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The season has begun, time for trade fairs and company visits! This spring, we visited Boot Düsseldorf and Boot Holland, among other venues, and also visited a few suppliers and colleagues. Here's a glimpse.
The world's largest indoor watersports trade show, and we thought we could easily cover it in a day, including travel time. We were completely wrong. What an incredible event. While we already think the RAI is quite something with just five halls, here we were completely dizzy with 18 enormous halls packed with every conceivable aspect of watersports.
Next year we will take a few days for this.
Packing up some goodies and swag for our suppliers
Robust-MT branded syrup waffles
A quick catch-up with Danny TAO (CEO ePropulsion ) and Steve Bruce (global OEM sales director ePropulsion ) and of course a look at the beautiful new I-series engines.
are truly impressed with WaterWorld and look forward to hearing more from them this year, starting with a planned company visit in May.
Besides the above, it was also great to see and talk Temo and Propel Candela C8 The Green Wave booth —what an incredibly cool thing! Whether or not there's a market for it is irrelevant. When I grow up, I want to have one.
The show was also quite confronting, however. Initially impressed by an entire hall dedicated to sustainability and electrification, we then found ourselves head-on confronted by a massive ribbed rig with no fewer than six 600hp Mercury V12 gas guzzlers. And that wasn't the only one; there was a whole row of them. Apparently, there's still a market for that in 2023.
The sailboat hall was too far away and time was too short. The same goes for the houseboats, the clothing, the SUPs and surfing gear, canoes, diving gear, sloops, restaurants, etc. Maybe we should just set aside a few days next year.
The contrast couldn't have been starker. After the enormous Boot Düsseldorf, we found the super quaint but charming Boot Holland in Leeuwarden. It has three halls, is well-organized, and can be explored in just over an hour. Upon entering, we encountered a stall selling Frisian and Groningen sausages and stalls selling trinkets, where we picked up four more books by childhood hero Henk de Velde. Once inside, we enjoyed Dutch water sports, including beautiful handmade wooden boats.
In terms of networking, we caught up extensively with our good friends at Drinkwaard , the Dutch importer of ePropulsion and our main supplier. We also had extensive conversations with the people behind Propel and WaterWorld Electronics , as well as with our contacts at De Stille Boot and the people behind Impacd Boats in Woudsend.
All in all, a very pleasant and well-organized fair that we will definitely attend again next year. If not for the fair itself, then for the local delicacies we picked up along the way in Franeker and Leeuwarden.
What an event this was! Compliments to the people at De Stille Boot for organizing a fantastic day. What energy, and how wonderful to have so many stakeholders and interested people together. Besides catching up with several familiar faces, meeting newcomers, and enjoying delicious food, we were amazed by the various presentations. It was incredibly rewarding to be a 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 resources. A request we are delighted to fulfill.
Test setup Propel S1 Outboard motor
The magnificent Propel S1 Outboard in the flesh
This is what we've been waiting for: finally, we'd get to put the Propel S1 outboard to the test ourselves. We certainly weren't disappointed.
The day started with a warm welcome, a delicious lunch, and reconnecting with old and new acquaintances. A beautiful office filled with friendly, like-minded people. After a cup of coffee and a delicious sandwich, it was off to the boats.
We went out on the water with three boats. A RIB with the Propel S1 13kW engine on board; naturally, we wanted to try that out first. What power!!! What a beast of an engine! It was quite noisy, though. This turned out to be a pre-production issue, because afterward, we switched to the sloop (pictured above), complete peace and quiet. This was the Propel S1 10kW engine , and that was more than enough for this boat. We can see ourselves cruising around Westland with this sloop for years to come; a gem of an engine in a wonderfully modest boat. Finally, we took a trip with the beautiful Impacd sloop with the D1 10kW inboard engine . The same applies here as for the other sloop, but we actually think it would be a shame not to show off 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 a refreshing breath of fresh air, we were given a tour of the office, the test rooms, and the assembly area. The day concluded with instructions on a standard assembly (see photo above) and the necessary components. Propel, thanks for a successful day, we'd love to come back!
