# Etap Sinks!!



## Giulietta (Nov 14, 2006)

Came here just to tell you that ETAP has filled for bankrupcy, or insolvency.

The builder of unsinkable boats has sunk...what a sad news.

QUOTE:

The Belgian yacht builder, Etap has officially announced its insolvency following in the wake of its parent company Dehler's announcement before Christmas.

The ETAP 46DS was awarded "European Yacht of the Year" and won IPC Media's award for the category "Sailboat over 40 ft"

The statement reads: 
'Due to the insolvency of Dehler Deutschland GmbH, ETAP Yachting - branch of Dehler Yachts Belgium BV - has applied for insolvency too. ETAP Yachting declared insolvency on the 7th of January 2009.'

The statement goes on to say that attempts to align the two brands' back office functions and production facilities were underway, as was a new look for the Etap brand.

'Etap had a new Marketing Strategy, a new Logo and Slogan ("ETAP Just Sail") were implemented as well as a new product strategy of which the first yacht, the ETAP 30CQ [was displayed] at the Hiswa [boat show] in IJmuiden the Netherlands in September 2008. The strategy and positioning seemed to have the chance to be successful. First reactions from the market were positive.'

'Being part of the Dehler Yachts Group and being effected by the consequences of the insolvency of Dehler, ETAP Yachting did not have the chance to complete its repositioning and restructuring and benefiting from synergy effects with Dehler.

'Dehler and ETAP Yachting are two strong and established brands and the hope is strong that they will find their place under a new ownership.' END QUOTE

SEE LINK HERE


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## CharlieCobra (May 23, 2006)

I heard about that Monday on SA. Unfortunate but to be expected in these times.


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## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

Along with what I seem to recall a quote/article saying Dehler may come out of the BK part. Local government may in the end back the loans. They had 200 boats on order when they went into receivership because the banks wanted there loans back sooner than expected from what I read.

Marty


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Listen...if yer gonna come here...come with GOOD news...or TIMELY news...not the news when it arrives by carrier pigeon in Portugal!!


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## xort (Aug 4, 2006)

hey cam, did you hear something? I thought I heard somebody say something. Nah, must have been just a noise I didn't recognize


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## GaryHLucas (Mar 24, 2008)

So does this make my 1984 Etap 26 more or less valuable? I'm glad I got all the manufacturing drawings for the parts that Etap made before this happened.


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## JohnRPollard (Mar 26, 2007)

Giu,

I hadn't heard that... another one down...what a shame. 

P.S. I also chuckled at your play on words.


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## ChuckA (Dec 28, 2008)

*25 laid off this week from Hinckley's Trenton, ME facilty*

The Bangor Daily News reported yesterday that Hinckley Yachts laid off 25 more employees from it's Trenton, ME facility after laying off 49 from the same plant last October. The slumping economy remains the reason the luxury yacht manufacturer is cutting back. The latest layoffs reduce the number of employees Hinckley has in Maine to 215.

Not a good time to be a boat builder.


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## knothead (Apr 9, 2003)

ChuckA said:


> Not a good time to be a boat builder.


Heck, it's not a good time to be in the marine industry at all as far as I can see. 
The past year has been the worst by far in the 13 year history of my company.


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## yellowwducky (Nov 6, 2008)

It scares me how it can feed on itself too. A buyer thinking of getting a new boat now thinks 'hmmmm, maybe I should just but a used one that actually exists'. And then the pressure on the viable builders builds. Not a pretty situation. Great as a buyer maybe in terms of bargaining power...assuming you get your boat at the end!


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## Valiente (Jun 16, 2006)

ETAP sinks...sad report, but pretty funny joke, Alex.


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## hasher (Aug 12, 2011)

ETAP Yachts Rebranded as Armageddon Life Rafts

from businessweek.com 2012-02-23 

Early this winter, fans and owners of ETAP yachts noticed something peculiar on the official ETAP Yachting website. Although new ETAPs haven’t been produced or sold commercially in the U.S. since early 2009, when the Belgian yacht company that designed and built the classic ships declared bankruptcy, the site appeared to have been updated recently. First there was the mood music, The Last Farewell by Roger Whittaker, with lyrics about “death and darkness” and sailing into hell. Even more distressing was an ominous passage on the site’s home page under the heading “How to survive 2012?” The text warned of a “tidal wave” that could only be escaped if “present and future owners” of ETAP yachts worked together to save enough people “to start a new civilization.” (Last week, it was moved to the website’s news section.) On online yachting forums, there was speculation and confusion over what had happened. Some wondered whether the ETAP site had been hacked.

Those who delved deeper into ETAP’s revamped site found links to the website of Patrick Geryl, a Belgian author and doomsday proselytizer. By Geryl’s estimation, a reversal of the planet’s magnetic field should be happening right around the time the Mayan calendar ends on Dec. 21, 2012, leading to, in his words, “pure unimaginable horror,” which could take the form of nuclear meltdown, volcano eruptions, and—of particular interest to ETAP owners—flooding of biblical proportions. 

The strange website may be just the beginning. After weeks of applying pressure, Geryl says he persuaded the company to act as a global doomsday preparation database. It agreed last month to post information on its website about dozens of ports in countries across the world—including Holland, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, Japan, Spain, Italy, and India—where current or future ETAP owners could meet and form alliances with would-be passengers to prepare for the end of the world. “It’s not a sales pitch to sell boats,” Geryl insisted, shortly after the announcement. “Only the boats that have already been sold can participate.”


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

hasher, I think you've been fooled. WHen a company goes rboke, often the internet web domain name registration expires and some ghoul buys the rights to it. In this case the etapyacthing web site now belongs to some guy with a television export company.

Strange? No, not particularly, this is why anyone who uses a computer really should learn about web site certificates, security, and hoaxes. You been conned. Don't try to buy a boat from that site, don't send them your money. And if the world doesn't end on time, you can go look the guy up and take him to task.


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## jppp (Jul 13, 2008)

But what about the twinkie?


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## jppp (Jul 13, 2008)

I heard that Hostess will make a final batch of 2 million which luckily will keep for 100 years if not exposed to sunlight.


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