New Finns to arrive too late for 2019 Sydney International Boat Show
New models from Bella Boats featuring Australia-specific enhancements to miss Sydney’s annual boating spectacularA number of new Flipper boats headed to Australia from Finnish brand Bella will miss the 2019 Sydney International Boat Show after it was confirmed their ship will arrive too late for the August 1 opening.
The boats, including the Flipper 650DC and 700DC cuddy cabins, and the range-topping Flipper 900 ST cruiser, were delayed in the factory partly because of the customisations done to the Scandanavian boats to make them better suited to Australian buyers.
The knock-on effect has delayed their shipment here in time for the show.
Dan Hanoumis, the Australian agent for Flipper’s Finn owner Bella Boats, said the shipping company’s delivery window was right around the Sydney show’s opening, and he was forced to make a call on whether they’d arrive in time.
“All vessels are series-manufactured, so it was always going to be tight,” Hanoumis said. “But it was not viable to rush production to make the show; they [the new boats] are going to be quite special.
“We would love to be at the Sydney show, but the reality is that they were not going to arrive in time.”
Change of venue
Instead, the new boats will go on display at Chapman Marine Group, located at Rozelle’s Sydney Boathouse from Saturday, August 3.
Hanoumis said he was keen to return to Sydney after the Finnish boats’ Australian debut at last year’s show, which gave Bella valuable insight into the changes it could make on the production line to tune the boats to Aussie tastes.
“Our entrance into the market and presence at the show last year was all about listening to wants and needs of prospective purchasers,” Hanoumis said.
“This feedback has been incorporated into the 2019 and 2020 model years and I was looking forward to greeting the same people and showing them how their wants and needs had been realised in these models.
“The collaboration with the factory has been great,” Hanoumis said. “We have been able to create something quite special for Australian boaters, and Bella’s commitment to the market here will be shown through these models”.
The new models will join the Bella 600R, 550BR, 600BR and Falcon BR6 already on sale here.
The 2019 Sydney International Boat Show opens at Darling Harbour on Thursday, August 1. Tickets are available online now.
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
