I readily admit that a couple of years ago I had serious doubts about the survival of the company and even more doubts about the future of the Grand Banks brand. However, they have used the Palm Beach brand to achieve profitability and are showing that they are moving forward now. A few notes:
-They purchased Stuart Yacht Basin for about $3.2 million to give themselves a US presence as 75% of their sales are in the US.
-They've modernized their plant and greatly improved margins.
-They are currently averaging about 20 boat sales per year, the majority of those Palm Beach.
-They will be showing in the Annapolis show in October.
Now, as to the Grand Banks brand. The first new boat in that brand was the 60 which comes in both an open bridge and a skylounge configuration. It will be shown in Annapolis. The boats have gone from planning to completion and now on the water. In fact a 52 is now starting build.
The 60 shows the Palm Beach influence with performance and styling emphasized. They typical trawler devotee is not going to like it. However, today's younger boat buyers are far more likely to be interested than they had become in Grand Banks. They use an infused carbon fiber construction and the 60 is capable of 36 knots at WOT, a 27 knot cruise, 20 knots at only 29 gph and a range of 2500 nm at 10 knots. Now, the real test will be how well it achieves the ride, stability, and performance it claims.
There are a lot of people who have loved Eastbay and Palm Beach and wanted a larger boat with a bridge for family cruising.
I still hate that they basically killed Grand Banks as it was. The traditional design, 20 knot boats, good ride. However, I have to at the same time give them credit for the new boats. They set a design goal and have brought it to fruition. If we were looking for a 60' boat with a bridge, we'd definitely consider it. Maybe since Beneteau calls their boats "Swift Trawlers", this should be labeled a "Performance Trawler" just to drive traditionalists crazy.
-They purchased Stuart Yacht Basin for about $3.2 million to give themselves a US presence as 75% of their sales are in the US.
-They've modernized their plant and greatly improved margins.
-They are currently averaging about 20 boat sales per year, the majority of those Palm Beach.
-They will be showing in the Annapolis show in October.
Now, as to the Grand Banks brand. The first new boat in that brand was the 60 which comes in both an open bridge and a skylounge configuration. It will be shown in Annapolis. The boats have gone from planning to completion and now on the water. In fact a 52 is now starting build.
The 60 shows the Palm Beach influence with performance and styling emphasized. They typical trawler devotee is not going to like it. However, today's younger boat buyers are far more likely to be interested than they had become in Grand Banks. They use an infused carbon fiber construction and the 60 is capable of 36 knots at WOT, a 27 knot cruise, 20 knots at only 29 gph and a range of 2500 nm at 10 knots. Now, the real test will be how well it achieves the ride, stability, and performance it claims.
There are a lot of people who have loved Eastbay and Palm Beach and wanted a larger boat with a bridge for family cruising.
I still hate that they basically killed Grand Banks as it was. The traditional design, 20 knot boats, good ride. However, I have to at the same time give them credit for the new boats. They set a design goal and have brought it to fruition. If we were looking for a 60' boat with a bridge, we'd definitely consider it. Maybe since Beneteau calls their boats "Swift Trawlers", this should be labeled a "Performance Trawler" just to drive traditionalists crazy.