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scarlet · 13-10-2014, 17:21

I'm sure you guys are all DYING to hear what I thought of the show.. right???

****crickets****

Well.. you are getting my review anyway!!

Here are my random thoughts:

1. Annapolis is a beautiful town! what a wonderful venue for the show. If anyone hasn't been there.. GO!

2. Why don't they use "gang planks"?! There were several beautiful boats that we wanted to go on, but, frankly... we literally couldn't get ON the boats! They had them docked so far away from the docks.. and with such a huge drop from the dock to the first step, that neither Scott or I could get on them. (I'm only 4' 13"... and Scott is still recovering from a VERY bad break)

3. You guys have let me DOWN!!! I thought you were my friends!!! How could you let me go to my second show without correcting my pronunciation of "Outremer"!!! I thought it was "OWT-reemer" but, it's not. It's "OOOT- rih-MARE". and you have to say it with a sexy french accent! I had to learn that the hard way

4. One of the boats I was dying to see was the new FP Saba. Couldn't WAIT to see it. Until I saw it.. .then all I wanted to do was get OFF of it!!

How is it possible that a 50 foot boat can feel tooo small?!?! The outside areas and the salon were ok... but the hulls?! I literally couldn't get off of it fast enough..

5. The second boat I was dying to see, as many of you know.. is the Balance 451... There really are not enough words to describe how disappointed I was in that boat. I was standing in the port hull, and within my limited view there were 5 different kind of (mismatched) woods. It looked like they grabbed whatever was laying around the garage and used it in the boat. I looked at the plumbing and the caulk around the toilet looked like a 3 year old put it on.. and I could literally wiggle the toilet free of the hull... The boat was scuffed and dirty. very poor quality build. It looks like they threw it together with bits and pieces just to get it to the show. Phil Berman was actually there. I introduced myself to him, and talked with him a bit.. and then listened to him to talk to other people as I was exploring the cat... and I heard him say a half dozen times.. "we used that material because it was cheaper... we did it that way.. because it was cheaper.. we didn't do that, because it was cheaper".. Get my drift? I'm sorry, Phil.. but you boat was a piece of crap! blech!! (this is my opinion only and does not reflect the opinion of anyone but myself... oh, and I apologize for my candor.. I tend to say exactly what I think.. )

6. I also had a chance to explore some other boats that I hadn't really seen before. In fact.. I really liked the Antares that was there. I LIKED it a lot! We've always talked about a galley down boat.. but, it was good to really get to experience one. We saw the good and the bad of that configuration, and really enjoyed spending time on it.

7. AND.. here is the best part.

I finally got a chance to SAIL on a catamaran!!! We tried to do that at Miami.. and didn't get a chance. We sailed on a Nautitech, and we really loved the experience. I'm sure I drove the captain crazy because I asked him HUNDREDS of questions. And after our sail, we are more excited than before about moving forward with our plans.

8. I also spent 4 hours in a multihull forum, sponsored by "OOOT- rih-MARE", and it was wonderful! I learned so much about different kinds of catamarans... sailing configurations.. engines... power usage.. watermakers... blue water passages... living aboard. It was really a great experience and well worth our $25.00 to attend. I highly recommend doing something like that at a show.

9. Lastly? we had a BLAST!!!!!!! I'm so on fire about sailing, I can hardly stand to be in the same room with myself..

Anyway... I hope I didn't offend anyone.. I'm anxious to hear what everyone else thought!

truckman · 13-10-2014, 17:44

Yes the balance was a piece of crap.

Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

SearenitySail · 13-10-2014, 17:45

Scarlett,

Thanks for the summary. Didn't get a chance to go this year--probably would have gone if we could have gotten a B&B, but we waited too long.

Your summary mentioned only four catamarans--surely you were on more than that!

Stop holding back!

Marshall

scarlet · 13-10-2014, 18:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by SearenitySail

Scarlett,

Thanks for the summary. Didn't get a chance to go this year--probably would have gone if we could have gotten a B&B, but we waited too long.

Your summary mentioned only four catamarans--surely you were on more than that!

Stop holding back!

Marshall

TOO FUNNY!!

I did go on LOTS of Catamarans! We went on ALL the Lagoons.. ALL of the Leopards (there was only one leopard there from the manufacturer.. but there were several from charter companies. ) We also saw all the FP's . We went on the Outremers.. Maverick... we even went on the Neel Trimaran!

We still absolutely LOVE the Helia, and that is our number one boat right now. It is beautiful.. a good balance between live-abilit, and performance. It is really a wonderful boat.

we also LOVE the Leopard 46...oops.. I'm sorry.. I think it was the 48.. I can't remember which one we were on that we really liked.

The Lagoon 450 is also a favorite.. although we had many debates on the fly bridge.

We were lucky enough to go to a broker's dock, and we went on a lagoon 400 and a lagoon 420. USED! it was great to see a few used boats so we can see something other than the shiny new ones.

BandB · 13-10-2014, 18:31

Love your candid review. We've had the experience of looking at boats that we had certain anticipation for and all we could say was "Ugh" or words that can't be printed here. We tried to figure out after if it was our expectation that was bad or just the boat.

We're not sailors but have sailed on catamarans in Annapolis, Fort Lauderdale and just today sailed on one in San Francisco. An exhilarating experience with skilled crew and good winds and conditions. We'll stick to power for ownership, but will continue to occasionally sail with friends or charter a crewed boat for a day.

cwjohm · 13-10-2014, 19:41

Quote:

We still absolutely LOVE the Helia, and that is our number one boat right now. It is beautiful.. a good balance between live-abilit, and performance. It is really a wonderful boat.

You obviously have good taste in boats.

scarlet · 13-10-2014, 20:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by cwjohm

You obviously have good taste in boats.

as do YOU my friend!!!!!

Helia 44 · 13-10-2014, 22:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by scarlet

TOO FUNNY!!

We still absolutely LOVE the Helia, and that is our number one boat right now. It is beautiful.. a good balance between live-abilit, and performance. It is really a wonderful boat.

we also LOVE the Leopard 46...oops.. I'm sorry.. I think it was the 48.. I can't remember which one we were on that we really liked.

Scarlet, the Helia 44 was my choice, looking at everything available. I wanted to get a Production boat to avoid all the pitfalls of one of projects that would like to do about 15 things differently if they had the chance..

But you do not discover those things until you live with a Custom one... But anyway, the Helia was my own choice after seeing everything available. Most Brokers will give you a virtual tour over the internet, walking through the boat... I chose the Helia 44. It has still not been beaten by anything I have seen.. You have good taste. Mine is a 2013, and the woodwork is a shade darker golden... But other than that very similar to the 2014 in every other way.

At the Sydney Show in Darling Harbour, I got to see the Leopard 48 for the first time. It was a LOT OF BOAT.. However, I did not like the fact that from the helm I could not see the port bow. I mean I am 6'1" and I could not see the port hull forward at all. I visited twice over two days, lots of room. But I could not get over that and was disappointed. Me personally I wanted the galley in the bridge deck main salon like the Helia and the Leopards have... But the Leopard 48 was out, and to be truthful I could not personally make use of the forward cockpit and overhang, it seemed a bit of a waste.

I am disappointed in your report on the Saba 50... The first on to come to Australia will be here for the Sanctuary Cove Boat Show about May next year. I was hoping it was going to be a Helia 44 on steroids, but evidently not?? That is a surprise as it looks like a big Helia.

I am happy with my Helia, still the best. Good luck in your search, and let me know if you want to sound something out.

BTW, I bought my Helia at a Show. First three hours, first day, the Broker was in a bit of cash flow bind, and I negotiated a very good buy. I would never have gotten it if I slept on the idea as there was another Buyer that afternoon, and another one flew in from Noumea the next morning. All in all they sold at least 4, 5 counting a consortium purchase for Hamilton Island Resort, so I did very well at a "Boat Show". It was a Blessing..

Helia

Good luck to you in your choices.

OneEye · 13-10-2014, 23:03

I thought the Helia was the best Cat at the show (I'm not counting the Gunboats). I love the hull space and the lounging fly-bridge. Like you, I wasn't impressed with the interior hull size of the Saba, it had super narrow doorways (that I couldn't understand the purpose of).

I was able to go out on Saturday on a Lagoon 380, there was absolutely no wind, which was quite a shame.

Here are some of my pics from the show:

Annapolis Images | SV Sprocket

bletso · 14-10-2014, 03:37

IMO, I saw an awful lot of cookie cutter boats. These new boats just seem to be lacking character. I would also hope that the prices listed were more of a wish than a reality. Insane prices for lack of quality. Still, as always, spent way too much from the tents. The show is great as shows go. Where else can you get so much information at one go? Add to that Annapolis is a great place to visit.
On a side not, I sure was impressed with one wood boat - 92ft or so, beautiful workmanship and only 5.5 million!

SV Bonzi · 14-10-2014, 04:00

It was our first time and fell in love with the town. Like most, the boats I really wanted to see did not hold up to my expectations. My wife and I fell in love with the Outbound 46, I think it was. The best part was when my 16 year old son would ask questions to some of the production boat guys like "how come there are no handholds here?", "Why are the life lines so low?", and finally his best comment "This looks like a bad design to me, can you explain why it is this way? Is it because it looks better than being functional?".
Our only mistake was we did not give ourselves enough time to explore more of the town, but we had a blast.

Joe

**HappyMdRSailor** · 14-10-2014, 04:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by scarlet

I'm sure you guys are all DYING to hear what I thought of the show.. right???

****crickets****

Well.. you are getting my review anyway!!

Here are my random thoughts:

9. Lastly? we had a BLAST!!!!!!! I'm so on fire about sailing, I can hardly stand to be in the same room with myself..

Scarlet.... YOU KILL ME!!!

And I thought you were fired up at the last show... My computer screen is actually pulsating a bit...

Glad you had fun... Glad you got to weed out the undesirables... Glad you are part of CF...

If I ever invite you to a dinner party, there will be a non dissemination contract to sign on the entry table...