Boat Show was fun, as always. We went on Thursday (VIP/media day) in order to miss the crowds and be able to get on the boats we wanted without waiting in line for an hour. Also a good day to get some shopping done (needed new foulies, went to the Musto tent and dropped a few $). As far as my impressions from the show-The Esse 850 (top photo) stole the show. Hot rod race boat that can be sailed with a small crew for under $100,000.
Another notable was the Beneteau First 50 (second and third photos). I'm not a big fan of Beneteau in general... but this is a new idea. A roomy, comfortable, relatively inexpensive boat. Starts in the $400,000 range and tops out fully loaded nearing $600,000.
As you can see, the interior of the First 50 is pretty incredible for a boat in this price range. Really well done. It's roomy and would be extremely comfortable as a distance cruiser/liveaboard. Way to go, Beneteau- you finally got one right (as long as you quit calling this a race boat...).
Just don't ask for my comments about the new 10 R. Good grief.
Last, but not least, is my personal favorite pick for the show. The Open 5.70. What a great little boat! The costing involved with a new Melges 24 ($50k, just to get started) or comperable boats is a little more than I want to spend on a race boat of that size. If you buy used, the hulls get flexy and less competative in one-design over time. Here's a little 20 foot keelboat for less than $30k. Double rudder, sails with 2-3 bodies, huge cockpit, and a nice sailplan make this a winner in my book. Only issue is that the $30k would go a long way on Sequoia!
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