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Would you buy a boat that didn't aesthetically appeal to you....

Discussion in 'General Yachting Discussion' started by olderboater, Aug 9, 2021.

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  1. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

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    This is really an either or type question. Presented with two boats to choose from. Both top quality. Both excellent workmanship. Both extremely attractive interiors.

    Boat #1 has an exterior that you find very appealing. It otherwise fits all your needs, although some marginally, but as well as any boat it's style does, better than most competition.

    Boat #2 has exterior styling you just don't like. However, that created the ability to excel with the interior and the decks. It fits your needs better than you expected and far better than any other boat. You just don't like the exterior design it took to achieve it.

    So, all else being equal, which boat would you select.
  2. AMG

    AMG YF Moderator

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    You can not even pay me to have a boat if I don't like the exterior...
    leeky, Zud, SeaEric and 2 others like this.
  3. RER

    RER Senior Member

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    Agree 100%.
  4. Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    No. I would not. And that isn’t limited to boats but includes cars as well.

    aesthetics are important to me and Proportions have to be right. A short stubby bow is the most common issues on many boats. Carver is notorious for that. Later Hargrave designed Hatteras as well when Hatteras tried to extend the house forward to increase interior volume. Sometimes just 3 feet is enough to it off throw. Same with the early Lazzara built viking MY. Too stubby and that continued with later 2000s Lazzaras incl the 84 I used to run. It needed 4 more feet of bow to be well proportioned

    of course 4’ less interior space would not have worked very well...
  5. jonrd463

    jonrd463 New Member

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    I guess it depends on subjective criteria for what constitutes "ugly". I'm assuming it was the post about the Hargrave that prompted this? I personally don't think it's an ugly boat. For me, an ugly boat would be ridiculous details for the sake of being details. Weird curvy sculpted accents or otherwise, some designer making a so-called "bold statement". The Hargrave's exterior envelops the interior, which is fantastic as pointed out in that thread. It's plain, sure, and doesn't have much in the way of personality, but it's not loud and obnoxious like some of the boats seen in the Rogues thread.

    So for me, if I personally found the exterior ugly, then no, I wouldn't get it.
  6. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

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    Wasn't just that, but other boats that have made the "ugly" or "rogues" forum and comments I've heard about modern designs like Princess and Sunseeker.

    Wasn't the VW Beetle considered ugly by many if not most?

    And then the PT Cruiser which saved Chrysler for a while?
  7. AMG

    AMG YF Moderator

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    Some cars, or boats, like girls, can have a personality that makes you like the look despite it wasn't appealing at first glance...
  8. jonrd463

    jonrd463 New Member

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    It could be a bias against Euro styling vs. traditional nautical. I'm partial to Euro myself, but I can understand why some might not like the Princess Y95, and potentially the Sunseeker 100 for similar reasons. I mean, there's high freeboard, and then there's... well... THAT.

    Not being a boat owner yet myself, I'm limited to what I can see at my local marinas and what I read online, and I've noticed there is a clear divide. Some go for the more classical lines of a Fleming, for example, while others prefer the sleek look of the Azimuts or Mangustas. And then there are the oddballs who like their Diesel Ducks :D (No offense to any Duck owners that may be reading this).
  9. Slimshady

    Slimshady Senior Member

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    No not an option. Looks are important
  10. motoryachtlover

    motoryachtlover Senior Member

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    I prefer the more traditional styling but in motor yachts there is not a lot out there in the 55-65 between the 2005-2015 range that I like the looks of. So I have been searching the internet of all powerboats in that range. Trying to open my mind up to the Euro designs. Not going to good so far. So to answer the question yes I would consider a boat that is not aesthetically pleasing to me.
  11. Riknpat

    Riknpat Senior Member

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    I have a friend with a Maserati. Most uncomfortable thing I've ever been in. Looks great though and performs like blazes but I wouldn't think to one to own. Don't even like getting in it. Boats for me are the same. Layout and usage are important as well as of course performance, safety and build quality. Looks are where the compromises would be. As good looking as possible after the other boxes are ticked.
    J. Fiebiger likes this.
  12. Ken Bracewell

    Ken Bracewell Senior Member

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    Life is too short to own an ugly boat
    leeky, Zud, SeaEric and 5 others like this.
  13. Ward

    Ward Senior Member

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    "All else being equal" is the issue, since all else is rarely equal. Safety, operating cost, performance, and maintenance costs are the first things that come to mind, and some of the designs I don't like the looks of also fail in those areas.

    But if someone contacted me out of the blue and said "I'll buy you either one of these and get it to your location::

    https://www.**************/boats-for-sale/make-sunseeker/model-manhattan-52/?year=2020-

    or

    https://www.**************/boats/1983/midnight-lace-flybridge-3861766/

    I'd take the Midnight Lace in an instant - I wouldn't even have to think about it. OTOH, if it was a choice between the Lace and a classic Hatteras or Bertram it'd be a tougher choice, or maybe a new Outback 50...
  14. Norseman

    Norseman Senior Member

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    Nope, no ugly boat, or ugly anything in my life.
    There is an abundance of ugly vessels out there, no idea what people are thinking or what makes them tick.o_O
  15. maldwin

    maldwin Senior Member

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    I have bought a boat I would have called ugly a few years ago, and may still do. I am having fun improving this boat, and it is definitely my greatest design challenge. In fact , it is the first boat I have refit where I am not sure I will like the end result. Having gone through the survey items, electronics, I have just finished a paint job, and am contemplating the next steps, while I am sitting in the Huckins yard looking at one of my old pretty boats without regret. You may ask why I bought it, and the answer is that it takes maximum advantage of a slip I have in Hobe Sound with unlimited Southern and Western views, is relatively easy to single hand, and has shallow draft for Florida/Bahamas.
    I am also reasonably sure my next project will be a pretty boat, but this is fun too. (PDQ41 Powercat)
    Best,
    Maldwin
  16. gr8trn

    gr8trn Senior Member

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    Interestingly one of your previous vessels comes to mind. It is very hard to beat the layout, build quality and features of the Pacific Mariner 65. I could not own that boat based on the exterior styling. But my goodness, that boat has a great interior and deck layout.

    So, no, I would not buy a boat that the exterior does not make me look back on whilst headed off in the tender or waling down the dock and enjoy the view.

    Cars, no different.

    I am not into homes but that would apply there as well.
  17. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

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    Glad to see people responding as we get up and ready to start our day here in rainy Norway. I know people think both my wife and I, especially my wife, would be about "sexy" boats only, the good looking ones. But we're far more about utility. Among the boats we've purchased together, are the following:

    Starts with a 30' Cobalt Bowrider. Very attractive I think.

    First two ocean boats were a Rivarama and a Riva Vertigo. Ok, we absolutely love the looks of the Rivarama, it's my wife's favorite of all, her baby. The Vertigo we find attractive but not overly so. What we love is it's performance and ride. We bought the Riva's because we saw nothing else competitive performance and ride wise available. Boats were either slower or poorer ride or had surface drives which we didn't want.

    Two boats from Westport, a 130' and an 85' Pacific Mariner, and we came very close to redesigning a 65. Even though both of our boats were redesigned versions vs. the originals, I think both are about as plain and unexciting as can be. But quality and utility win and we've been thrilled with both. We had chartered both models and always been impressed.

    Sunseeker Manhattan 65. I know people were calling this model ugly because of all the windows plastered along the hull, especially the back one with the large size and odd shape. We grew to like it more the longer we owned it and are now attracted to the Sunseeker styling. If anything the Manhattan 68 (and the 66) have even stranger windows, but don't bother us at all. Oh as to the upper structure, the windows below distract you from focusing on it. So, I'd say in our mind the boat went from fugly to cute to pretty. We bought it because it fit our use for it functionally so very well.

    Then most recently an AB 116. I do think it's attractive but our motivation had nothing to do with looks and was all about propulsion, speed and handling with interior space next.

    House in NC wasn't pretty but it was on the water and reasonably priced and we saw the ability to double square footage by finishing lower level. House in FL did attract us with it's looks but the water frontage was what pushed it to the lead.

    Cars, well we both have sports cars as our personal cars and they're about looks, speed, top down and fun. Not at all practical. 2013 Maserati Gran Turismo Convertible (not as uncomfortable as someone said..lol) and 2013 Porsche 911 Convertible. Of course that meant to haul things or people we needed an SUV and neither of us thinks any SUV is pretty and a 2013 Mercedes is as ugly as they come but it's functional. Now to us the sports cars are toys and boats are serious so looks matters more on them, but function on the boats. Our boats have many more miles on them than our cars as all three cars are still under 40,000 miles in spite of being 9 years old now.

    I think we feel like we can learn to love the appearance of any boat but every day you live with other aspects of it. It's becoming clear we're in a small minority though. What is also clear is that what is considered attractive is changing and some traditionalists always have trouble with that. I'm really waiting anxiously to see what the new owners do with Hatteras. Right now they're turning out Mako's and I've been told turning down orders on the MY's. I do feel the 60' MY is seriously outdated and has gone in the public eye from pretty to ugly and boring from the outside. The others are marginally better.

    I do appreciate the views others have written though and hope more will follow suit. Last thing expected is for us to be among the least focused on appearance. This is a couple that loves Neon, Glitter and Sparkle, but in boats just more utility focused.
  18. costalive

    costalive Member

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    Right on

    I must add
    Certain lines and shapes mean certain things to me.
    If I want those certain things, I like the lines and shapes of the boat.
    Last edited: Aug 10, 2021
  19. HTMO9

    HTMO9 Senior Member

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    I am THE typical example of a yacht owner designing his boats from the inside to the outside. Falling in love with a great external design and finding out later, your wanted layout would never fit into this pretty boat could end up in a nightmare for me.

    My family and me have done a lot of research on yachts between 15 and 25 Meters of LoA. 15 Meters due to the stupid inland waterway license rule in Germany and 25 meters due to CE limit and the leisure boat licenses limit of my children.

    Except for my son in law with his Prestige Flybridge twin IPS Plastic fantastic, we could not find the perfect boat with the perfect internal layout and design AND a pretty external design for the other three children and their families. Therefore we went to individually designed and built One Offs, respectivly one semi custom design. The only similarity of all 3 boats are the multiple Volvo IPS drives (Btw. they work flawless, as long as they professionally maintained).

    Sadly this was before I discovered AMGs Delta 80. This boat is the perfect symbiosis of a perfect layout for a family, a great modern external design with great performance and seaworthyness and most of all significant onbord safety for kids AND older people. This boat can be operated with a crew of two or even with a capable family crew without payed crewmembers. For the next boats, the search will be much easier :).

    With bigger boats, this problem is rather small. A good designer and naval architect will easily create a solution to combine a sexy external design with a great layout and internal design. With commercial ships it is different, here, only form follows function, period!

    But I am with AMG: "You can not even pay me to have a boat, if I don't like the exterior..."

    Delta 80.jpg

    Just my 2 (Euro) cents
    Kafue likes this.
  20. Natuzzi

    Natuzzi Member

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    I said it once, but saw the picture and just have to repeat it again, Delta 80 is one of the best designs around (to my eyes). After all this years, still my desktop backgorund.

    The boat is a pleasure and one of great joys in life, and must therefore be beautiful (to the owner's eyes).
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