Boat Show 2010

[bigboy]

I agree with you too shanook the buccanneer 18ft impressed us ehhhhh. Perla and myself had quite a chat with the owner of buccaneer boats and we asked of the possibility of installing an inboard on it, which seems it is really not a problem. As ou said the finish is not as perfect as the petecraft but in my opinion both the petecraft and buccaneer had the nicecest two boats on display.

[Meccanic]

ANYONE COMING TO SHOW, CALL ME AT ENTRANCE AND WILL PASS ON OUR PASSES for free entrance 79732783

Nichol
MECCA MARINE

[busumark]

i agree with shanook and bigboy very nice boats petecraft 20 and bucaneer 18 with very nice finish and practical boats. To-day is the last day of the boat show.

[The_Gaffer]

Just been to the boatshow. Like Shanook, I swear this will be the last boatshow in Malta that I'll ever attend.  Attendance was very poor, just a handfull of exhibitors, and to top it all you're charged 5 Euros entry fee!!!.  Only good thing about the boatshow was the 2010 edition of new locally built boats by Bucanneer and Petecraft.  Both boats display new modern lines, high finish, and reasonable prices.  Value for money definitely goes to the Bucanneer 18 footer open boat, while Petecraft's 20 footer has a cuddy cabin to compliment it as an overnighter!.  I compared some of the finishes with foreign built boats, and 2 particular boats caught my attention for the lack of detail in build and finish.  If you really look down the sides, you can make out the ripples and waves in the bows, sides and finish.  I tried the same test with the locally built boats, and couldn't find any evidence of uneven finish.  Well done to Bucanneer and Petecraft, you both have sharpened the finish and layout of your products.

[benri]

Yes, Petecraft do have the nice 20 footer. I had a long chat with the guy who's a great person! the hull could also be finished according to your specifications. What struck me most in this hull are the great storage space underneath, sturdiness of the floor, wide cabin door with a quite spacious cabin and relatively comforable sink and toilet, the high freeboard and also the nice width.

[malvizzu]

I agree with Shanook that the €5 fee is high. Petecraft's 20 footer is a masterpiece. I had the pleasure of seeing it in progress at their workshop. I can assure you Benri that the 3 brothers at Petecraft, Mario, Simon and Christian, are great guys and go out of their way to meet the client's demands. I've got the Fastfisher 14 on order. The new 18ft Bucanneer is excellent and give Charles, it's owner, full credit to good workmanship. In fact my dilemma these last 3 months was between buying a Fastfisher or a Bucanneer boat. I opted for the Fastfisher due to better behaviour at sea and slightly better finish. But believe me they are two of the best boat builders in Malta. If i'm not mistaken, the owner of the new Fastfisher 20, a Liverpool fanatic like me (miskin!!! ) is having a 250HP Suzuki engine mounted on the boat. The 140HP was only for display purposes.

[baghira]

1st. of all thanks to mecca for my (and wife) free entrance to the fair.

Finally at the fair, me and the spearos booked our spearfishing charter to sicily.
Marvelous boat. Booked for July.

[camkev]

What boat did you book?

[skip]

I managed to go for the last hour on Sunday, well I didn't know it was the last hour as I thought it would finish late and not at 8pm! No thanks to the so called official website www.vallettaboatshow.com which still shows details from last years show even though that was the website being advertised on the tickets.

As the others have pointed out it wasn't a big event but gave people a chance to see the latest models available on the market in the sub 30 foot range along with a good range of the latest outboards. I think the difference between foreign shows and local shows is that most of the chandlery and accessory guys don't take part, probably due to the exhorbitant fees charged by the organisers to the exhibitors.

The star of the show for me was the Bucaneer Sea Rover 180.....I was impressed by the amount of interior space from this boat with an overall length of 5.5m and a beam of 2.30m the utilisation of space for fishing/leisure is very clever. Notable features for me were the 4 floor boxes that are due to be lined for the production models, allowing either storage of fish or extra storage space, the enclosed swim ladder allowing the swim platform to be fully utilised, and complete access the under deck fitting (water/fuel tank) as all vital deck boards could be unscrewed. The lines on the boat look good and dark blue gelcoat is one of my favourites....the seating options can be changed from a single pedestal that provides the most amount of deck space to a leaning post style seat. The boat builder has also fully utilised the space along in the interior for things like cupholders and various storage areas. The show boat had a Suzuki DF90 but I believe the max rated horsepower was around 130hp. Introductory price of €8798 expect the production models to be a little more, and I would be very interested to see how this boat performs with the 90hp.

It was also great to be introduced to Chris from Petecraft and we had a good chat about their current and upcoming projects....these guys are dedicated boat builders very proud of the product they offer and rightly so. I really really like the Petecraft Open 17 but would have preferred it to be 18/19 feet especially as they make a 15 footer, however it seems that their 2010 20 footer may be available as an open boat in the future which would make an awesome center console. I didn't have time to go onboard the 20 but from the comments you guys have written you were all very impressed.

Suzuki seemed to be everywhere especially on the local boats so it's good to see such penetration into the local market especially on the locally built boats - Dominic from Zarb Stores was kind enough to introduce me to the local builders and show me around, and it seems that the new DF90/80/70 with it's optimised lean burn system and compact design offering significant weight savings for a four stroke - 155kgs versus the 143kgs of a Tohatsu 90 TLDI 2 Stroke DI, 155kgs of the ETEC 90 2 stroke DI.

RLR had a nice range of RIBs on display along with two Northstar centre console boats all powered by Evinrude ETECs....their Zodiac Pro Open 6.5m was powered by a 175hp ETEC and uses only 14 litres per hour at 24 knots showing some impressive fuel consumption results that these engines together with RIBs can provide. Their 8.5m RIB that was in the water was powered by a 300hp ETEC and at a similar speed consumes around 24 litres per hour which is fantastic for such a big engine. This is where the benfits of a RIB in terms of fuel consumption, cruise speed and top speed really show and this combined with their ability to handle rough weather with ease explains why many Italian and French recreational fishermen have turned to using RIBs instead. Stay tuned for various ETEC and boat tests in the next few weeks.

Skip

[shanook]

One last comment, maybe the exhibitors will take note: I really like to see the boats from the outside, inside and the bottom. When boats like the Petecraft and Buccaneer cover the bottom with that piece of blue cloth I really hate it, I know they mean well and its for simulating the sea. The bottom is a very important part of the boat. The angle, lift rakes as well as the width, its shape these all contribute to making a boat sea worthy or not, whether its stable in rough waters while standing still etc. These are all  factors that one has to consifder when buying a boat as not all boats perform to every aspect of boating.
So please leave the whole boat showing, so we can make better evaluation.

[busumark]

there was a boat it was about 5000 euros a day. did you choose this boat baghira

[Shaftbomb]

I also went to the Boat show this year and would like to pass some comments.  I will not complain about the 5 euros entrance fee.  I visited many boat shows in the US, one in UK and one in Italy....all charged entrance fees. 
The show level this year was mediocre to say the least.  For us who are already boat owners there was almost nothing to see!  No marine hardware or accessories booth to talk to!
I enjoyed talking to Daruis Goodwin from RLR about Evinrude motors.  He was very patient, informative and answered all my question and in the end he even took me for a test drive with his 300hp powered 28 ft boat.  The motor impressed me, super quiet, smooth and planned the boat in just a few seconds.
Boatwise in my opinion, Petecraft and Buccaneer were in a class of their own.  As many of you said, Petecraft's boat carried a hefty price.  However the finish, accessories and design are impressive and better than American built boats that I saw.  Petecraft's 20 footer has a cabin, back side seats that are removable for easier fishing which are even embroidered with the boat's and manufacturer's name!  I also liked the seating position and that fancy dashboard. 

Will I visit again next year??  NO.