Challenge 40 trimaran
The Dean 441 Ambience had probably
travelled further than any other to get
to the show having sailed from South
Africa. This sports a new cockpit layout
and new wood finish. The boat looked
good and is very competitively priced.
Eric Le Rouge was a busy man at the
show, Designer of the Ambercat his he
was able to look across and see two of
Dean 441
his excellent Freydis 49s at the show,
each with different layout and one with
a great paint job.
He also had the Rackham 26 as well
and it was good to see some smaller
boats like this exhibited.
The shows have been surprisingly
positive. The industry is recovering
some momentum and whilst sales
will not be what they were two years
ago there are signs of recovery
and the appetite for new designs is
encouraging. Innovation may be the
driver of change in market sentiment.
The powerboat owner, without the
disposable income to suffer high fuel
costs and massive depreciation in
Freydis 49
a new boat, is a new client for the
multihull industry and products that
appeal to them will be successful.
There are also people with cash sat
earning little interest in the bank that
are prepared to write cheques. In the
UK marine finance can be found but
only to high net worth individuals who
might not need the finance. Until the
qualification criteria is relaxed and
people can borrow to purchase again
then the growth and recover of the
industry will be restricted.
I have been greatly impressed with
the new products coming to the
market. The general quality of finish,
specification, attention to detail and
value for money is good and helps to
establish multihulls as a very viable and
cost effective alternative to a powerboat
or monohull.
Rackham 26
OCTOBER 2009 : MULTIHULL REVIEW 31
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