Boats of the London boatshow

We did the London Boatshow and wandered on and off many of the boats. 

Hallberg Rassy 372

Last year we were blown away by the 37 and the 43 MkII. However this year, we were totally underwhelmed by the new Hallberg-Rassy 372. There was something a little more mass-produced about it than the other Hallbergs I've been on - Just sort of lacking that special something. I understand that everything must be built to a cost, but these really aren't cheap boats. Put one of these next to a Malo 37 and I think it would look like the poor relation. I walked off feeling a little sad.

Southerly 38 & 42

Every time we go onboard the Southerlys, we have lower expectations than we perhaps aught to, but they always surprise us: Space, comfort, decent build quality. The 38 seemed like a lot of boat for the 38 feet (certainly a lot bigger than our Sweden 36). Becks really liked the 42 because (obviously) it was a bit more spacious.

There were some nice touches, like specifying more premium hardware like the alloy Spinlock jammers rather than more plasticky ones that prevail on many production boats. 

It's nice to see a British company producing such fresh and relevant products to today's marketplace. In an interview with Dick Durham of Yachting Monthly fame, they claim that they are struggling to fullfil orders (due to demand) and that there is a decent sized lead time for boats right now.

Bavaria 35

Launched at the show this year. Let me begin by saying that I'm not one of the Bavaria haters. They have their place and everyone I know that owns one loves them.

Initial impressions were that she was pretty enough for a budget average white boat. They don't seem to do a 2 cabin version of the new 35, just the 3 cabin version, which hints at a charter fleet life that lays ahead of it. One interesting innovation is an adjustable bulkhead between the aftcabins to switch between one large and one small or two equal ones to shift the boat between a 2 or 3 couple configuration.

She has a retractable swim platform, which I can see it being hugely successful in the Med charter scene (as long as it doesn't break).

I had quite high expectations of a return to the Bavaria 36 of a few years ago. Overall I think I had higher expectations than I should have, because it wasn't the budget crusader I was hoping it would be.