Oyster in liquidation

[sailorboy1]

I just don't see a new Oyster customer caring much that there are fancy Bene's of the same size available.

[K_V_B]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

What sells now is Mc Boats, just like the Mc Mansions

Yet there are plenty of small niche manufacturers that are doing just fine.

[Van Der Beek]

Yet another great English boat builder that bites the dust.

Never thought Oyster was in such dire straits to be honest, thought business was booming.

Recently had the pleasure of checking out an Oyster 475, lovely sailboat.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I just don't see a new Oyster customer caring much that there are fancy Bene's of the same size available.

I was really thinking about the big production Cats myself, as a rich persons toy to impress and entertain friends at a party, they are likely more impressive.
I had a big new Lagoon blow past me as I was coming out of Ft Lauderdale last Summer, was really cooking, making I’d guess 10kts. That was what I was describing cause I saw the Women walking around in their Cocktail dresses carrying their glasses of white wine, in high heels I’m sure. They turned North just off the beach by a half mile, I went out just a little further into the Gulf Stream and put up my code zero and with the stream boost slowly began to catch them. Absolutely perfect day for sailing, beam reach of 10 to 15, but they had no interest in sailing, this wasn’t about sailing, it was about impressing your friends in their formal attire, not sailing.
I don’t really know who buys a new Oyster, at some point as the production numbers decline, and the fixed cost continue to rise, you can’t make money on even an “overpriced” boat, sort of an economy of scale issue. 80 Million book of business doesn’t do much good if it takes 81 Million to produce them.
Assumption is successful custom builders have fixed costs that are a fraction of Oysters for example and can continue building a boat every now and again and keep the doors open, but the Production boats are giving what new Boat owners want, lots of flash for the least money.

[double u]

...ugly, overpriced & overrated...

[frozenhawaiian]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

They weren’t the first and I fear they will be followed.
It’s a symbol I believe in what the 21st Century wealthy find important.
Why pay so much money for to them so little Boat, when for a lot less, you can get big, flashy, modern looking and lots more room to entertain, you know open spaces and big windows
These people don’t leave the Marina often and motor when they do, Women in their Cocktail dresses as they walk around the deck a drink in hand.

I see the same in the Mc Mansions, very poorly built, but big and impressive looking from the street.

What sells now is Mc Boats, just like the Mc Mansions

if you think that oysters aren't big open and flashy I guess you haven't seen what oyster has been building lately. and for the record they cost less than an equivalent swan.

[Woodland Hills]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I was really thinking about the big production Cats myself, as a rich persons toy to impress and entertain friends at a party, they are likely more impressive.
I had a big new Lagoon blow past me as I was coming out of Ft Lauderdale last Summer, was really cooking, making I’d guess 10kts. That was what I was describing cause I saw the Women walking around in their Cocktail dresses carrying their glasses of white wine, in high heels I’m sure. They turned North just off the beach by a half mile, I went out just a little further into the Gulf Stream and put up my code zero and with the stream boost slowly began to catch them. Absolutely perfect day for sailing, beam reach of 10 to 15, but they had no interest in sailing, this wasn’t about sailing, it was about impressing your friends in their formal attire, not sailing.
I don’t really know who buys a new Oyster, at some point as the production numbers decline, and the fixed cost continue to rise, you can’t make money on even an “overpriced” boat, sort of an economy of scale issue. 80 Million book of business doesn’t do much good if it takes 81 Million to produce them.
Assumption is successful custom builders have fixed costs that are a fraction of Oysters for example and can continue building a boat every now and again and keep the doors open, but the Production boats are giving what new Boat owners want, lots of flash for the least money.

I am not quite sure what upset you so much. The boat is out being used by its owner in the way he or she intended when they bought it. It may not be the way you would use it it, but so what? Isnt it preferable to having it be a Marina Queen or floating condo irregardless of how the owners and their friends may dress or their footwear? Besides, where do you think low hour, well maintained used boats come from? Who do you think keeps quality builders in business these days: singlehanded circumnavigators or wealthy people who want to have some fun with their friends?

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by frozenhawaiian

if you think that oysters aren't big open and flashy I guess you haven't seen what oyster has been building lately. and for the record they cost less than an equivalent swan.

In all honesty if I have ever seen an Oyster, I didn’t know it.
I come from the Panhandle of Fl, where a 20 yr old Hunter is a nice boat. You just don’t see Oysters. However I did see a big Swan or I think it was anyway, but boats like that are extremely rare there, the Panhandle of Fl is not a destination for the Wealthy, nor is it on the way to anywhere.
There is a reason Panama City Fl has been known as the Redneck Rivera for as long as I can remember.
It is a completely different world than South Fl.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Woodland Hills

I am not quite sure what upset you so much. The boat is out being used by its owner in the way he or she intended when they bought it. It may not be the way you would use it it, but so what? Isnt it preferable to having it be a Marina Queen or floating condo irregardless of how the owners and their friends may dress or their footwear? Besides, where do you think low hour, well maintained used boats come from? Who do you think keeps quality builders in business these days: singlehanded circumnavigators or wealthy people who want to have some fun with their friends?

Doesn’t upset me at all, was trying to explain what I think people that are buying new, expensive boats are looking for now.
As I said, I don’t know who buys a new Oyster, I meant that literally.

My boat was 27 when I bought her, she had zero cruising equipment, zero, not even a windlass or autopilot. One owner was I believe the only ones that used her, daysailing out of Hilton Head.
The engine had I believe around 500 hours on it, my boat was most certainly a Marina Queen

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by Polux

I don't buy it, I mean somebody is going to buy it and this is a way of making a complete reformulation of the company firing all the employees to contract again only the ones they want.............................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .......... ..............................Probably it will become a smaller company specialized even more on the luxury sector of yachting and a more profitable one:

"the quintessentially British brand announced an order book in excess of £80m worth of business only a few months ago. "
Read more at 'Oyster Yachts goes into liquidation' - Yachting Monthly

I agree Polux. This smells of a dodge of commitments to both their long term employees and the kamikaze contracts they probably signed and received deposits on in the last year.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Yes, I think you may have it.

The idea of a mass produced basically disposable boat has reached the 50+ foot and 60+ foot ranges only recently. Examples are the Hanse 575 and the CNB boats -- the "McMansions" of sailing yachts.

Given that the "disposable" boat still has a lifespan exceeding the cruising life of most potential buyers...Not much value in spending 2-3 times as much for extra years you will never use.

Reality is if a quarter of the people who lament the loss had gone out and bought one, they likely would still be in business.

This also links back to a recent thread performance where I was berated for stating the obvious that most new boat buyers aren't sailing purists willing to drift along at 2-3kts just so they can say they sailed it. If you an afford a new large cruising boat, a few gallons of diesel to maintain 5-7kts is a no brainier. The new boat buying sailing purist is the rare duck and usually has so many particulars that they go custom or semi-custom.

[44'cruisingcat]

Sad news.

[Pete7]

Something spooked the Dutch backers, be interesting to here what the problem was if they really have orders for £80m, or was that just marketing hype to try and show a profitable business before this winters round of European boat shows?

Pete

[double u]

...so saaaad...we would have needed more of those!

[Kristoff21]

Something clearly hasn't been right for a while at Oyster. The business was sold for £70m by its founder in 2008, then sold again a few years later for £15m and then..... bump.

I think that keel incident really, really, hurt them. The fallout from that made it look like the new owners were building boats under the Oyster name, rather than building boats to the Oyster standard. That boat did't hit anything, it wasn't grounded, the keel just fell off due to poor design and construction. They tried to hush it up but the pics spoke for themselves. Did you also see the sate of the extra tone of ballast that was literally dumped in the bow too? Looked seriously shoddy.

I see lots of Oysters around the south coast of the UK and in the med, always think they look great. Shame this has happened to the workforce.

The business must have sad serious problems though, I mean boat sales generally are quite healthy and interest rates in the UK have never been lower. The mini-rich are getting richer at the moment. If Oyster have gone under now, they'd have stood no chance at all in a more "normal" economic period.