Elling E4 Capsize Test is Live!

Came across this review of the E3 model which is famous as the boat you can capsize and live to tell about it!

Is it self righting or was the crane giving it help?

LOL It almost sounds like an automated text-to-speech program running...

It really does. It's inconsistent in the way it handles inflections, contractions, subtleties like hard "t" sound, the "i" in "ious" endings, etc. I had to turn it off.

The crane was only used to create the turn-over. I was there and saw that this yacht really did self-right. This was a ready to deliver to owner vessel with the only modifications made for the rollover were removal of floor hatches and the postponement of deck rail installation. Not only did the E4 self-right, but the engine started right up and Anton, the Elling builder, took her for a spin to the applause of the crowds which was largely comprised of Elling owners.

Judy

It's a great exhibition or gimmick depending on how you look at it. Unfortunately, to take advantage of it and the showmanship and ability of the boat to do that would require far more money spent on marketing than Elling does. By contrast the "Unsinkable Boston Whaler." That was promoted every possible way. If you were a boater or boat enthusiast you couldn't miss it. It sold a lot of boats and led them to where they are.

You can build a better mousetrap, but if you can't market it then it doesn't matter very much. Marketing a relatively low volume boat is difficult. You need to spend many times what sales volume justifies.

Olderboater - you are so right. Elling has tried to make an entry in the US at a few different times over the years. The boats are well built, nicely executed, and offer a superior standard of quality at a great price. But, marketing missteps and shortsightedness has been costly at each entry. A continual presence with a dealer demo at major East Coast boat shows and great builder support would do wonders towards assuring marketing success. I was beyond disappointed to see that a dealer buying 2 boats in a small geographic market demanding exclusivity would offset the momentum that had been building with the East Coast presence. It doesn't diminish the vessel, but sure limits the exposure.

That's the shame is when they find the sale of two boats to be significant and justify making such a deal. But that's where size comes into play. If the dream was to establish a real presence, you'd insist on something more like 10 boats ordered just for the Southeast. And you wouldn't discount the boats excessively but you'd agree to a very generous co-op advertising plan.

Unfortunately so many builders of moderately sized boats are under-capitalized or have owners unwilling to spend, so we see many examples. Look at Grand Banks getting excited over sales of a couple of boats when they could have the US blanketed with boats. Someone like Van Dutch can't even find a builder to stick with. Bering flounders. For some builders like Fleming, low volume is the way, but most need more. And for all those who blame their lack of penetration in the mid sized market on the market itself, then maybe they should just look at the volume Sea Ray is doing with the L Series in such a short time. With aggressive marketing and some speculative building, I could see Elling almost developing a cult following based on the "Boat that rights itself" but as it is, they unfortunately are just a small footnote. Now, with all the hoopla, you go to their website and find only one agent in the US, Heritage in Long Beach, and they have one boat in inventory. One.

I wonder if a pod wouldn't be a better selection for running gear.

I expect the engine started right up because it wasn't running when it rolled over, mental note, do a shutdown before you capsize.