I am surprised that the committee spent any time at all on the concept of buying the moulds!
If Parkers could no longer attract new buyers, why on earth would the committee expect to do better? And just who would actually build any orders?
It has taken 12 years for the global marine market as a whole to return to the level that it enjoyed pre the 2008 economic crash.
The global market for new build sailing cruisers continues to shrink as a proportion of the total market
The median size of both power and sail cruisers has been continually increasing because the economics of production make smaller craft relatively far more expensive than larger.
The long term trend is to charter over ownership (although Cv19 and travel restrictions may cause this trend to pause).
Radical and unique as the Seal/Parker range was in its time, we are now in a totally different yacht design world.
Sadly, the Seal 22 is already dead - if you want one, £500 will buy you one.
The price premium that lift keel Seal/Parkers 26/27 and up commanded even post 2008 has rapidly declined, even faster than the market prices for more conventional and well known UK brand names.
I started monitoring asking prices on the PSSA website for the SS27 and up at that time, and they tell their own tale.
Let’s face it - we are heading for “classic GRP yacht” status.
That is not to say that there is no demand for existing craft, but it is clearly a declining one.
I look forward to the reactions to this post!
Geoff Sheddick
Parker 27/146 "Stroller'