Docklands Boat Show - Melbourne

[Gordon]

Hi All,
We will have our Orana 44 on display at the Docklands Boat Show so come along and say Hi and introduce yourself.

Regards Gordon.

[rexd666]

Will do, was debating if I would go or not as it looked a little more like a tinny show than sail.
Steve

[Golden Wattle]

Originally Posted by Gordon

Hi All,
We will have our Orana 44 on display at the Docklands Boat Show so come along and say Hi and introduce yourself.

Regards Gordon.

Hi Gordon,
Will hopefully see you there on the Sunday.

Cheers

[Factor]

I'll be there with Seawind and Corsair, - will Steve be on your stand Gordon?

[Gordon]

Hi Factor,
We have our boat on the Multihull Solutions stand displaying the Fountaine Pajot, Catana and Sunreef catamaran range.
No Steve just Richard Kilburn , Rachel and myself.

Gordon.

[Kenif]

I'll be there and I will look at the multi's just for fun.

Then I'll go over and look at the mono's.

Then I'll go home and talk to the finance manager again.

Then I'll retire to the back yard and rack up some more brownie points.

Living in Hope

Ken

[ausaviator]

I'll be there on Sunday for a look-see. Looking forward to the guided tour of the Orana :-)

I will look at the FP 44 and Catana, then dribble all over them, Gordon will polish off the dribble and I will attempt to convince the significant other that we can afford the FP that I've been looking at. I will continue gabbering until sleep time, she will go to sleep whilst I'm still talking about it and I will lie there thinking about it and the next morning I'll go to work and she will hope that I've forgotten about by the time I get home on Monday night.

[sctpc]

It was a good day But very small this year I will skip the next one 1mill boats just get the missus asking for one.

[Kenif]

Went Friday arvo and watched the front come in.
Very dissappointed in the amount of boats.
I kept away from the mobo's and the multi's but did look at the mono's.

Of interest to me where the Hanse 35, Elan (no 350 but the smaller one) and the Oceanis 34. I had a loo at the Firsts but jst too 'racer' for me.

Have to say I was unexpectedly surprised by the Benny 34. Great fitout and very good price. Don't know what the sailing performance figures are but worth looking into.

[Factor]

Just back home in Brisbane - three interesting days, not a lot of people, but what there were had a high percentage of genuine people interested in exploring the products. Small show, but worthwhile from our point of view.

[ausaviator]

A few photos from the weekend.

If anyone is interested I have a few inside pics from the FP Orana 44, Lagoon 38, Lagoon 40, Seawind 1150 & 1250. PM me and I can email to you or post here if you prefer.

As I had only really had experiences on a Seawind 1000, my takeaways from viewing the different boats were from a first time, first hand experience with no pre-conceived ideas.

- The floor of the FP could be better secured. It lifts up at the edges when you walk around
- Build quality on the Lagoon, FP & Seawinds are all very similar with no stand-outs
- The FP and Lagoon have more roomy Salons and as such can easily accommodate galley up
- I felt that the Seawind owners that thought the galley down was a better idea were only saying so because the Salon is not big enough for the galley
- Whilst the Seawind has full headroom, everything seems low, bench height, seat etc. It would feel strange if you were a tall person and spending a long time in there
- The Lagoon 38 owners version was a great use of space in the owners side - very large considering the length of the vessel. You can't walk around the bed at the rear, however this makes for a large bed area
- The Lagoon guest side had a single head whereas the Orana 44 had 2 heads. Would prefer a single head on that side as this allows for pretty much a full sized shower
- The Seawind 1250 struggled a little for height above the forward bunks. It is probably ok in reality but could be a problem for larger people
- The Seawind hulls do seem narrow when walking around in them, but understood that this may help with performance
- Seawind engine access behind the shower in the port hull was a worry for maintenance purposes, I can see a heck of a mess come service time at sea
- Whilst I feel I should buy Australian, the Seawinds are priced out of the market considering a Lagoon 38 can be $420k new or a little more
- It's amazing where the extra 2 feet go between the Lagoon 38 and 40. The bathroom up front alone seems to have an extra 2 feet in it

[rexd666]

Had a quick look around, only went on board the larger cats. Took the wife for her first time aboard a cat, few nervous moments at the edge of dock. I am pretty sure I will be building, so there for ideas and see what production boats are like.
Loved
I think it was the Orana with the offset bulkheads in the owners cabin to rear cockpit, will be pinching that idea.
Rainwater collection on Orana again I think
Elevated helms, but I think I would want permanent protection not just bimini.
Seawind folding door
Not so sure
Bathrooms in middle of hulls, made the walkways very narrow, too narrow for my shoulders.
Galley Down On a Seawind couldn't open the freezer with wife and I in the galley, can't help but think a top entry would work better than the swing out.
Monos

All I can think of for now.
Best thing of all is wife is keen to come to SC show now, so booking that this week.

Last of all thanks to all the owners and companies exhibiting.

[Factor]

Hi Ausaviator - should have introduced yourself, maybe you did and I was just busy busy, if so sorry. Like I said it was a small show but from our point of view very good. Its also good to catch up with the guys from Multihull Solutions and Steve from Lagoon. WE all chat a lot but usually only see each other at shows.

Couple of points:

Originally Posted by ausaviator

- I felt that the Seawind owners that thought the galley down was a better idea were only saying so because the Salon is not big enough for the galley

A galley up is available for the 1250.

- The Seawind 1250 struggled a little for height above the forward bunks. It is probably ok in reality but could be a problem for larger people

Depends what you mean by larger - Im 194 cms and 105 kgs and its fine for me.

- Seawind engine access behind the shower in the port hull was a worry for maintenance purposes, I can see a heck of a mess come service time at sea

Many schools of thought here - no right or wrong answer - like most things in boats. Access from where they are at least means that they are accessible in a storm turbulent sea condition. Access from the transom area means less chance for mess and easier access, but creates its own problems if you are standing on the bottom step in a violent following sea. Like I said - pluses and minuses both ways. The best rear deck access I have seen is on the Lightwave 45 - its easy to get to and far enough from the transom to be protected.

- Whilst I feel I should buy Australian, the Seawinds are priced out of the market considering a Lagoon 38 can be $420k new or a little more

Bloody exchange rates. its what happens when we go up with the aussie dollar - today 1 euro costs 1.34 australian - a year ago the 1 euro cost $1.58 and two years ago a euro cost 2.07 australian. So without the seawind or the euro boats moving in price at the factory door at all, then a say 200K euro boat would have cost 400k australian at the factory door two years ago, and now its say $270K australian for exactly the same boat - and this has a consequential flow on to duty/gst when the boat enters australia.

[paulrack]

Thanks for the pics, two questions, is it the Lagoon with the last picture, it does not seem to have a ladder to get back onto the sugar scoop after a swim. I wonder if that is an extra.

What are peoples experience of the chain going along the length of fibreglass on the central walkway. On other boats where I have seen this it seems to look a mess after a while with scratches and rust marks.

[ausaviator]

Certainly looks like that Lagoon 38 does not have a ladder. The handles look like an alternative method for extracting ones-self from the water though....

The other cats had the ladders off as they were reversed into the dock and they would have bent if left on there.

Galley Down On a Seawind couldn't open the freezer with wife and I in the galley, can't help but think a top entry would work better than the swing out.

Interesting comment as I think in the 1150 it does have a top opening fridge / freezer, but in the 1250 they changed it.