The season has started, time for trade fairs and company visits! This spring we went to Boot Düsseldorf and Boot Holland, among others, and we also visited a few suppliers and colleagues. An impression.
Boat Dusseldorf
The largest indoor water sports fair in the world and we thought we could do it in a day, including travel time. So we had really completely misunderstood that. What an unusual event. We think the RAI is quite a lot with about five halls, but here we were completely dizzy with 18 enormous halls full of every water sports aspect imaginable.
Next year we will take a few days for this.
Just packing some goodies and swag for our suppliers
Robust-MT branded syrup waffles
Catch up with Danny TAO (CEO ePropulsion ) and Steve Bruce (global OEM sales director ePropulsion ) and of course take a look at the beautiful new I-series engines.
Genuinely impressed by WaterWorld , we will hear even more about them this year, starting with a planned company visit in May.
In addition to the above, it was also great to see and speak Temo and Propel We had an extensive chat with our connections from De Stille Boot and Torqeedo. Candela C8 in person for the first time The Green Wave , what an incredibly cool thing! Whether or not there is a market for it, irrelevant question, when I grow up I want to have one of those.
However, the fair was also confrontational. We were first impressed by an entire hall in the context of sustainability and electrification, but then we walked head-on into a huge rib with no fewer than 6 Mercury 600 hp V12 gas guzzlers. And that wasn't the only one, there was a whole list of them. Apparently there is still a market for this in 2023.
The hall of sailboats was too far away and the time was too short. The same goes for the houseboats, clothing, SUP and surfing gear, canoes, diving gear, sloops, eateries, etc. Maybe we should just take a few days off next year.
Boat Holland - Leeuwarden
The contrast couldn't be much greater. After the enormous Boot Düsseldorf, the super quaint but cozy Boot Holland in Leeuwarden. About 3 halls, nice and clear and can be completed in just over an hour. Upon entering, we saw a stall with Frisian and Groningen sausages and stalls with trinkets where we could buy four more books by childhood hero Henk de Velde. Once in the halls, we enjoyed Dutch water sports including beautiful handmade wooden boats.
In terms of networking, we had extensive discussions with our good acquaintances from Drinkwaard , the Dutch importer of ePropulsion and our main supplier. We were also able to speak extensively with the men behind Propel and WaterWorld Electronics and with our contacts from De Stille Boot and the people behind Impacd Boats from Woudsend.
All in all, a very nice, well-organized fair that we will definitely go to again next year. If not for the fair, then for the local delicacies that we picked up along the way in Franeker and Leeuwarden.
Electric sailing conference at De Stille Boot in Heeg
What an event this was! Compliments to the people of De Stille Boot for organizing a great day. What energy and how cool to have so many stakeholders and interested parties together. In addition to catching up with various acquaintances, getting to know lesser known people and eating delicious food. We were amazed by the various presentations. Very cool to be part of this. Thanks to De Stille Boot for this wonderful event. During the event, a call was made to keep this group together to pool knowledge and strengths together. A request that we would very much like to contribute to.
Dealer day Propel
Test setup Propel S1 Outboard motor
The magnificent Propel S1 Outboard in the flesh
We had been waiting for this, finally we could put the Propel S1 outboard through its paces ourselves. We are certainly not disappointed.
The day started with a warm welcome, a good lunch, old and newer acquaintances. A beautiful office, with only nice, like-minded people. After a cup of coffee and a delicious sandwich, it was first off to the boats.
We went out on the water with three boats. A rib with the Propel S1 13kW set on board; Of course we wanted to try that first. What power!!! Not normal, what a beast of an engine. This engine did make relatively a lot of noise. This turned out to be a pre-production issue because after this we transferred into the sloop (photo above), total peace and quiet. This concerned the Propel S1 10kW set and that was more than sufficient for this boat. We can see ourselves sailing around the Westland with this sloop in the coming years, a gem of an engine in a wonderfully modest boat. Finally, we sailed a bit with the beautiful Impacd sloop with the D1 inboard set 10kW . The same applies to this as to the other sloop, but we actually think it would be a shame not to show a Propel. These engines are so beautiful that we prefer to look at the S1 and would actually like to install a D1 under plexiglass.
After getting some fresh air, we took a tour of the office, the test rooms and the editing room. The day ended with an instruction of a standard assembly (see photo above) and the components required for this. Propel, thank you for a successful day, we would love to come back!
