Click here to see the full test on the Jeanneau NC9

Conditions on day one were average with a moderate southerly blowing through and seas 1-2m from the SSE. The boat to its credit maintained a cursing speed of 21kts for most of the day averaging just over 100lph. We ducked into Port Stephens for a quick diversion (fuelled by my desire for a Bacon and Egg Roll with Coffee) and headed North around Seal Rocks, past Forster, Port Macquarie and finally pulled into Coffs Harbour fuel wharf around 7pm on Friday night. It was basically a 12 hour sea run on day one but the best part about making Coffs Harbour on day 1 is that Day 2 is generally a short one!

Having dropped my wallet in the water at Coffs Harbour Jed quickly jumped in and saved the day so rather than the standard pizza for dinner I felt it only fair that we have a decent meal close by. Fed and watered we all slept exceptionally well ready for a 6am start once again. On day 2 we checked the weather, the Southerly’s had been forecast to increase along with the seas but whilst it was from the South we knew both boats could handle it. As we left and turned North the boat settled into its rhythm once again and we averaged 21-22kts for the first few hours. When we approached Cape Byron however, as it so often does the seas flattened, the sun came out and we enjoyed a superb run into the Gold Coast sea way arriving at 1pm.

The Prestige 500 performed flawlessly throughout the trip and I have to say the Simrad gear on board was a pleasure to operate. I have never experienced such a stiff and correct autopilot than this Simrad unit and in a following sea we held true and straight along our track at all times. The twin IPS 500 Volvo engines purred the whole way, were economical to run and never showed any sign of wavering under the conditions. The sea keeping ability of the Prestige 500 was superb, a high dry hull kept us clear of spray, the ride was soft and the excessive slapping that I have seen in many infused/injection moulded hulls was not evident in this ride at all. I can put my hand on my heart now and honestly say that apart from being the best laid out 50ft boat in the local market today, it also has the performance and seakeeping ability that we have come to expect as the temptation to stretch our boating legs just a bit further up the coast becomes a real factor in a boat buying decision. All in all a great trip and I look forward to showing the boat at Sanctuar Cove International Boat Show in just over 2 weeks!

In this months edition of Trade a Boat, Matthew Willett Marine discusses the advantages of social and multi media marketing from a consumers perspective.

Download the Full Article Here

Click Here for the Prestige 550 Updated Photo Album

Prestige and Jeanneau Media and Sea Trial Week

Watch the Clipper Hudson Bay 50 Video

See more images and the Clipper Hudson Bay 50 brochure and specs 

The new brochure is attached and to enquire about pricing or if you would like to see the boat in the flesh please don’t hesitate to let us know. Also stay tuned for the Trade a Boat Test in the coming issues and check out our website for the latest up to date photos. www.mwmarine.com.au

Hudson Bay 50 Brochure and Spec

As added value to potential vendors and purchasers we also consider ourselves to be right up there with the latest social media trends in our industry. While it may sound double dutch to many, “Tweets”, “Facebook Posts” and other geeky things we do help to make sure that your listing can be found easily. In most cases it will turn up in a simple google search giving it A1 exposure.

We use QR Codes extensively. What that means is that if someone walks past our window, they can scan the code on the front of your inventory, which takes them to your listing. They can then have access to video, photos, the inventory and so on. The best bit is though that we also receive information from that scan which helps us create a connection with that person. So in essence, your listing is everywhere, all the time. We even have our own TV channel, www.mwmarinetv.com.au that we put all our listing videos on to giving it even greater exposure worldwide.

In the coming days we will go mobile so you will be able to view MWM in a user friendly format on your iPhone and iPad. Whilst many dealers have great websites, they are not phone platform friendly meaning that information is often lost or hard to see on portable devices. With an increase of over 200% in boat search traffic originating from portable devices last month alone, we feel that this is a major step to increasing exposure to the boat buying market.

So all in all exciting times but what we are doing is nothing new to the marketing world in fact we are still way behind. In terms of our industry though I think that even if you don’t understand what it all means, don’t be afraid to entrust a broker who does. The benefits of embracing change and using the latest technology are tenfold and the ultimate winner is you!

Jeanneau Leader 10 Captain’s Report BoatTEST.com

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