Welcome to this second 2010 newsletter. There is plenty to talk about as we [ hopefully and finally ] move out of the recessionary era into a bold new economic environment.

 

It’s apparent that Phuket hotels have picked up trade, albeit by cutting prices. The same applies to the airline industry. Both operate on slim margins but it is evident the customers are there at the right price.

 

Lee Marine has come through the recession strongly. Our seven boat display at PIMEX this year, with some good prospects arising from the boat show, underlines that there are customers out there looking for good quality new and second hand boats.

 

A good example is our recent sale of a Crownline 266 Sport Cuddy Cruiser to a local buyer, who traded up from his Crownline 18 SSS. This is a very pleasing sale, not just for the new owner, but for Lee Marine and Crownline.

 

As many owners may know Crownline went through a rough patch during the recession and stopped manufacturing at one stage. We are pleased to say they are now back and that we have sold our second Crownline boat since they resumed in August last year.

 

We can also talk, in this newsletter, about the new Ferretti 800, which has many features of the Ferretti 881 that we sold and was on display at PIMEX. Josh has been in Italy personally inspecting the No 1 Ferretti 800 hull as it is taking shape. Ferretti particularly values Lee Marine’s knowledge and experience of operating boats in tropical climates.

Whilst Josh was in Italy, Anthony Gates welcomed Danilo Frulla from Pershing to Thailand and spent a very valuable week visitng customers and their boats. This is part of our ongoing commitment to provide service of the highest quality - a feeling shared by our friends at Pershing.

 

We also have a feature on the Riviera 43 Flybridge with IPS [ Inboard Performance System ] the Prestige 60 European Boat of the Year for boats over 50 feet and the second of our profiles of Lee Marine divisions.

 

This time it is Andrew de Bruin’s turn. We have had good feedback on the first one as these question and answer sessions elicit a lot of good information for our readers from the experts.

 

We will see you on the water or thereabouts.

 

Kind regards the Lee Marine team.