Success for British boatbuilders

It was a success for British Boatbulders as British Marine members had a fantastic night at the 3rd edition of the IBI-METSTRADE Boat Builder Awards 2017, picking up four of the nine awards that were presented on the night.

Sunseeker International won both the awards they were nominated for. Their Manhattan 52 Beach Club concept won the Innovative On-board Design Solution award and was chosen by the judges for its family focused features. Sunseeker also collected the Best Apprenticeship and Training Scheme award. Alex Bowman, Talent Manager at Sunseeker was in attendance to collect the awards.

Fairline Yachts collected the Boat Builder International Distributor/Dealer Development award, recognising what the company has done since its relaunch to establish a strong international sales network. Karl Gilding, Business Development Director was there to collect the award.

The evening culminated in recognition for Princess Yachts’ co-founder, David King, who was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award. In his citation IBI Publishing Director, Nick Hopkinson, said: “I’m sure we would all agree that David is one of the industry’s great visionaries who built a globally recognised brand through enormous personal commitment during more than fifty years of involvement in all aspects of the business.

“He is a real boater and product developer with an understanding that is totally unique among his peers.”

British Marine’s Chief Executive, Howard Pridding, commented on the night’s successes: “These richly deserved awards show how strong British boatbuilding is.

“We are proud of our leading British boatbuilders and pleased to see that the achievements of Sunseeker and Fairline have been recognised at these prestigious awards.

“I am personally delighted that David King’s excellent work at Princess Yachts, and his commitment to UK boatbuilding, has been rightly celebrated with his lifetime achievement award.”

British Marine is at METSTRADE, hosting and organising the British Pavilion, and supporting the 70 member companies in attendance.

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