If you want to go to big in boat shows–I mean really big, as in a couple of thousand watercraft–you have to go to Europe. On the other side of the pond, January’s the hot month for big winter boat shows, with London and Dusseldorf competing for the attentions of the overseas visitor.
Dusseldorf’s location a couple of hours’ drive from the nearest coast might not make it an obvious choice for a boat show, but it’s easy to get to by road, air and water – the mighty Rhine flows right past the Messe, or showgrounds.
This year some 250,000 visitors traipsed through the world’s biggest boat and watersports show, which ended last Sunday. The showground has 18 huge halls, and 15 of them were in use for Messe Boot 08. Sailboats had two halls to themselves, and in many of the other halls the odd rig could be seen poking above the mass of powerboats. Because kayaking, fishing, diving, and chartering are all catered to within their own halls, the show attracts a broad spectrum of showgoers.
Here you get an idea of the size of the halls. Looks empty, but that’s because there are so many wide open places for the crowds to disperse into.
No English speakers were in attendance when I spotted the pretty Surfsailer, so I don’t know if the immaculate wooden joinery displayed on its deck was replicated on the hull. Shades of sandbagger, and of scow… At 29’ long and over 9’ wide, the boat looks like a surfboard, and I bet it goes like one off the wind. Upwind it’ll be a different story, but hey, who cares…
Here’s the opposite extreme; 40’ long, and maybe 6’ in the beam, found in amongst a hoard of classic powerboats.
One of the boats I wanted to check over was the new Elan 450, a sexy-looking cruiser-racer with a touch of Open 60 thinking in its lines. Brit Rob Humphreys, who draws the boats for the Slovenian company, has been dipping his toes in Open class design and the influence shows in the fine entry, broad, powerful quarters and a stern wide enough to require twin rudders. It also has an impressive fractional rig and a retractable carbon spi pole. Apparently the 450 clocks double digit speeds to windward and reaches at 15-16 knots. I’ve already signed up for a test drive.
Belowdecks the Elan is distinguished by ultra-hip angular-but-practical styling with light hardwood veneers, in this case maple. The three-stateroom layout could accommodate three couples or a dozen hardy racers.
