Have we lost style?

[chocolatemoose]

So i write this as i flick through a bunch of new boat releases a few cheeky pre release tidbits from builders about new boats coming out at this years boat show season and through some 2nd hand boat brockerage pages.

Moose Marine is looking for a company boat. But one major hurdle i "we" have come up against is this stupid ideal i have of wanting something that is a bit different and a bit funky...... every bit of common sense. or buisness sense tells me .. buy something practical. usefull, that you can resell in a few years etc......................However a louder voice tells me " GET SOMETHING GROOVY AND STAND OUT WOO!!!!!" .........

so naturally i listen to the louder voice.. but the interesting thing that has come up in my search is..................a real lack of anything groovy and different. Have we lost a sense of style in our modern boat building?

Now.... i have answered my own question by suggesting the reason we dont see a lot of things that i will mention shortly is because of good buisness sense. trying to appeal to a large audience in a country that is only a few million strong. But in doing so.............everything becomes bland.

Its something the car industry kind of went through in the early 2000s .... cars then seem to be safe in design "with the exception of some pretty wild Chrysler models" before finally being dragged back with a sense of idenity and fun.

Take half cabin trailer boats... fairly quintessentially australian/kiwi and something that has been the stable in trailer boat builders fleet. it is very tricky to say any of them stand out when to compare between brands you are looking at small things like "distance from helm seat to throttle" as a point of difference.

I am speaking in wild generalizations of cause. But when i look at some designs from the 50s,60s,70s,even 80s and 90s in some cases. Brands seem to have an essence of fun and srtyle. that doesn quite exist anymore.

i should mention Watersports boats are the excption here. Brands like Malibu/mastercraft/nautique etc still have a huge amount of style and design going on. fair cop.

Perhaps just a part of me wishes there was more woodgrain and bright colours in boats again :P

Moose

[chocolatemoose]

Just for I.M.O.

This is a Glastron Carlson 23 I think a boat that symbolizes an era when style to function was at its highest ratio.
sleek flake paint job. carpet and timber panelling. ash trays and cigarette lighters everywhere. electric side windows. power drivers seat. even James bond drove one. it is just all kinds of cool D:

116908116909116910116911116912

[myusernam]

Get an axopar moose. Just take yr wallet

[Volvo]

Your attatchments arent opening up buddy..
https://inverlochmarine.com.au/extreme-boats/centre-console/605-centre-console

This one would certainly suit the towball behind my cruiser lol

[Volvo]

Mind you there is a boatbulder in Hervey Bay puts out a very nice Alloy halfe Cab , Evinrude E-Tech seller..Hervy Bay Marine comes to mind??..

[chocolatemoose]

Axopar do have a sense of style. ill give a lot of those euro shipyards credit, i would imagine they also compete in the superyacht tender market that........i dont think we have a lot of here, as such they can add a little bit of whale forskin seat covers etc :P

[chocolatemoose]

https://boats-from-usa.com/sites/default/files/boats/2014-07/11/3401/not-specified-cxt-23-36174.jpg

[chocolatemoose]

https://boats-from-usa.com/sites/default/files/boats/2014-07/11/3401/not-specified-cxt-23-36172.jpg

[ranmar850]

I think the yanks still have tonnes of "styled" boats, but that reflects the size of the market. The stuff on THT in the boat shows is just mind boggling. As you said, we have a microscopic market by comparison, and so much of it is fishing-oriented, IMO, unless you are just a cruiser. And fishing-oriented means needing practicalities and proven performance.

[brett62]

You were born too late Moose.

Late 60's early 70's the old half cabin came in some pretty bright colours and many had timber trims. They were a basic boat and where either powered by Mercury/Johnson/evinrude and some even had chrysler's. The old outboard engine was not real reliable either but very simple mechanically (you always carried plenty of spares). My first half cabin was a secondhand Savage 18ft with a Johnson 140hp and I would go everywhere in it. Use to ride like a bag of shit if the sea turned bad and loved it.

You had to be pretty well off to have a echo sounder which were very expensive. All navigation was with compass and charts and can't forget the parallel rule. You have to be pretty good to fish the same spot more than once unless you had some good land marks. Funny back then we would fish out the reef without sight of land and many times over night making sure you fished somewhere you could get a clear run home if the weather turned to crap which also happened a lot. The weather forcasting back then is nothing like it is now. We didn't have radios (cost to much) and filled in a trip form at the boat ramp if their was a Coast Guard in the area you were fishing.
Boats now are pretty well got everything you could need or want. Get yourself a old glass over bond wood boat if you want to head back in time and enjoy the ride.8-)

[chocolatemoose]

You're not wrong. i run a swift craft appriciate FB page "because why not" and i recall my first swifty with its back to backs and timber trim steering wheels etc. still very much a practical little boat in comparison to those american doings. I think i might have to spend this public holiday monday on the old sketch board and start doing some new designs for a few interiors. perhaps i will just aim to build my own boat...........oh wait........ive seen bretts under taking... screw that!

[NAGG]

If I could afford to own one ..... Moda Marine

They do funky & with plenty of style

[scottar]

They are out there Moose but they don't come cheap

https://www.facebook.com/990713637617600/photos/pcb.1772789449410011/1772786046077018/?type=3&theater

[chocolatemoose]

http://newimages.yachtworld.com/resize/1/42/22/6224222_20170503194120451_1_XLARGE.jpg?f=/1/42/22/6224222_20170503194120451_1_XLARGE.jpg&w=924&h=693&t=1493844578000
Norman wright do build some great boats!

[scottar]

Or if you REALLY want to become great mates with your bank manager (making the assumption you actually pay it off - may also require a first born :P), try these guys

http://www.vikal.com.au/

[brett62]

http://newimages.yachtworld.com/resize/1/42/22/6224222_20170503194120451_1_XLARGE.jpg?f=/1/42/22/6224222_20170503194120451_1_XLARGE.jpg&w=924&h=693&t=1493844578000
Norman wright do build some great boats!

Now that's a boat Moose. Could put lots of gadgets on her. Why hell it could be decked out as your showroom.

[up the creek]

it may not be as kool as a wakeboard boat,but me dad had a 15foot stejcraft in orange, big rails up front we put a spotty on it and as said it wasnt fancy but i always thought it had kool look, if i could find one for $500 id buy ut over a new fancy boat, we had a 115 v4 evinrude on it and it went well... yup born too late as well i spose, im sure other countrys have more options then us, but i think how cool it would be if someone built a old school torana again... maybe in the next life moose....

[up the creek]

Now that's a boat Moose. Could put lots of gadgets on her. Why hell it could be decked out as your showroom.


id take that out the sea and never come back, and it has way more character and shape then these multi million dollar yaughts today.. very kool...

[stevej]

function dictates form

the attributes we want from big glass fishing boats or even bay boats means they are made to a certain shape
not going to make it look funky If it drives like a pig and wont keep water off the screen or broaches

[inveratta]

Was not the Leyland P76 from the 70s?....Not everything back then could be considered stylish!116913

[brett62]

Was not the Leyland P76 from the 70s?....Not everything back then could be considered stylish!116913

So remember the 76. My mate was the dealer for them in NQ and he had one as the company car and I can tell you they were a dog. Bloody hard to fish out off also.;D

[scottar]

So remember the 76. My mate was the dealer for them in NQ and he had one as the company car and I can tell you they were a dog. Bloody hard to fish out off also.;D

But you could almost do away with your trailer and just keep your boat in the boot;D

[PB]

So i write this as i flick through a bunch of new boat releases a few cheeky pre release tidbits from builders about new boats coming out at this years boat show season and through some 2nd hand boat brockerage pages.

Moose Marine is looking for a company boat. But one major hurdle i "we" have come up against is this stupid ideal i have of wanting something that is a bit different and a bit funky...... every bit of common sense. or buisness sense tells me .. buy something practical. usefull, that you can resell in a few years etc......................However a louder voice tells me " GET SOMETHING GROOVY AND STAND OUT WOO!!!!!" .........

so naturally i listen to the louder voice.. but the interesting thing that has come up in my search is..................a real lack of anything groovy and different. Have we lost a sense of style in our modern boat building?

Now.... i have answered my own question by suggesting the reason we dont see a lot of things that i will mention shortly is because of good buisness sense. trying to appeal to a large audience in a country that is only a few million strong. But in doing so.............everything becomes bland.

Its something the car industry kind of went through in the early 2000s .... cars then seem to be safe in design "with the exception of some pretty wild Chrysler models" before finally being dragged back with a sense of idenity and fun.

Take half cabin trailer boats... fairly quintessentially australian/kiwi and something that has been the stable in trailer boat builders fleet. it is very tricky to say any of them stand out when to compare between brands you are looking at small things like "distance from helm seat to throttle" as a point of difference.

I am speaking in wild generalizations of cause. But when i look at some designs from the 50s,60s,70s,even 80s and 90s in some cases. Brands seem to have an essence of fun and srtyle. that doesn quite exist anymore.

i should mention Watersports boats are the excption here. Brands like Malibu/mastercraft/nautique etc still have a huge amount of style and design going on. fair cop.

Perhaps just a part of me wishes there was more woodgrain and bright colours in boats again :P

Moose

All depends on what you are trying to achieve at the end of the day and how far the client is willing to pay. I for 1 totally agree in what you have stated above and feel the industry is currently taking a backwards step, all the glass boats look the same and all the plate boats look the same. The glass builders are stuck in the 80/90's and not willing to spend big $$$'s on investing in something new and all the plate builders are all trying to look like the kiwi boats with exception of maybe 2 or 3 builders.
If you really want something new that sets yourself apart from the rest you have to start from scratch and get a custom builder to build it in a semi production level to make it cost effective.
Anything's possible you just need to find the right architect and the right builder.

[tunaticer]

Moda boats. Nuff said.

[Chimo]

here you go Moose

$1500 for the boat and $2500 for the trailer (plus freight)

https://www.thehulltruth.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=801425&stc=1&d=1490647072

[baitable]

hate to say it but might need to look at an import

[NomadNoosa]

A friend of mine lives in Sweden and where they are a boat is almost more essential than a car.
He just sold his Four Winds and has been looking at Anytec, Buster and Windy boats. I have to say that they are all much more stylish than our aluminium, in the first two examples, than what quintrex etc make here. But the price also reflects that as well. $100k ++ for a 7metre aluminium bow rider........

[PatricsOnTheCoast]

Toigo Industries in Cairns does so beautiful custom boats.
Unfortunately on my phone I can’t post picks, but definitely check him out!