This year’s Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show was extremely successful with a significant number of sales across the range and high levels of interest in the new M61 cruising motoryacht which was released publicly for the first time at the show.
Maritimo’s on water display, the largest at the show, was a ‘mini United Nations’ with international dealership partners from Monaco in Europe , Florida and Newport Beach in the USA, Singapore and New Zealand.
They all spoke in glowing terms about the new generation of Maritimos and gave some insights into what their customers say about what is fast becoming a world leading brand in the marine sector.
Bill King – Hampton Yacht Group:
“When Compass Point Yachts joined with Hampton Yacht Group in 2012 I brought Maritimo with me to Hampton. We have sold around 30 vessels so far and the reputation of the brand is growing. In my opinion Maritimo offers an extremely stable cruising platform with excellent seakeeping abilities. Our clients all love the enclosed, climate controlled flybridges, enabling them to cruise in comfort and they also like the internal stairways to the bridge. In the south west market there is a lot of fishing and the deep walk around decks enable owners to chase their gamefish around the boat in safety. In the north west the excellent visibility from the flybridge is a big plus as there is a lot of logging up there and the water is often littered with what we call deadheads or logs that have drifted from shore and if you hit one of those at speed it is a very costly exercise. I am always in awe of the improvements and upgrades that the Maritimo factory continues to introduce into the product range.”
Craig Harvey – Spencer Ship:
“We have been involved with Maritimo for about three and a half years and have more than 30 years helping boat manufacturers build their brands internationally. The Maritimo product is world class and the quality of finish second to none. We are steadily educating our clients in regards to the Maritimo points of difference. One, it is an Australian product and two, Maritimo is controlled by an owner who knows how to build boats and what makes a boat different. In many cases a lot of boat manufacturing companies are run by accountants or hedge funds and those guys don’t boat or in many cases understand boats. In Maritimo’s case the owner has surrounded himself with a great management and sales team and many of the company’s key people have been with him for decades. Our Maritimo clients are similar to here in Australia – they use their boats and they understand them. The average boater in the Mediterranean uses their boat for about 40 hours a year, whereas our Maritimo owners use their boats for around 200 hours a year. The climate controlled flybridges and wide walk around decks are unique to Maritimo and they are big selling points in a lot of the markets where we have a presence.”
Jay Dee Jackson – Galati Yacht Sales:
“The fuel efficiency and capacity of the Maritimo model range is a major point of difference. Fuel capacity is virtually double that of any of the competition and when combined with how efficient these vessels are it means that our clients can safely make passages, say from Florida to the Bahamas, in one hop. In terms of quality and finish Maritimo is right up there. The gloss timber interiors are very popular with our clients who normally are looking at satin finishes as standard with gloss being an expensive optional upgrade. The enclosed flybridges and internal stairs are all strong selling points as are the full beam masters. There have been about 150 new Maritimos delivered into the US market so far and we see the brand going from strength to strength. The ease of handling, once only achieved with IPS, is now available with the Maritimo range while providing the reliability and low maintenance associated with shaft drives and that is a major plus.”
