Did you think, once the binge of fall trade shows was over, that the yards would quiet down for a few months without launching any more new models? You were wrong, and very wrong.
It has been many years since we have seen such a buzz even at the two major winter events, the Paris Motor Show now just around the corner (Dec. 5-13, www.salonnautiqueparis.com) and the Düsseldorf Motor Show (Jan. 23-31, 2016, www.boat-duesseldorf.com). Boats large and small, catamarans and monohulls, sport and cruising, even the return of monotypes-there is indeed an embarrassment of riches. In fact, the first thing that strikes one when analyzing the upcoming models coming out on the market is the fact that they really cover every type of boat, unlike past seasons, in which cruising models ruled the day. If we really have to look for a segment that is more nourished than the others, we identify it as that of boats, mono or multihull, around 40 feet.
WHAT’S NEW UNDER THE TOUR EIFFEL
French shipyards have always been known to have a keen eye on their home shows, but in recent years Cannes had somewhat eaten into the vital space of the Parisian event, squeezed in part by the growing importance of Düsseldorf.
Instead, this year, under the Eiffel Tower, we will be able to preview several brand new launches. Let’s start with Dufour, which chose the end of the year to officially launch its 412 and 512 Grand Large. This is the third and fourth new model that the La Rochelle shipyard is putting on the market this season. In the case of the latest releases, the shipyard has made a number of optimizations on the already well-known 410 GL and 500 GL. In particular, Dufour decided to optimize aspects of comfort on board, not only in terms of space on board, but also in terms of navigation. It is no coincidence that the shipyard has decided to offer the two models with a lot of dolphin bowl. Shall we bet that this will be one of the “leitmotifs” of the coming season even on smaller and expressly cruising boats?
Beneteau is not standing idly by and shows up in the “Ville Lumière” with its Oceanis 41.1, which rather than a restyling of the 41, looks like a very different boat. Above deck new is the design of the deckhouse, which has a gentler line at the bow that highlights a greater connection with the deck, and at the large window towards the bow, there is now a soft gray coloring that slims the superstructure. All this while the numerous rumors of a big comeback of a new model in the First range are becoming more and more insistent.
The one who chose Paris to launch a very important novelty is then Fountaine Pajot with its 40-footer: a model of fundamental importance because it fits into the most fought-over multihull market segment (as we shall see, in fact, competitors are not standing idly by).
On the subject of drifts, however, makes its debut “on the continent” the small RS Quest, which was officially launched in September at the Southampton Motor Show but is only now beginning to make itself known to the general public.
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