405 CONQUEST

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jimh
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405 CONQUEST

Postby jimh » Wed Nov 06, 2019 8:10 am

Boston Whaler introduced their largest-ever cabin boat at the 2019 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, a new design called the 405 CONQUEST. This new model has a length overall of 41-feet 4-inches, easily surpassing the 35-feet 11-inches of the previously biggest cabin boat, the 345 CONQUEST. When the 405 CONQUEST is ready for the sea with full fuel tanks and full water tanks, and with its standard four VERADO engines, it weights an astonishing 29,500-lbs. Clearly, you won't be pulling this boat on a trailer to a launch ramp.

The minimum recommended power is 1,200-HP, which would be provided by four 300-HP outboard engines. The maximum power is 1,600-HP, provided by four 400-HP VERADO engines.

The boat has 600-gallons fuel capacity. I haven't seen any performance data posted, but fuel burn can be estimated from other data on the 400-HP VERADO. On the 345 CONQUEST, triple 400-HP VERADO engines at full throttle burn 114-GPH. Scaling this up by a ratio of 4:3 suggests the 405 CONQUEST could be burning 152-GPH. If we allow a 10-percent reserve, the boat would have a usable fuel of 540-gallons. That would be gone in three and a half hours. If marine fuel is $4-per-gallon, a fill-up might be $2,400. Everything about this boat is large.

There is a recorded-live and unedited walk-through presentation on youTube given by Chris Wachowski, Director of Product Development for Boston Whaler. Watch at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_9j6ljliAw

As I watched this detailed presentation I was thinking of all the added systems on this boat that will need maintenance. There are refrigeration systems in multiple places, air conditioning, hidden electric motors moving big structures like tables, bed, and seats, multiple hot and cold water faucets and sinks--it's a very complex boat with many systems. At the end of the presentation, Mr. Wachowski says, "I've probably only touched twenty-percent of what's on this boat." There's a lot of "stuff" on this big cabin boat that's not on your MONTAUK 17.

The WHALER.COM website has details but no prices at

https://www.bostonwhaler.com/build-your-whaler/?model=405-conquest

I have a feeling that this boat is going to cost more than $1,000,000. Using the rule of thumb for boat ownership, you will need about $10-million in "wealth" to afford this boat, and plan to spend $100,000-per-year on operating costs.

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jimp
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Re: 405 CONQUEST

Postby jimp » Wed Nov 06, 2019 11:15 am

I watched the video last night and was amazed at all the "stuff" on the boat. Panoramic ports/windows below, refrigeration/freezers, pop-up joystick on the port side console, and quad engines. Chris Wachowski made a big show of the sliding door to the forward stateroom.

But, aside from being new and having "stuff", the sleeping arrangements were good for two people and looked crowded for four.

Lot of money for a long weekend.

JimP

jimh
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Re: 405 CONQUEST

Postby jimh » Wed Nov 06, 2019 11:36 am

JIMP--maybe if you are working hard enough to be able to afford the 405 CONQUEST, the only vacation time you get is a long weekend.

I look at super-expensive outboard boats like this: what is the amount of fun divided by the total costs? I think I am having nearly the same amount of fun on a long weekend on my boat, and I am spending about 1/1,000th of cost. My "fun quotient" is very favorable.

I see the presentation has already been viewed 50,000-times in just a week. If it produces one additional sale, it will have done its job.

There probably are not very many production slots available to build a 405 CONQUEST in the factory's plans for boat production. If a backlog of orders for 405 CONQUESTS soon exists, we will know it has been a hit.

frontier
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Re: 405 CONQUEST

Postby frontier » Fri Dec 13, 2019 7:56 pm

In watching the video by Chris Wachowski, Director of Product Development for Boston Whaler, as he begins the tour of the new 405 Conquest, you can see the price of $1,359,116 on the boat show placard. Let's see now: how many classic Montauk 17 boats would that buy?

jimh
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Re: 405 CONQUEST

Postby jimh » Tue Dec 17, 2019 11:39 am

FRONTIER--that was a very acute observation. I found that if I changed the playback mode of the youTube recording to 720p format the price became much easier to read. Thanks for finding that number. As I mentioned, I expected the MSRP to be above the $1-million mark, but $1.36-million is 36-percent more than just a million. Wow, that is an expensive boat.

Regarding the equivalent in classic MONTAUK 17 boats, let's use a round number of $25,000 per boat, which was about the last price that was provided in c.2002 when the classic hulls were still available. That means the 405 CONQUEST revenue equivalency works out to about 54 to 55 MONTAUK hulls. That number is lower than I thought it would be; I was expecting to need to make more MONTAUK boats.

If we use the modern 170 MONTAUK and figure the typical price for a well-equipped boat with some options is $40,000, then we only need to build 34 new 170 MONTAUK boats. Jeez, that 405 CONQUEST is starting to look affordable.

In my view, competing for customers for boats that cost $1.36-million is probably more difficult than competing at the $40,000-boat level. At the lesser price point, Boston Whaler has an impeccable reputation, 60-years of experience, and market domination. For Boston Whaler to do well at $1.36-million, they are dealing with an entirely new market with customers with many options, and Boston Whaler are very new to the market. If you have a $1.36-million to spend on a boat, you can probably get something custom-made to your specifications.

The growth of Boston Whaler boats in length and prices must be an indication of success in the very upscale market they are competing in. I expect the 405 CONQUEST will do well.

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Phil T
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Re: 405 CONQUEST

Postby Phil T » Tue Dec 17, 2019 1:52 pm

With the amount of features and incredible complexity of the multitude of systems, the price is not surprising.

This is not what I would consider a "recreational" boat. It's a completely different class of boat.
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msirof2001
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Re: 405 CONQUEST

Postby msirof2001 » Tue Dec 24, 2019 1:50 pm

Spruce Goose, straight to the museum.

JIMH- I think all your calculations are correct. I think people of $10-million net worth would have something else in mind for a boat.

Have a great holiday season and thanks for facilitating this great forum.
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