Report from Miami: “Bigger is Better,” More Outboards Than Ever, and “A Very Robust Market”
By Peter A. Janssen
Whatever else was going on (and a lot was going on), the people at Ranger Tugs and Cutwater Boats hit a home run at the Miami International Boat Show on Virginia Key. They had a bigger display than ever before, with three models from each brand, and there were people than ever before. “It was a great show for both brands,” said Sam Bisset, the communications director for Ranger and Cutwater, “and there were certainly buyers in the crowds.”
Based in Kent, Washington, Ranger and Cutwater have benefited from the increasing popularity of outboard-powered boats. When I stopped by, there was a lot of interest in the new Ranger 27 with a 300-hp Yamaha, and a new Cutwater 30 with two 300-hp Yamahas and a show price of $304,937.
At the larger end of the size spectrum, Grady-White introduced its largest boat ever, a 456, with four 350-hp Yamahas. Grady says this new giant tops out at 55.2 mph and holds 600 gallons of fuel.
At Sabre and Back Cove, the trend was toward “bigger is better,” according to Bentley Collins, the vice president of marketing and sales for both brands. He said it was a particularly good show for the Sabre 45 and 48, while the focus on Back Cove was for their larger 37- and 41-foot single-diesel cruisers. He noticed a trend where “Miami seems to be leaning to more and more high-horsepower outboards and day boating.”
Collins also said saw more people coming from out of state, from California, Washington state, the Great Lakes and New England, with a lot of Canadians and a sprinkling of Europeans. (I suspect that a chance to visit Miami in the winter accounts for some of that appeal.)
At Grand Banks and Palm Beach, Dave Northrop, the director of operations for the Americas, said there was strong interest in the new Grand Banks 60 and in the smaller Palm Beach motoryachts, and “the market still feels very robust with lots of activity.”
This was the first show on Virginia Key for Kadey-Krogen, which moved down from the Miami Yachts Show up on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach, and Tucker West, the company’s VP of sales, said they were happy with the location. “The quality of buyers was very strong,” he said, as was the reaction to the new Kadey-Krogen 50 Open, with sea trials going on after the show. West also said that “the soft launch of the SUMMIT 54 seems to be striking the right chord with customers that love the quality of our boat and company structure but need more speed.”
Up at the Collins Avenue yacht show, Jenny Stern, the Nordhavn marketing director, said it was a typical Miami show with some high-quality leads and a strong interest in the company’s new 475 and 80. She also said she was curious to see what the impact will be next year when the yacht show moves to a new location in downtown Miami between the Venetian and MacArthur Causeways. Informa, the London-based company that puts on the yacht show, says the new venue will be more convenient, with parking for 3,500 vehicles, and it also will be much closer to the bigger NMMA show on Virginia Key.
For more:
