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Anyone going to the Newport show this year?

Can't believe it's next weekend!

I could be persuaded. I always think I want to go and then forget about it until a week or so afterwards.

-Britton

I think about it sometimes, too, but then I could be using that time to be working on my boat now that it's under cover....

...but then I could be using that time to be working on my boat...

Doh! ;-)

-Britton

I keep saying, "Next year"...but then next year comes and I find myself overburdened and unable to get away--or at least I don't allow myself the time away. Last year it was the daysailor...this year the house construction.

Next year...

bcooke wrote:

...but then I could be using that time to be working on my boat...

Doh! ;-)

-Britton

Feeling a little guilty, are we? hehe

Last year when my boat was docked in Annapolis, and my work on it was restricted to long weekend trips from NH, I did take a day out to go to the Annapolis Boat Show, and I think it was worthwhile. I got to talk to the makers of much of the various gear on my boat and get their advice on some of the problems I had and pick up their catalogs or other literature, and I got to talk to local vendors and service providers.

My question for the Newport show is how many northern New England (e.g. Boston to Bar Harbor) vendors and service providers are likely to be exhibiting? That's what would make it worthwhile for me now.

I'm sure the exhibitor list is available online. There will be some boston-bar harbor folks there of course, but you'll find a much higher concentration at the Maine Boatbuilders Show (January-ish).

I'll probably also hit the Annapolis show in October.

I'm incorrigible.

Figment wrote: ...the Maine Boatbuilders Show (January-ish).

Actually, that's mid-to late March.

Riiiiiiight. it's (primarily) indoor, so my mind glommed it in with the midwinter shows.

I'll be there salivating over modern (to be) plastic classics and tramping around other peoples boats (How do manufacturers persuade new boat owners to exhibit their new boats like this and have strangers trapsing through them ????).

But then for us it's only 25 minutes from the marinaso I'll take Friday off and sail Sat / Sun when the show will be swamped.

M

MarkWilme wrote:How do manufacturers persuade new boat owners to exhibit their new boats like this and have strangers trapsing through them ????

I think it's usually by offering a special purchase price.

And sometimes, of course, the boats at the show are unsold spec boats, or owned by dealers. (Not usually the expensive ones, though.)

Next time I go to one of the big shows I'll be going on VIP day (usually Thursday). After fighting dock-sinking crowds at Annapolis on "unwashed masses" day, I decided it's worth the additional ticket cost. (Have I ever mentioned before that I dislike crowds? :<) )

It's a lot safer to not go, however...going only makes you want things you can't possibly ever have! That's part of the fun, of course, but still...

Sometimes it's special purchase price.
More often, though, they simply "charter" the boat from the owner for the weekend and it's all about cash.
Other times it's a list of favors. Bring the boat to newport, we'll put you up in a big fancy hotel, the boat will be cleaned stem-to-stern before, during, and after the show, and while it's here we'll take care of your list of minor maintenance/warranty items at no charge.
Plus, a lot of people get a prideful kick out of knowing that their boat is the "showpiece".

Thursday is absolutely the day to go and see what you want to see with a minimum of hassle. The "unwashed masses" days are entertaining, though, and often a bit of an education, hearing the general public's unwashed opinion on a myriad of topics.

Being 12 miles N of Newport we often get the pre show boats in our marina or we get those that have been kicked out of Newport.

This weekend there was (is) a Dufour 365 in a slip in our aisle. Still alot of masking tape on it, not fully riggedetcbut looks like a nice, nice boat - if you like that kid of thing. Unfinished (natural) teak decks, toerails and grad handles, Lewmar folding wheel and a 100% split backstay (ie: right from the mast) that culminates right out on the port and starboard aft corners - that struck me as odd because otherwise you could put nice corner seats in there.

Also when I was walking the docks I realized that the boat 4 slips down is a nice condition Ariel. Don't know the owner though except to wave at as we pass.

M


( I hate the crowds too )

Those who didn't go didn't miss much. The whole place was just saturated in boredom. There was very little new to see. Everyone brought the Old Reliables, the same stuff they've been showing for years. I think it took me less than 90 minutes to walk the whole show. I went with a list of a half-dozen things to buy/research, and I got ONE of them done.

A few fun images, though.....

The Doubloon 36 was interesting, though my brain wants to rename it "Dragoon" for some reason.

Hey, it even had a PAIR of "daysailing iceboxes" in the aft corners of the cockpit!

The world of advertising reaches new frontiers.


This thing was just silly. 35'+ by 6' beam by 6' topsides. Sized for european canals, perhaps?

But at least it was entertaining for a few moments.

Sillier still. I don't think I've ever seen one of these swimming/floating dock things out in a mooring field before. I can't imagine how it's powered out there, so I assume it was temporarily evicted from its usual berth by the boat show. Still, worth a laugh.


Perhaps the silliest of all.

If ever one single detail could scream out "MARINA QUEEN!!!", that's it. Brightwork at the waterline. The height of absurdity.

Hey Figment. That skinny thing I believe is Bob Perry's latest design, the Far Harbour 39. Its a performance cruiser that can be easily stuffed into a shipping container and taken around the world for sailing different venues.

See here: http://www.containeryachts.com/

Ummm... That odd ultra narrow sailboat is the Bob Perry designed Far Harbour 39. Its a "Container Crusier".

The odd dimensions are dicated by the dimensions of the shipping container itself. By shipping container, I meant those steel boxes that get loaded on ships and sent over the oceans to whatever point of destination there is in the world.

The concept was to design the largest size sailboat that could fit in a shipping container and ship it around the world. The cost of doing this is lower than shipping by delivery (for LONG distances) and shipping by ship (not in container but strapped in cradles, loaded on ships).

I don't know if the concept will catch on. Its an interesting concept, though. Bob Perry had to design with very specific dimensions and he says it was a very successful design (performance within the limited dimensions the container dicated). It sails and motors well. It is really a motorsailer, albeit one that moves decently in light air.

The website for the Far Harbour 39 is here....

http://www.containeryachts.com/

(Edited - when I wrote this, Cesar Choppy beat me to the punch but I decided to leave what I said, even though its reundant)

- Case

Sometimes form follows function a little too closely, I think. That thing was just plain goofy.

I wonder if anyone did a cost comparison for shipping the Far Harbour abroad and back vs just chartering a boat at the destination?

I followed the link to the Doubloon 36 that Figment provided with the picture. It too is designed to fit inside a standard 40' steel container. It has much better lines, although I personally think the cockpit coamings may look a little too far outboard.

I would imagine the interior volume is much smaller though.

Interesting to compare two totally different approaches to a similar problem.

Figment wrote:Sometimes form follows function a little too closely, I think. That thing was just plain goofy.

I wonder if anyone did a cost comparison for shipping the Far Harbour abroad and back vs just chartering a boat at the destination?

I suspect it comes out close... but then with the container boat, you get to take it where you want without the charterer's restrictions etc. I think they talk about that in their promo materials.

I've seen Bob Perry talk about this boat and was surprised by how enthusiastic he is about it. Not THAT surprised I guess. It does look a little scary head-on. On the otherhand, with a beam under 8 feet, you can tow it without needing permits which is kinda cool.

Now there's a worthy next project for Tim - the "Container Triton".

Figment wrote:I wonder if anyone did a cost comparison for shipping the Far Harbour abroad and back vs just chartering a boat at the destination?

In case anyone is interested, there was a lengthy thread on it on the CSBB (Cruising Sailors' Bulletin Board) within the last couple of weeks. Bob P. himself weighed in a number of times; he was quite happy with the boat and its light air performance.

There was also general discussion of costs of various types of transport. I'm at work right now, so no time to find the link.

I had seen a few photos of the boat, but none that really showed how skinny it is!

--- R.

I saw the boat at the Newport show - wow, surprised it doesn't just tip over !!!

Also, it's a short stubby mast, probably because that has to fit inside the container too

Container Crusier

Good grief. Next thing you know, boats'll be popping out of those "blackberry" thingies, summoned over the wireless network.

The boat may perform well, but it's like living in one half of a catamaran. No thanks. I note that the website calls it a "motorsailer".

I assume the keel and rudder need to be removed for shipment. That would add a bit to the optimistig $5000 shipping cost shown on the flash presentation on the website home page.

(I just briefly browsed...the answers may be on that site somewhere.)

Interestingly, the bow-on shot looks just like another Bob Perry design---the very narrow and high-freeboarded Saga 43.

Interestingly we saw the "Crocs boat" at the start of the Newport to Bermuda - see pic.




Wonder what those sails cost ?

Figment wrote:
The Doubloon 36 was interesting, though my brain wants to rename it "Dragoon" for some reason.

Rummaging through boatshow papers last night I found the brochure and discovered WHY my brain wants to call it the "Dragoon". That's what it's called. For some reason, Sail magazine called it the "Doubloon" and then the rest of the internet followed suit.

Wacky.

Figment wrote: Rummaging through boatshow papers last night I found the brochure and discovered WHY my brain wants to call it the "Dragoon". That's what it's called.

Don't you love it when your brain comes through like that?

R.

I noticed the website called it both.

Summersdawn wrote:I noticed the website called it both.

It amazes me that significant errors like that could ever make it into a print brochure or website, especially one sponsored by the actual company. It's bad enough when the errors happen in some other third-party media.

It seems that editing is a thing of the past now. I see this sort of error, among others, all the time. It really diminishes things for me, somehow. I can't take a company seriously if their own literature contains ridiculous errors.

It is depressing... but perhaps they got confused on "Talk Like a Pirate Day" and that is why they called the Dragoon the Doubloon.

Tim wrote:It amazes me that significant errors like that could ever make it into a print brochure or website....... It seems that editing is a thing of the past now.... I can't take a company seriously if their own literature contains ridiculous errors.

Oh I so agree with you, Tim. I see a billboard with only about six words on it and one is wrong. "Hello! Can you proofread SIX words, for Pete's sake?"

I'm the same way about companies: If I see grammatical or factual errors - or even just poor writing - in their advertising material, I just can't see them as a quality outfit.

*feels rant coming on*

And don't even think I'm going to buy anything from a tool company that advertises with bikini babes (if Porter-Cable is doing this, please don't tell me about it because I still want a 7335 sander), and/or any number of other stupid advertising themes.

I couldn't believe it when even Jamestown Distributors had a suggestive cover shot on one of their flyers in the past year. I mean, not that there's anything wrong with such things, but is it really necessary in that case?

But the typos are still worse.

On the bright side, at least there are folks to commiserate with here :-)

*turns rant off in order to go read the rest of the new postings*

--- R.

The jamestown cover was a stock image on loan from one of their vendors. Festool, or Fein, I can't remember which.

Just last night a political ad ran on TV with text accusing that a particular candidate "tows the party line" on this issue or that. ugh.

Ceasar Choppy wrote:perhaps they got confused on "Talk Like a Pirate Day" and that is why they called the Dragoon the Doubloon.

Arrrrgh!

Figment wrote:Just last night a political ad ran on TV with text accusing that a particular candidate "tows the party line" on this issue or that. ugh.

Oh for crying out loud.

I hope that doesn't get caught in their prop *snicker*

--- R.

OK, this is all great, but I did NOT see where Concordia Yachting called their D36 a "Doubloon" -- the brochure I downloaded only called it a "Dragoon."

It was the Sailing magazine Launchings column that called it a "Doubloon" (and not Dragoon)

Summersdawn wrote:I noticed the website called it both.

So, which website?

My mistake - I was looking at both the Sailing magazine Launchings column (Doubloon), and Concordia web page (Dragoon).

I was looking at the Interlux "Boat painting guide and color card" today.
Page 4:

"Our most frequently asked topsides question:"
"How do I apply a non-skid deck finish?"

And from dictionary.com:

top‧side Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[top-sahyd] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation

?noun 1. the upper side.
2. Usually, topsides. Nautical. the outer surface of a hull above the water.
3. the most authoritative position or level.
4. Chiefly British. a cut of beef similar to a U.S. rump roast. Compare silverside (def. 1).
5. British. the top or outer side of a round of beef; beef from the outer thigh of a butchered cow.
?adjective
6. of, pertaining to, or located on the topside.
7. of the most authoritative rank.
?adverb
8. Also, topsides. up on the deck: He left the engine room and went topside.
9. to, toward, or at the topside.

Interlux and #8 don't help the cause of those of us that prefer #2.

A lot of chemicals go into LPU. I suspect the Interlux copy editor spent too much time on the factory floor.