Browsing: Miami Yacht Show

Boat Reviews
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New Azimut Verve 47: Italian Style, Outboard Performance

Azimut just held the worldwide premiere of its new sleek, Italian-styled Verve 47 at the Miami Yacht Show in February. The new weekend cruiser turned heads throughout the show, but it really drew praise for its performance on the water, where its four 450-hp Mercury Racing outboards pushed it to a 50-knot top speed. The Verve 47, with a stepped hull by Michael Peters, the Sarasota designer who specializes in fast boats, represents a doubling-down on outboards by Azimut. It introduced its first outboard boat, a Verve 40, almost four years ago. The new 47, with an interior by Francesco…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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Trends from Miami: More Power, More Hulls, More High-Tech

Now that the huge Miami boat shows have ended, it’s time to look at some trends that will determine the nature of cruising powerboats in the years ahead. After all, when you get 1,800 boats together (the combined total from the boat show and the yacht show), some dynamics have to emerge. The basic trends involve a growing number of power catamarans, the continued growth of outboards on cruising boats, the move to high technology on almost every aspect of boat building and performance (which includes solar/electric power), the inclusion of more social areas on boats (from “beach clubs” under…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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New Sabre 58: A Big and Quiet Down East Cruiser

After following its launch and super-extended break-in cruise from Portland, Maine, down to Miami in time for the yacht show there, I had been looking forward to seeing the new Sabre 58 Salon Express in person. And once I climbed on board the boat at the show, it was more than worth the wait. I already knew the boat’s lines. It is a contemporary classic with a clean Down East look, fitting well into Sabre’s made-in-Maine heritage. But once I was on board, I realized how big this new cruiser really is; it has lots of usable room to make…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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Miami Shows Open, Lots of Cruising Boat Debuts

The big Miami boat shows have just started, and I’ve already found my next boat, or rather my next half dozen boats. (In my dreams, of course.) And considering that there are 1,800 boats here, displayed at the yacht show downtown and the boat show on Virginia Key, I still have a way to go. I’ve been fortunate enough to have already climbed on half a dozen boats making their debuts here, just enough to whet my appetite for more, and to rekindle my taste for adventure. Standing at the helm of the brand-new, beautiful Sabre 58 Salon Express, which…

Miami Boat Show
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Big Miami Shows Coming Up: 1,800 Boats on Display

The long Presidents’ Day weekend is coming up and so are the two large Miami boat shows, the Miami International Boat Show on Rickenbacker Causeway on Virginia Key, and the Miami Yacht Show downtown. Both shows run from Thursday, February 13, through Monday, February 17, and they’ll have a total of about 1,800 boats on display and expected crowds of 132,000 people. The larger, more established show at the Miami Marine Stadium Park and Basin on Virginia Key (pictured above), is produced by the National Marine Manufacturers Association, and this will be its 79th year. It will have more than…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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New Quiet and Fuel-Efficient Sabre 58 Cruising to Miami

Hull number one of the new Sabre 58 Salon Express is scheduled to leave Portland, Maine, on Monday and cruise south. The latest Down East cruiser from Sabre, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, will make its public debut at the Miami yacht show, starting Feb. 13, and then appear again at the Palm Beach show, starting March 26. The new 58, with a low profile and clean, classic lines, arrived at DiMillo’s in Portland just before Christmas and has been undergoing sea trials with Sabre’s design and engineering staff. The trials, on Casco Bay, showed that the…

Boat Reviews
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New Sirena 58 Coupe To Debut at Miami Show

The new Sirena 58 Coupe will make its world debut at the Miami Yacht Show, starting Feb. 13. The latest entry from the high-end Turkish builder, the 58 Coupe is the little sister to the 58 Flybridge that is the most successful yacht in Sirena’s lineup. The Coupe was designed for the American market. Sirena says that many potential buyers said they wanted an express style yacht, so they could fit under Florida’s many bridges or cruise easily around the Great Loop. Still, the Coupe, designed by Germán Frers, has all the style and performance that distinguished the original flybridge…

Boat Reviews
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Palm Beach Motoryachts Will Launch New GT60 in Miami

The new Palm Beach GT60, with the same low profile, long sheer and elegant tumblehome as other Palm Beach models, will debut at the Miami Yacht Show, starting Feb. 13. It follows the launch of the GT50 Open at Miami last year, and the GT50 Salon Express at the Newport, Rhode Island, show in September, 2018. The GT50 Salon Express was named Best New Powerboat at that show; the judges said the beautiful, fast and light Palm Beach motoryacht was just plain “sexy.” The new GT60 has all the same lines and heritage as the GT50, except it’s ten feet…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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Miami Recap: More Energy, More Enthusiasm, More Innovation

It’s easy to sum up the just-ended Miami boat shows with one word: Energy. There was so much going on, between the boat show on Virginia Key and the yacht show downtown, that the energy was almost palpable. The logistics of traveling between the shows was not easy, but once you arrived there were new boat intros just about everywhere, new hull shapes (foils, anyone?), boats with seven outboards (yours only has two?), boats with hybrid power to keep your cruising quiet, green and potentially unlimited, and  boats with artificial intelligence that prevents you from running into the dock (you…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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Report from Miami: More Power, More Smart Boats

The big Miami shows just opened with a new emphasis on high-tech, artificial intelligence and power and more power. Mercury introduced a brand new 400-hp outboard, it’s most powerful yet for recreational use, while Volvo teamed up with Tiara to launch a new outboard version of its revolutionary IPS pod drives for inboards (see the picture at top), and Raymarine showed off its artificial intelligence assisted docking system that I just tested – and I’m still smiling. To celebrate Mercury’s 80th anniversary, Mercury President John Pfeifer unveiled the new 400-hp Verado, which he said was an upgrade from the 350-hp Verado,…

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