Auckland Internatioal BoatShow

[Gappy 9]

Marshy you should have just said you were with tit's and everyone would understand how dodgy a guy u were with ha

[Guest]

Interesting comments made by 2 separate couples that have come in this morning.

 

Boats are generally known as toys for 'him' even though most hims have a her attached and that her does buy stuff for boats. Sure unlikely it'll be 1000hp engines, new set of instruments and the like but they very often have a lot of input into things inside the boat like stoves, decor and stuff like that.

 

Both people said there was nothing at the show catering for the hers that may do that. Both hers of the 2 couples this AM said they went for 2 reasons, one was to suss new bits for their boats (like the stuff noted above) yet there was feck all to nothing to be seen. The other reason both went was to make sure the He didn't come home with a new boat

 

And the other usual comment, which has been the same for too many years - water water everywhere yet knot a thing moving on it. Everything is static.

[wheels 543]

Just got home from the show. Arrived at opening time this morning and spent the entire day there. Lots of questions asked and answered. Some not with words, but attitude and that was not a positive one either. But many many very helpful and great attitudes and great products.

So from the start, we entered through the Halsey st entrance. First area was Altex, Outboard motors and lots of the shiny top end Bling that was aimed more toward the boys that play in the big pond. Infact the first time walking through that area, I was thinking I hope it is not all like this because it's out of my league or of no interest and I walked on through till I came to Burnsco, which was doing nothing any different to what they have in their shop, so why bother. I don't get that with retailers going to shows. Make it worth while for goodness sake. Show off some new product or do some super show specials. Don't just create another branch of your shop.

Enertec was full of lots of info for me. Very good prices on their solar panels, lots of knowledge and information. Wish I had the money for their Genset. Which speaking of Gensets, I was disapointed not to see Wispergen at the show.

Being in the hunt for an Autopilot that has an auto tack feature, only one manufacturer has it and that is Comnav supplied by CSL who are also the agents for Koden and Cetrek. The Simrad guy we talked to had to grab someone else and the reply from him was, I have never been asked that before.

Cruzpro have come along way with their instruments. The little instruments that I had always had trouble getting my fat little fingers onto have had a new raised switch thingy that makes it easy to push. The yachting instruments looked OK and actually very OK for the price. They are currently working on an ultrasonic wind direction/speed/airtemp intrument that will be at a good price when they release it and no moving parts. I asked if they ever considered making an AP and it turns out they make one for someone else, but they are not allowed to sell it themselves and have no intention of making one for themselves and he had no idea of what features the thing had.

I found Jono and wow! what an increadible idea with the inflatable with removable chambers. Awesome boat. Great inflatible lifevest with harness. A couple of those are high on the purchase list for us.

I recently got a SeaRecovery watermaker on trademe and well whatta ya know, they had a stand there. But I got very little info form them. I think they were more interested in selling me a knew machine rather than helping me with my current one. And while offering the very little help they did give, they would just ignore me to talk to someone else that walked past. In the end I gave up and walked away. Actually I was surprised at how many outfits sold watermakers. I came across another that turned out they made their own right here in Auckland and what caught my attention, was the highpressure pump they had on display was the exact same pump I had. They turned out to be increadibly helpful and with their help and parts, we should be able to get mine up and running.

After all the stands, we took a look at the yachts. This was what Dawn was busting to see. Out of all the yachts there, the Hanse was her favorite, but even then, there was something seemingly missing. It wasn't till we stepped onto Starlight Express that it clicked. There is a character that is missing in all these new production boats. They are sterile and cold in form. And walking away we once again came back to the "we really like our boat" feeling.

And you know what? I really thought I would lose Dawn with the Fountain Pajot Cat, but she was not all that impressed and that surprised me big time.

The negative side was not enough food or drink. And the acronym BOAT= Bring on another thousand no longer works. I found it was all in ten thousand chunks. Excuse me, How much is the Genset?? "That one is $8K and that one is $14K". Oookeyyy.

Henleys did have the Flexofold prop, and a very nice prop it is, but a 24" prop for my boat was going to cost me $7K.

However, Henleys are now backing there dripless sterngland with a 25yr warranty. Wow!!!! Something else to put on the list.

Something not sail related, but two other companies had a version of Sealegs. Interesting. Not sure how that'll work out for them. But there were certainly not very many people paying any attention to them. Actually in saying that, the powerboat sections seemed to be very quiet. The big boats certainly had the crowds.

[Bad Kitty 252]

Hey Wheels nice write up, bit short of time but just so you know Raymarine autopilot has auto tack on it.

Also if you need water maker parts/help try General Marine Services, great bunch of guys, lots of knowledge & very helpful.

 

Cheers,

[wheels 543]

The new Raymarine series??? Because I was looking at them all and could not see an AT button and when I asked, they told me that feature had been dropped from the new models.

[SloopJohnB 323]

Does the AT feature do the jib sheets as well?

[Bimini Babe 0]

I would have liked to have spent a lot more time wandering around, but my partner was the one who dragged ME away!

 

I agree strongly with Wheels though - it was a bit more BOATT than BOAT... Not really anything to interest the small boat owners/cruisers like us. And perhaps it was the way we were dressed, but we got VERY little attention from most of the folks on the major stands! Most of them looked like they were just standing around with no-one to talk to. If it were me, I would have been grabbing everyone who walked past and getting them to have a look at my newest, coolest gear. I may not be in the market personally, but chances are I'll know someone who just might be...

[Guest]

Thermals - check

Dry suit - check

Scuba gear - check

life jacket - check

life raft - check

 

Yeap, looks like I'm ready to head to the boat show on this glorious morning

[Bad Kitty 252]

The new Raymarine series??? Because I was looking at them all and could not see an AT button and when I asked, they told me that feature had been dropped from the new models.

 

OK they've screwed the pooch with that then!

We've got the ST60+ instruments & the AP matches that, it's the last series before the new range.

Had a bit of a play with their new stuff but at first glance it looks harder to use than the previous model.

[Steve Pope 243]

Only spent 2 hours there, but came away mildly dissapointed, mainly as wheels points out, staff seemed to generally have a lack of interest (actually nothing new there) And or lack of useful knowlege of whatever they were supposed to be selling / representing. noticibly good were the small operators, Hercules Tanks, the vacuum bag man, "Penguin" electric drive in and out of the water/ tow home behind the car folk, Lachlan at Ovlovs 1st class, that was the only big outfit that impressed.

Didn't find Jono, I was in a bit of a rush I didn't realize that there were more exhibits on the Queen street side.

[tuffyluffy 76]

The new Raymarine series??? Because I was looking at them all and could not see an AT button and when I asked, they told me that feature had been dropped from the new models.

 

I cant speak for the new stuff, but my 12 month old 6000 series Raymarine AP has autotack.

 

I wouldnt be surprised if the Lusty and Blundel salespeople didnt know what they were talking about. Theyve put me crook a few times with they're lack of product knowledge

[wheels 543]

And perhaps it was the way we were dressed, but we got VERY little attention from most of the folks on the major stands!

Yeah I honestly thought I was being snubbed because of the way I was dressed. A very silly mistake for any sales person to make with anyone. It's the number two rule in sales. NEVER judge a persons spending power by the clothes they wear.

Interestingly the guy on the stand I had the worse experience with, was ex Lusty and he was as arrogant then as he still seems to be now.

Judging from a distance, it looked like the posh stink potters were very much like that too. You seemed to have to dress right and act right to get a looky see at some of those boats. Noit that I was interested of course.

[Grinna 2]

Totally agree with BB .... really not very enthusiastic sales people. On more than one stand wifey and I were there looking at touching, handling goods, discussing them and making eye contact with sales staff who then just ignored us. Short of writing "Please come and talk to me" on a piece of 4x2 and smacking them on the head with it, we were giving all the right signals of people seriously looking at product and prepared to buy. Didn't spend any money there other than the cost of entry.

 

Of the staff that bothered to talk to us, only 2 sales staff actually asked for a sale after chatting with us for a while. One of those will get the sale when we free up some more cash, the other might well have got the sale except he blew it with some advice that just didn't make sense .... made me doubt the rest of what he'd been saying. I'll need to do some more checking before deciding if he had a point or was full of it.

 

Interesting show and we came away with some useful information and advice and will end up spending money with a few businesses as a result of their efforts.

 

We found Jono and he was a very friendly and helpful chap. He even surprised me with advice that meant not spending as much money as I thought we might need to. We'll be seeing him later on.

[Bad Kitty 252]

The new Raymarine series??? Because I was looking at them all and could not see an AT button and when I asked, they told me that feature had been dropped from the new models.

 

I cant speak for the new stuff, but my 12 month old 6000 series Raymarine AP has autotack.

 

I wouldnt be surprised if the Lusty and Blundel salespeople didnt know what they were talking about. Theyve put me crook a few times with they're lack of product knowledge

 

Yep the 6000 & 7000 model has it, just looked at the Raymarine website & it doesn't mention it for the new model, but it's a bit light on specs all round so hard to tell?

Seems like a really dumb thing to drop?

 

Wheels, on the 6000 & 7000 there isn't a specific button, you push both the +1 & +10 button together, or the -1 & -10 button together to tack the other way.

You can set the tack whatever you want in the setup, ie 90 or 100 degrees, or whatever you want.

[BvanVugt 0]

Ive always thought they ignored me due to my age, might be something else then i suppose.

Last year i even got asked "Why are you taking that brochure?" for something someone had asked me to look into.

Probably should have replied with some sort of witty comment but just looked at the guy and moved on.

Needless to say i didnt have anything good to say about their product later.

[Guest]

Hmmm... a slightly more positive feeling towards the show when coming out than when going in. Bit same ol same ol but the new lay out is good.

 

Still disappointed that a boat show in the city of sails has seemed to have gone out of it's way to make sure you can't see water let alone the harbour. Nothing moving on the water, nothing for kids, no interactive action, no demos bar 'simulation mode' and I'd have to agree with the couples yesterday, and 2 ladies today, who said no one seems to remember women spend or allow hubbies to spend on boat stuff once they have approved it. It is quite male centric... as could have been guessed by a few honeys in spray on clothes yet no hunky blokes pushing tableware. I suppose if Jono got his shirt off

 

Some sales people saw me and ran, probably for good reason often Kept having to fend off power boat only handout pushed at us a fair bit. I did find the L&B guys helpful but then they do know me and know I'm shopping. Probably the best stand for info and approach to a random passer by (of those who don't know me) was Garmin, the lads there were good, seemed very knowledgeable and weren't pushy. They also ask the smartest question of everyone and very early in the chat 'So what do you do with your boat and what do you want to be told?'. That saved us all a lot of time I'd think. Knot to shabby a gear either, I had no idea their range is as extensive as it is.

 

It was interesting to listen to some of the sale pitches. Some info was obviously knot quite right and one outfit obviously had very little clues as to their gear and got basic things like sizes well wrong but did talk the talk so many punters may knot have picked up on the obvious flaws.

 

But all in all it was pretty much as expected even if a bit more upmarket than it has been. So a 7.5/10 from me I'd call it but I wouldn't call it 'entertaining' that's for sure. By that I mean it's a sales show rather than a family entertainment sort of thing, something I think it could be a little with some small tweaking. Did see many Hims being given the hurry up by the often bored looking Hers. Keep the hers busy and give the hims more time to shop is something worth considering I think.

 

I'd love to have a crack at organising that, it would be quite different and a lot more boatie.

 

Feck knows how Wheels spent an entire day there though. Mrs Wheels must be even more patient than we thought, a lot more You're a luck lad with that Mr Wheels.

[ode 0]

Hi, Can anyone tell me the 0800 number for doyles stand boat show heard it on zb ,Im over Deaker listening for add again ,they are offering 25 % discount at boat show cheers

[Bimini Babe 0]

Yeah I do wonder how they justify charging people for a ticket to.. um... sell them stuff. I was expecting at least some sort of entertainment/displays/demos, etc. I know they had seminars but those were only on Sat/Sun as far as I was aware?

 

Personally I wouldn't have gone if I hadn't got a couple of comps from Andy at The Engine Room (cheers Andy!), for precisely that reason. If I'm going to be sold to, I sure as hell aint gonna pay for the privilege!

[wheels 543]

What, you Been there and back again KM??. Did you just idle through on your Motorbike??

 

I reckon things could be done better too. Like the Paint and Resin/Glue/Cloth stands could have had some demonstrations on how to do it type tips. That will always pull a crowd. I thought the boat biulding challenge thing was disapointing. Stunning timber work on the finished boats, but nothing happening there the several times we looked. They needed to have a blackboard or something with what and when things were taking place. As I said earlier, No food or drink apart from a coffee vendor hidden behind the trailer power boats.

Surely a lot of Boats in the yacht departme nt were missing. One Moody, two Hanse, two elliots, A couple of Bendy's, a couple of Jenneau, a Hunter and the two Cats. I think that was about it for yachts. Surely there has to be a lot more than that here. Most importantly in the local biulders. How are you going to sell anything if you don't turn out to such an event.

KM, I could see our big yellow test bed there and maybe a few competitions on what pull something would break at. Demos of some techy splicing and maybe a few classes on basic splicing.

[Guest]

Yeah I do wonder how they justify charging people for a ticket to.. um... sell them stuff. I was expecting at least some sort of entertainment/displays/demos, etc. I know they had seminars but those were only on Sat/Sun as far as I was aware?

 

Personally I wouldn't have gone if I hadn't got a couple of comps from Andy at The Engine Room (cheers Andy!), for precisely that reason. If I'm going to be sold to, I sure as hell aint gonna pay for the privilege!

 

G'day - Hey kidddo - I'm on your side. THEY want to sell me -stuff- then THEY can pay for me to come.

 

Go on KM - you get them to - think (geeze - that's challenge all in itself) outside the square. * * 'Come watch us doing it' * * that'd get them reading the rest of the instructions to the stand & getting them interested before startiang the hands-on demo! 1/2 round c/w long para. sides wooden male mold, 2' long, 18" dia, 6" sides. Lay cellophane on table, + - 1 layer carbon + foam + 1 layer - glass/kevlar/ or ? - - wet out with epoxy. cover with cello - - squeege out air - drop over male mould shape. Show them 1 that has already been cured, & then - bingo - more light weight yachts on the water (read as - race course) also read as multihulkls, eh!!

 

I'll bet that gets me 'outa-here' eh, ooops. Ciao, james