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Azimut 68 Fly 2024 quality feedback?

Discussion in 'General Yachting Discussion' started by Darko89, Jul 25, 2024.

  1. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    Absolutely. A few of my friends run new ones and they have multiple issues, a lot of water leaks in various places in the salon and etc. It's a price point boat.
  2. mapism

    mapism Senior Member

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    Multiple issues, lack of quality, sizzle and no steak, no quality control, and so on.
    Yet, Azimut turnover is well over triple of Sunseeker, they have been the undisputed leader in this industry for more than I can remember, and nothing suggest that this will change in the foreseeable future - surely not because of Sunseeker competition, anyway.
    In their boots, I'm not sure I'd lose any sleep over the reiterated (to the point of getting boring) attempts of someone in a forum to dismiss their products as junk, and promote some others.
  3. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    And Tracker is the largest boat builder in the United States by far. Look them up, I would NEVER own a Tracker. Volume is meaningless. They are a price point boat, just like Bayliner was, with no control or oversight to a lot of their build process.
  4. mapism

    mapism Senior Member

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    Interesting, I wasn't aware of it.
    Tells much more about the US boatbuilding industry rather than about AziBen, I reckon. o_O
  5. Darko89

    Darko89 New Member

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    Thanks everyone for the feedback. The boat slot was allocated to another buyer now so that makes my decision easier for the good or for the bad. I feel both relief and remorse truth to be said. I can now get back to lurk the overpriced second hand Sunseekers. It' s crazy that the price of a well equipped new 75 in 2014 was 3M and the current askings are over 2M. In my book, a 10 year old boat should cost no more than 40% of price as new. Let s see if asking prices fall after this year boat shows...
    Last edited: Jul 31, 2024
  6. Liam

    Liam Senior Member

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    Have you ever tried to run a Manhattan 66 or 68 (same boat as your correctly say) with stabilizers turned off in a beamy sea of 4 ft and more.

    Your reply will indicate your knowledge about this yacht.
  7. mapism

    mapism Senior Member

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    Liam, buckle up.
    You should know by now that there's no such thing as a specific sea condition, with a specific boat, that Capt J didn't experience at least a thousand times.
    Now, where did I leave my popcorn...? :D
    Liam likes this.
  8. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    Overpriced???? You get exactly what you pay for. Pay peanuts and get a lower quality and lower performing yacht. Quality yachts hold their value. Used yacht prices are determined by demand. There are plenty of used Azimuts for sale.
  9. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    Yeah it rolls, I've run it without stabilizers before as we had some communication issues with them in the beginning...... as does the same Size Azimut, Hatteras, and others....... The Princess 62' rolls like crazy in that even with it's stabilizer on ( undersized seakeeper). What exactly do you mean will indicated your knowledge of this yacht? I haven't run a 68' but the 66' is the same boat for all intensive purposes, but they went to quick gyro's over the superior Sidepower curved fins........ The 66' I have run 1000's of miles and spent probably 6 months of my time on trips on that boat. I've done Fort Lauderdale to Guatamala and back, 1/2 of it at hull speed. I've done Fort Lauderdale to Staniel or Cave cay and back around 12 times.......
  10. Scott Felstad

    Scott Felstad Member

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    Don't buy a Sunseeker 66 unless you have multiple fire ex at extinguishers at hand........Beware.
  11. gr8trn

    gr8trn Senior Member

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    US boatbuilding is not the issue. Build cheap boats anywhere and market them well to the buyer pool and charge less money for them. That is more the formula than where they are built.

    Beneteau group is massive. I have owned three of their sailing products. They have scale, marketing, good naval architecture but they are a price point boat. They sell more than anyone because they appeal to boaters who are newer to the market and are lower priced than Oyster and X yacht, and they build a ton of them.

    Good design, price point materials and workmanship, IKEA appeal, lots of availablity and you have part of the formula for selling more than anyone.
  12. Liam

    Liam Senior Member

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    Probably it is, more then you think. For the sense that they have a big internal market, and the product is over industrialized and commercial for cost cutting, with too much visible bean counting in it.
    Look at an Azimut or Absolute or Galeon, or even one of the British, and the bean counting is less visible to the buyer in the visible finishing and fittings.
    Even a Beneteau boat has a standard which in some areas is a better visible quality to a double expensive Tiara. What you see in most American boats is furniture moulding with visible GRP, polished gel coat but still visible GRP.
    For boats now which even at fifteen meters cost north of one million this is unacceptable.

    I think US builders produce boats in the car chain production mentality (good for small boats), while European builders produce a boat or yacht let say above ten meters, more in the way a house or a condo is build.

    The exception to this rule of US builder has been sportfishing yachts, above fifty foot, probably also pushed in this by the custom builders who have had growing success in the past two/three decades.
    Cruisers seems also to be getting closer in offering a product which comes close to European style and finish.
    gr8trn likes this.