Annapolis Sailboat Show Observations

[Zzmeyer]

These are opinions, not facts. Some aren’t even my opinions. Here are some observations relative to some recent popular CF threads.

Amel versus Beneteau (or Jeanneau, Dufour, Bavaria, Hanse or other volume production boats). The Amel 50 was the boat of the show for me. Incredible finish and workmanship. As she sat it was twice the price of any of the production 50s comparable equipped. I doubt anyone struggled with the decision between the two. They are different in every way. I think a better comparison would be with the other high value, low volume boats there like the Hylas, Passport, and Outbound. I thought all three suffered from the fact that, as low volume producers, their offerings were dated relative to newer boats as the design and retooling costs per unit is high. They did all have deck salon topsides to open up the interiors. But, for example, all three had relatively small cockpits. The Amel cockpit, even though a center cockpit, was quite large. I really liked the Hylas 48 and it was quite a bit less expensive than the Amel. Glad I didn’t have to make that decision.

I counted over one billion catamaran manufacturers. Seven from South Africa alone. A number of them I never heard of. I wonder what happens to a number of them during the next recession and what happens to progress payments of boats not completed. CF has a nice thread on the Beneteau Excess. The Excess 12 IS the Lagoon 40. Every specification is almost identical, they look the same, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t share some of the molds. The only difference was the helm position. I didn’t like the helm on the Nautitech or the Catana as I believe they have a big blind spot having to look through several sets of windows to see much of the forward part of the boat. It was worse on the Excess as there was less window space and more structural members to block the views. I guess that is why the reverse stem on some boats – sort of like the cow catcher on steam engines. They are used to push dinghies, kayakers and SUPs aside rather than under the hull.

I learned that very few of the 3 million people there each day were planning on spending $500k to $1,000 on a new boat. Talking to both a Jeanneau dealer and a Beneteau dealer they did say that more than half the new boat buyers are first time boat buyers. I had previously been told that 5 of 6 boats sold by them over 60 feet in San Diego were by first time owners. What could go wrong here?

Lots of evolutionary electronics, but no Tesla moment developments that I saw. How about a “self docking” boat? Mount a few sensors, software, a bow thruster, a dock n go system, some electronic controls and you would have it.

[Nicholson58]

Amel is a live aboard passage maker. It’s not made to be a dock queen or day sail toy. Their essential hardware is easy to reach and service and they are laid out for comfort and function. There is an Amel dock in Marin, Martinique with dozens of these.

[B23iL23]

Originally Posted by Zzmeyer

...Amel versus Beneteau (or Jeanneau, Dufour, Bavaria, Hanse or other volume production boats). The Amel 50 was the boat of the show for me. Incredible finish and workmanship. As she sat it was twice the price of any of the production 50s comparable equipped. I doubt anyone struggled with the decision between the two...

Amel have really upped their game. Prior to the 50, I would never have considered them but now I'm in the process of getting the 50. The attention to detail, the bright interiors and the focus on short handed and ease of maintenance is one of the big reasons.

Originally Posted by Zzmeyer

..They did all have deck salon topsides to open up the interiors. But, for example, all three had relatively small cockpits. The Amel cockpit, even though a center cockpit, was quite large. I really liked the Hylas 48 and it was quite a bit less expensive than the Amel. Glad I didn’t have to make that decision...

I've said it before - 95% of time is spent at anchor vs on passage so a big cockpit is a necessity. It's where you spend most of your time and you need space to stretch out or entertain.

Originally Posted by Zzmeyer

..
...I guess that is why the reverse stem on some boats – sort of like the cow catcher on steam engines. They are used to push dinghies, kayakers and SUPs aside rather than under the hull.

Ha. Always wondered why they designed them like that!

[scandium]

Originally Posted by Zzmeyer

Lots of evolutionary electronics, but no Tesla moment developments that I saw. How about a “self docking” boat? Mount a few sensors, software, a bow thruster, a dock n go system, some electronic controls and you would have it.

uhm, this already exists.. (sort of)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAN_rQM3rr8

Though i don't see why, the challenge of docking is some of the most fun and rewarding part of boating..