London success!

Another new year, another London Boatshow, and the team from Grange International return triumphant after selling two Chris Craft Corsairs at the show, and bringing home a book full of potential leads.

The crowds at Excel continue to diminish, but it seems that the genuine buyers are still quietly there, and easier to find without the usual necessity for quite so much crowd control.

And whilst there’s no doubt that Chris Craft are not a budget brand, what they do have to offer is phenomenal style and a real depth of quality.

If you’d like to see that for yourself then please do not hesitate to contact us.

London Boat Show Looms

As the year draws to a close, all eyes in the marine industry fall to the London Boat Show, that annual pilgrimage that marks the beginning of a fresh new year of boat sales.

Grange International will be there in force this year, with seven stunning Sessas on display from 20 – 46’,  including the UK debut of very appealing C32 Hardtop; the boat show example of which, pre-sold by Grange team, is heading for the UK South Coast after the show

Also debuting on the stand will be the clever and versatile Fly40 flybridge cruiser, which promises to be a huge hit in the UK due to it’s perfect size for south coast marinas and channel crossing abilities.

The exciting Key Largo 34 will also be making it’s UK debut. On the surface a fantastic walk around dayboat, but with a dinette and twin berths tucked cleverly away beneath the sunbed it offers the perfect way to extend those perfect summer days afloat.

Meanwhile, we’re also representing Chris Craft on their five boat stand. From the compact Launch 20 to the simply gorgeous Corsair 28, these boats have to be amongst the most beautiful ever to grace a marina, the very pinnacle of retro cool.

And as if that weren’t enough, the Grange International banner will be flying proudly above our stunning Sunseeker 62 Predator on the used boat pontoons against the wharf outside.

Whether you’re there to chat, to buy, or just to dream, we do hope you’ll stop by and say hi, and we look forward to seeing you there.

Personal service

Yacht brokerages tend to fall into two main categories, large companies with lots of offices, or one man bands. Both of these have their advantages, the big businesses are more professional and cover more ground, but the one man bands often offer a much more personal service.

At Grange, we try and tread the middle ground. We’re big enough to spread the net, having bases that cover the whole of the South Coast of the UK and beyond, plus a base perfectly situated to cover the Mediterranean. But we’re not so big that the directors are just names on a letterhead.

We believe that we’re fairly unique in offering this combination of reach and real professionalism with a truly personal service, but as ever in any retail organisation, our opinion doesn’t matter a jot. The only one that counts is the customers. And if they’re happy, we’re happy.

Which is why we were all so delighted to receive the following testimonials from customers recently. We all share a genuine sense of pride in what we do, so this sort feedback gives us tremendous satisfaction and spurs us all on to maintain the fantastic reputation that Grange International has garnered over the years.

 

As first-time boatowners, we count ourselves extremely fortunate to have been looked after by Grange International.  Nothing has been too much trouble and each member of the team – Paul and Jon in Poole, Nick in Dartmouth and Philip in Mallorca – has gone the extra mile for us which is so important.  Thanks to them, and to their unfailingly sound advice, we have ended up where we want to be; proud owners of a lovely boat.

 Sir Malcolm & Lady Rosemary Thornton

 

“Philip gave us 1^st class professional service from start to finish and achieved a quick sale at a reasonable price.  Help with all the paperwork was most gratefully received.  I will definitely use Grange again to buy and sell my next boat”.   

Best regards
David Elms
Elms and Elms Limited

Flying south

For a variety of reasons I came late to the concept of flying, taking my first flight only a few short years ago. I’m not a fan of it generally, but I’m very much in awe of the ability that it gives to hurtle to a destination 2,000 miles away in four hours and completely transform one’s surroundings.

Leaving the UK last week my partner and I jetted off to Gran Canaria for a short break in the sun. It’s like time travel really, in the morning grey cold rain soaked autumn in Britain, in the afternoon the blazing hot sunshine and azure blue sea’s we only see in the height of summer (and not always even then!)

I’ve always been of the opinion that a boat needs to be kept within driving distance, allowing hassle free access without planning and planes and airports. But as the UK summers become less summery and the concept of flying becomes ever more normalised, I’m beginning to appreciate more and more the reasons so many of our fellow countrymen keep their boats abroad, an escape from the grim weather and a home in the sun.

Certainly it’s why Grange International recently expanded into the Mediterranean, our man Phil Taylor occupying the Med boating central that is Mallorca. As I look out at the rain bouncing off the road outside I’m beginning to think he has the right idea.

If you fancy joining him out there in the sunshine, Grange International have a wide range of Med based brokerage boats, and can arrange transportation for anything UK based that we sell. His details are here:

http://www.grangeinternational.com/TeamMember.php?id=6

And if you need anyone to hold your bags as you fly south, give me a call, I could do with a good excuse to get back on a plane and head for warmer climes again!

Classic elegance

Fairline are pulling out all the stops of late, bringing us sharp designs, clever layouts, and avant-garde interior finishes that wouldn’t look out of place in a Manhattan loft conversion. I think it’s absolutely the right way forward, they’re leading from the front, showcasing ideas and concepts filled with want one factor, giving their customers a real sense of right now.

But what’s interesting is that stepping on a twelve year old, twin cabin twin en suite mid range flybridge cruiser that we’ve just listed, a design which is literally last century now, it somehow doesn’t feel dated, just classic. There’s real warmth in the rich cherry carpentry, real quality to the curve of the wood and the lustre of the lacquer, and a sense of rightness to its traditional layout. It feels exactly like what it is, a conservative, practical, comfortable, up market mid range cruiser. It just works somehow.

And as I admired the condition and enjoyed the sense of calm comfort I couldn’t help wondering, will today’s cutting edge styling still look this good a decade on?

http://www.grangeinternational.com/boat-listing.php?id=1440

A dog’s life

A great photo this week from our Swedish friends of their dog enjoying life aboard.

A shorter season than ours see’s their boat now ashore for the winter after a short but successful boating summer.

I hear plans are afoot for new teak side decks and flybridge, and a few other modifications. It should be quite a boat by the time they’re finished!

Indian Summer

After a somewhat patchy typically British summer, the first weekend of October brought us spectacular weather, almost as if to remind us just what we’d been missing. With temperatures in the high twenties, calm seas and not a cloud in the sky it was as if everyone with a boat headed out onto the water for one last blast.

My partner and I were fortunate enough to be invited out by good friends Ian and Alex, who run a beautiful Draco Zircon 3400, a twin Yamaha diesel engined thirty four footer, out of Port Solent. With all the covers off and the sun beating down we took off from Portsmouth harbour at speed and headed for the Isle of Wight for lunch, followed by a gentle run back down the coast and around the fascinating nineteenth century sea forts.

As the sun shone and the sea sparkled a million boats teemed around the Solent reminding us how just one good day on the water makes it all worthwhile.

Meanwhile, the Draco is up for sale with Grange at a very reasonable £65,000. You’ll find her for sale here:

http://www.grangeinternational.com/boat-listing.php?id=1330

Certainly based on our day out on her, she’ll make a fabulous boat for someone.