INASSOCIATIONWITH
T he waters of economic fortune have given Sealine a choppy ride over the years. The company’s original parent, Fibrasonic Marine, began boat production in 1972, just a year ahead of the world oil crisis. The company survived that particular storm by finding other work and in 1978, it bounced back with two new models called C-Line. A year later, C-Line became Sealine – and in 1998, Fibrasonic founder, Tom Murrant, sold Sealine to a group of venture capitalists.
That led on, three years later, to the Brunswick Corporation (current-day owner of Sea Ray, Bayliner, Boston Whaler and Quicksilver, among many other brands) buying the operation for $68m. All was then relatively calm until the global financial crisis of 2008 bit, and in 2011 Brunswick offloaded Sealine to a private equity firm, which placed the company in administration just two years later.
With the Sealine plant in Kidderminster closed, Aurelius SE, the Munich-based parent of Hanse Yachts, stepped in and acquired Sealine’s assets.
A key difference quickly emerged, however, between Sealine and Hanse’s manufacturing philosophies. While Sealine depended heavily on individual skills, Hanse took a far more mechanised approach. Consequently, production of models originally supposed to be built at Kidderminster soon ceased. Among the vessels affected was the subject of this Used Boat report – a2014 Sealine S450, offered for sale by Bates Wharf in Poole for £349,995.
IN BUILD: 2008-2015 PRICE RANGE: £350,000 - £420,000
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PRODIGIOUS DAY SPACE
Produced between 2008 and 2015, the Sealine S450 was the successor to the SC42. In reality, the two vessels are pretty much the same boat, except for the fact that the SC42’s optional extended swim platform became a standard feature on the S450. Like every other element of the S450, this platform is big. Offered either in fixed format or as a hi-lo option, it considerably enhances the versatility of the boat in terms of its ability to carry tenders, personal watercraft and toys. What’s more, access to the platform is not only good but entertaining too, as the seating unit immediately ahead of it splits down the middle and glides apart to provide a central walkway to the cockp
