Nice boat!! I'd think a boat like the Bella would be a good bet for the NW
US market where the weather is pretty snotty a good bit of the year. Of
course competitive pricing would be essential.

Thanks for the info!

Butch
"Varis" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hmm... we don't have any other Europeans in this group? :-/

Some more notes on boating in Finland follows...

We have LOTS of boatable water where our population is concentrated in.
Have a look at
http://tinyurl.com/hxs44 . So no wonder boating is a part of our
history and everyday leisure. There are almost 1 million boats in
Finland but only 5 million people!

I have a catalogue/buyer's guide which lists "all" boats sold in
Finland - 1730 different models. For power boats, the vast majority
are domestic brands. There are also several brands from the US
(Bayliner, Boston Whaler, Caravelle, Formula, Fountain, Monterey,
Rinker, Sea Ray, Stingray) and Italy. A few from others, mostly
different European countries. I think US built cruisers at least are
somewhat popular - one can see quite a few of those in downtown
Helsinki, even ones over 30 feet.

It's interesting to note how the pleasure boat markets change over
time. Like the ebbing popularity of jet boats or the surge of deck
boats.

It seems that the pure runabouts (closed foredeck, windshield, open
deck/cockpit mid/aft) have fallen out of fashion, due to
"impracticality". I think this is true both in the US and Finland - in
that buyer's guide above, the only pure runabouts are high-performance,
expensive deep Vs. Boats have grown and can offer more complex designs
these days.

There are almost no displacement or semi-displacement models available
for power boats now. This means that our traditional cruising boat
style has changed quite a bit. Now a popular concept is a boat with an
enclosed cabin which takes up the middle, there is a small open deck
and a swim platform aft, the bow may have an open deck or be a little
cabin with berths. This kind of boat starts from 19 feet. Eg. look at
the 26 foot boat from Bella,
http://www.bellaboats.fi/service.cntum?pageId=103225, this is a fairly
luxurious boat by Finnish standards and there is a linked review from a
British magazine. I think this is a great concept in our conditions - a
cabin is way more weatherproof than the open spaces on day cruisers or
hardtops, the boat still has some advantages of open boats, and a 20
foot variant can still be somewhat affordable. Is this kind of a boat
concept unknown in the US?

The larger, sporty Busters (like the XXL) are quite popular in these
areas. I haven't been around marinas for long yet, but I've spotted at
least 2 Buster Magnums (their flagship). Compared to housing prices in
Helsinki, it's not that expensive! These days one can also spot the
occasional large RIB.

Does anyone have some nice links on the history of US (or European)
work boats?

Are sailing boats popular in the US?

Risto

On 24 Jul '06, "Varis" wrote:
It seems that the pure runabouts (closed foredeck, windshield, open
deck/cockpit mid/aft) have fallen out of fashion, due to
"impracticality".

"Impractical"? How so? My only objection is the lack of means (in
some cases) to get past the windshield to the bow. Other than that, I
can appreciate a windshield that can keep you dry.

the 26 foot boat from Bella,
http://www.bellaboats.fi/service.cntum?pageId=103225

How does one get to the bow on *that*?

Is this kind of a boat
concept unknown in the US?

I'm on the Gulf Coast (USA) with mostly warm weather. Open boats with
bimini tops are more popular here. There seem to be more Center
Console "fisherman" than anything else. The "closed in" luxury boats
are well represented though. Mostly, I see them tied up at the gas
docks and waterside bars with their air conditioners running.

Are sailing boats popular in the US?

In certain areas among certain people, sailboats are *very* popular.
There's not much cross over among sailors and powerboaters though.
They take completely different mindsets and are like comparing soccer
vs golf. Both sports are popular and both are played with a round ball
but not many people like to play both.

Rick

lid kirjoitti:
"Impractical"? How so? My only objection is the lack of means (in
some cases) to get past the windshield to the bow. Other than that, I
can appreciate a windshield that can keep you dry.

I wonder too... But if you contrast a runabout with a HT or DC, those
offer you better weather protection and you can sleep easily in them,
and the size of the boat is just a little bit larger. Or if you have
the open boat concept, you can access the boat easily from the bow,
load it more easily, etc.

the 26 foot boat from Bella,
http://www.bellaboats.fi/service.cntum?pageId=103225

How does one get to the bow on *that*?

Via the hatch in the front, or by going out from the rear and walking
around the cabin. Not as practical maybe - the smaller models have the
contemporary walk-through design:
http://www.bellaboats.fi/service.cnt...3220&picId=153

In certain areas among certain people, sailboats are *very* popular.
There's not much cross over among sailors and powerboaters though.
They take completely different mindsets and are like comparing soccer
vs golf.

It's similar here... Sails vs motors seems to be the greatest/most
apparent divide in our local boating communities, in the eyes of a
newbie.

To Butch:

Pricing... Well, if one looks at what they ask for new cruisers in the
same size from Bayliner, Sea Ray or Rinker, the price is about the same
as for Bella's Fantino. Some differences of course - somewhat different
style of the boat, the US boats are imported (one would think it
increases the price), and you can often get an about 100 hp larger
engine in the US boats if you like. Lots of ifs and buts here I
suppose... US manufacturers benefit from economies of scale, unlike
even the larger Finnish brands (there are smaller brands too, which
make a bit more expensive boats in similar style, eg. Marino,
Sailfish...). Selling the boats overseas could be a bit too large a
marketing effort for the Finnish companies (though I think it was done
in the 50's!).

For example:
Bayliner 265 Cruiser (8.23m) with MerCruiser 5.0l Alpha1 is listed as
69 370 eur
Bella 26 Falcon Fantino (8.17m) with MerCruiser 4.3l MPI Alpha1 is
listed as 69 800 eur

Both the above engines are rated at 220 hp. I suppose one should look
at what equipment is included as standard vs option etc to determine
which boat is the really cheap one :-)

One could suppose that there indeed is some common ground between US
boaters in say, Maine or Washington, or Canadian boaters, and Finnish
boaters. That might explain the thing that US boats have gained a
secure foothold in Finland. We are located just North of the 60th
Northern, but the climate in Helsinki is about halfway between Seattle
and Winnipeg when it comes to the seasonal variation in temperatures.
Of course there are many differences in local boating conditions - the
waters for example...

Risto