Went aboard as well. Met Dick's son. I did not look at build quality, but it looked nice. I wonder how it stacks up against the new Hylas 57 and 60.
I too went aboard the Outbound 56 at the Annapolis boat show. I believe that this is either the 2nd or 3rd new boat to be sold as an Outbound 56. Does anyone know? I spent considerable time looking at the boat - almost wore out my welcome. ;-)
I also spent a lot of time speaking with Kyle about the Outbound 56 and have learned some of the backstory of the move from Queen Long to Hansheng yacht builders in Xiamen City, China. I'm told that Outbound builds all of its boat there, as well as Passport Yachts, and a few other brands too.
My impression based upon the Outbound 56 at the show, is that the new 56 is nearly identical to the Hylas 56. I was told that the 56 molds have moved to Outbound. From what I was able to discern, is that the new Outbound 56 continues the same formula of a serious blue water cruiser – conservative, strong and built to be sailed and not hang out at dockside.
I spent time on the Hylas 48 and the Hylas 70 at the boat show. Both are very nice boats! However, when I pressed the sale representatives, they said that they have yet to deliver any new 57's and were vague about orders. I also heard that they have not sold any new 48's or 70's in more than a year. Does anyone have better information? There are always two sides to every story.
Outbound was also showing an aspirational 60 foot new design that they hope to launch in the next 2 years.
I am leaning towards spec'ing out a new Outbound 56 and am currently learning as much as I can and looking at all of the options available for a rugged semi-custom boat. Any advice?
Just out of curiosity, how many Hylas 56 boats are out there.