token representation but in truth I would say this sector was the largest on show.
I did mention on Orwell Boys post that I had seen quite a few RIB's being trailered up the M5 inc a 7m prime Rib by Ribeye that as it turned out was a coincidence as they weren't showing. Brig, Grand ,Excel Zodiac and the one that impressed me most was the all aluminium Aquaspirit. The size went from small sibs to 10 meter Brig and 8 meter Nordkapp with a fancy spray hood over the helm. All the sales team's were friendly and not pushy...they were just happy to be out on show talking to people.. although one young lad did try to sell me a wake board with one of those fancy hydrofoils on the bottom ( seriously young man I'm 20 stone 😁
. I did take a shine to the 5 meter Zodiac pro with 60hp on the back and I just about managed to get to get a price out of the salesman at £12,000 for the boat as is ie that ex demo boat otw and if I'm honest if he had been anywhere near a good sales person and if he had come up with a half decent finance package then I could have gone for that deal but honestly he was as much use as a chocolate teapot....is it just me though but have Zodiac dropped down on quality?. Black is definitely the new white with many manufacturers opting for the matt soft finish on the Orca Hypalon sponsons, they made me wonder if when drying would you get salt stains on them. Another trend I noticed was the offset helm position to allow eaiser access to the bow on the smaller 4 to 6 meter RIB's which begs the question ..how does the boat not list to port when your at the helm?? I did ask nobody seems to know....it just works is the reply i got.
There were plenty of pitches selling various bits of kit inc life jackets waterproofs,solar panels and a massive stand selling all sorts of rope in every colour combination you could imagine..... in fact rope was all they sold.
There were two aluminium rib manufacturers showing one was Aquaspirit and i can't remember the 2nd....soz but the welding on the Aquaspirit was amazing...not so good on the 2nd it has to be said. I did learn that most ribs seem to be made in Ukraine nowadays and I also found out from the Grand sales guy that even if I wanted to buy a boat off him...(and they were nice) he couldn't sell me one until 2023 as they were sold out...outboards were a problem too. I have included a photo of the new Mercury V12 Verado 600hp....it was massive...so big that the engine is fixed ie it doesn't turn but the gearbox does.
So to sum up there was was something for all, Canal and river paddle boards , kayaking, speedboats, wake board boats, sailing and vintage even the larger yachts like the Princess V72 yours for around one and a quarter million sterling.
So the only thing I came away with was a business card for a nice chap in Cornwall who not only is a salesman for Aquaspirit but also runs a powerboat level 2 course out of Falmouth and I hope to get booked in for this July.....anyone know of him or indeed used him... his name is Bob Warren of roseland paddle and sail.
I think if this show continues it has a chance to grow into something amazing....well done to the BoatLife organisers.
