The most favorite boat award goes to, without any questions, the Finnish built Nauticat 321. Amazing boat in so many ways, every single detail of the boat is carefully thought of, analyzed and built right. We were blown away by the quality of both the structure, exterior and interior.
The layout is bit unusual, it is a pilothouse boat more common in northern Europe than the U.S., but we liked it nevertheless. She sleeps 6 without having to do any conversions.
Some things we didn't like included the very high price (she could be had for a show special price of $220k), lack of GPS, lack of in-mast furling and some minor things (whatsup with those one-speed winches ? Is it hard to put a two speed or better on a boat that costs almost quarter of a million)
Mike of Prestige Yacht Sales of Stamford, CT has the listing.
Bavaria 33 Cruiser came close to Nauticat in the quality of the build, this was a new model which we haven't seen before. Large manufacturers tend to replace popular boat models every few years, for one reason or another, and from what I understood 33 is a replacement of a very popular 32. The figures are somewhat misleading because 33 is actually 35 feet in length. This boat had the best space management of any boats we have seen on the show. The layouts are thought off, organized with german precision, the boat left a very good impression overall.
This is a cruiser/racer, which could be a good thing or a bad thing. People who look for just cruising shouldn't look at Bavarias, these boats are narrow, sit deep (at almost 7 feet draft these are the deepest boats in the category). These boats are fast with sail area at ~700 feet and mast sticking up at almost 50 feet. I absolutely loved this boat, the couple next to us absolutely hated it.
Catalinas were omnipresent, as expected. It is amazing how badly these things are built. It is also amazing that people buy them. Structuraly the boat is, shall we say,feels flimsy, the interior leaves impression of a Wal-mart in Lynn, and yet these remain popular with the boating public. It is a mystery because Catalinas are not cheap either. The price of a Catalina 36 is comparable to any of the similar class Bavarias and Hunters.
Hunters were a step above from Catalinas. We semi-liked Hunter 36, the interior left a good impression with teak throughout, matching grains, good layouts. The exterior is borrowing heavily from europeans, with step through transoms, rotating steering wheels, they even started using kevlar throughout, similar to bavarias. Nice quality, solid boat overall. What we didn't like were mostly the small things, the welded shut hatches and portholes, el cheapo plastics, trying to save a little $$ here and there.
Jeanneaus and Beneteaus had a big display, 20+ boats on show. We checked every single one of them. We liked Jeanneau Odyssey 35 (except the fact that one never knows how to properly pronounce the name) and Beneteau 343. They are similar to each other, even though they are designed by different architects (Marc Lombard designed Odyssey and Berret designed Beneteau) . Both are fast cruiser/racers, very comfortable to sail for both the crew and the passengers. Beneteau has finally gone away with their trademark dark interiors, the boat is much better appointed and better lit. There is a reason Jeanneae Group sells more boats than any other manufacturer in the world, and I am sure that quality and good design have to do with it.
IPY or Island Packet Yachts had a new model on the display, the IPY 370. I understand why people buy those things, by the same token I understand why people buy RV's. It is a very comfortable cruiser designed for senior citizen crowd, she is a large, very wide, very heavy, very shallow boat that I will never set my foot into. It was interesting to see the electronics though, as IPY's are stuffed with various gadgets and widgets.
The most hideous, repulsive boat on show was, without any doubts, Stevens Custom 53. Designed by Robert Perry, chinese built, marketed by Stevens, this thing was ugly. There should a nautical law against boats like that. The thing looked like a brick with a mast sticking in the middle, fishing poles welded to the transom for some unknown reason, and whole bunch of other random things that shouldn't be on a sailboat.
I will post post some pictures when have time.
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On iPod: Off
