Late to the party, or bang on time? (Part I)

by John Curnow, Global Editor, Powerboat.World 25 Oct 14:00 PDT

An interesting conundrum, for sure… How to assess the very new Prestige M48? For here is a powerhouse brand, with an enviable reputation in markets around the globe. To this day, Prestige holds the dominant position in the 40 to 60 foot traditional flying bridge segment of the US yacht market. A nice place to be, and one you are going to protect, naturally.

So if you have the venerable, and always sought after, loyal following, yet you want to expand your offering to them, and perhaps also to other, new-to-market buyers, where can you go? Often, trying to put a smile on everyone’s dial can leave some, many, or virtually all, with none of the original feeling that got you there in the first place. Not such a good place to be.

Now go back some twenty-five years, and the charter sailing fleets in all the right locations were monohulls. Soon, the cats started, and just like rust in an old Italian car, they then took over. Production powercats started much later. Yes, they are now one of the fastest expanding sectors, but their overall volume is still fractions of their single siblings. More over, the vast majority still owe their pedigree to their sailing…