Five days, six separate locations and more than 1,000 boats of all shapes and sizes on display—the Discover Boating Miami International Boat Show is on track to live up to its claim of being the largest boat and yacht show in the world. The show this year will have more available products, largely because the red-hot Covid market from last year has cooled.
“The manufacturers have caught up with product,” Andrew Doole, president of the US Boat Shows for Informa, told Robb Report. “As a result, we’ll see many new boats making their debuts in the convention center and also exceptional superyachts at Island Gardens.”
The show will kick off next Wednesday for its five-day run. Attendance at another recent Informa boat show was higher than last year, says Doole, giving him optimism that Miami will also outperform 2022.
Here are six newcomers, and two gigayachts new to the brokerage market, that promise to be showstoppers.
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Lürssen ‘Ahpo’
Image Credit: Courtesy Guillaume Plisson Lürssen’s 378-foot Ahpo will be the largest gigayacht ever at any North American boat show. Delivered to its owner last year, but now up for sale for $355 million, the yacht has a wonderland interior that includes Asian-influenced designs, including silk wallpaper, hand embroidery and elaborate inlays of flying flamingoes, ginkgo leaves and red maple trees. Even the onboard IMAX Dolby cinema has twinkling LED stars in the ceiling. Designer Nuvolari Lenard also created a dedicated space catering to the multigenerational family, with a split-level suite for the owners, adjoining cabins for their children and parents and total accommodations for up to 16 guests. The mosaic-tiled spa sits at the heart of its outstanding wellness area, but also the yacht also has four pools of various sizes and a standout beach club. It will be moored in the Island Gardens marina.
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Lürssen ‘Kismet’
Image Credit: Courtesy Lürssen Another superstar of this year’s Miami boat show is the spectacular 312-foot Lürssen-built megayacht, Kismet. Owned by Pakistani-American billionaire and sports lover Shahid Khan – he owns both the Jacksonville Jaguars and Britain’s Fulham soccer club – the yacht will be open for tours to a highly select few at the show’s SuperYacht Miami location. With a brand-new Lürssen, currently codenamed Project JAG and designed by Nuvolari Lenard, due to be completed for Mr. Khan later this year, Kismet is reportedly up for grabs for an eye-watering $181 million.
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Lürssen Marguerite
Image Credit: Courtesy Lürssen Delivered in 2004, the 200-foot Marguerite (ex. Avanti, Aurora, Phoenix) was designed by Andrew Winch, with a classic interior and art-deco interior by Winch and Dawn Moffitt Design Inc. The superyacht, built by German yard Lürssen, was designed as a true oceangoing vessel, having the ability to be self-sufficient for 30 days. Beyond that, the owners also mandated that it be comfortable in all sea states. It’s listed for $48 million.
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Absolute 52 Fly
Image Credit: Courtesy Absolute Yachts In urban slang, the word Fly tends to mean cool, sexy, smart or stylish. That kind of describes to a tee Italian builder Absolute Yachts’ brand new 52 Fly flybridge cruiser making its world premiere in the Magic City. With its extensive hull and superstructure glazing—there’s almost as much glass as fiberglass—the interior spaces are flooded with light. And talking of interior, this new 52—bow to stern it’s actually 54 feet—shakes things up by putting its huge master suite in the bow with the VIP amidships. Power comes from a pair of 590 hp Volvo D8 diesels.
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Tiara EX 60
Image Credit: Courtesy Tiara Yachts Holland, Michigan-based Tiara Yachts just might have a new motto: “Go big, or go home”. At the Miami show they’re pulling the wraps off a brand new flagship—the 60-foot EX 60—which is the biggest, most luxurious Tiara to date. And with a sticker that starts at around $3.7 million, it’s also the priciest. But this newest EX has a lot to offer, including its major focus on outdoor space. If that stern cockpit wasn’t wide enough at 16 feet 11 inches, power-lowering side terraces expand the area to an impressive 20 feet six inches. Power is provided by twin 1350 Volvo D13 diesels that give an impressive 46 mph top speed.
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Grady-White 281 Coastal Explorer
Image Credit: Courtesy Grady-White When fishing boat powerhouse Grady-White unveils a new boat, anglers the world over pay attention. For the Miami show, the 64-year-old Greenville, NC builder is unveiling its brand new 28-foot 281 Coastal Explorer center console. Designed for both inshore skinny waters as well as offshore swells, the 281 features Grady’s proven SeaV2 wave-cleaving deep-vee hull design. Fisherman-friendly features include a battle-ready casting deck in the bow with low gunwales, and an electric fold-down terrace on the portside of the helm for hauling in that giant grouper. Standard power is a single 425 hp Yamaha outboard, with the option of twin 300s.
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Hylas M49
Image Credit: Courtesy Devin Conway/Hylas Call it a true multi-national. Hylas Yachts’ new M49 is being built in Taiwan from a design by a New Zealand studio, to compete in the booming market for New England-style Down East cruisers. Big brother to the highly-successful Hylas M44, this salty 48-footer blends speedy performance—as in a 36 mph top speed—with exceptional rough-weather, offshore capability. Inside, the M49 features a comfy saloon under that big-windowed hardtop, with a spacious open rear “lounge” for entertaining. Trusty 370 hp Yanmar diesels do the powering. Hylas had hoped to debut the M49 two years ago, but Covid stalled the plan. Now, after a few improvements, it’s finally getting its show premiere.
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Voltari 260
Image Credit: Courtesy Voltari Marine Think of it as proving a point. Typically, this new, Canadian-built, all-electric Voltari 260, with its high-torque, 700 hp motor, can slice through waves at a feisty 60 mph. But to set a record for the longest overseas distance for an electric “vehicle” completed on a single charge, the $450,000 Voltari had to dial things back. To a more leisurely 5 mph. That is how this stealthy-looking, carbon-fiber runabout recently ran from Key Largo, Florida across the turbulent Gulf Stream to Bimini in the Bahamas—91 miles door to door—in under 20 hours. It’ll be back in full performance mode for its Miami show debut as a poster child for electromobility on the water.
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Leopard 40PC
Image Credit: Courtesy Leopard Catamarans South Africa’s Leopard Catamarans has a hard-to-resist “try before you buy” offer on its brand new Leopard 40PC power cat that’s making its global debut in Miami. Thanks to close ties with The Moorings charter company, potential buyers can simply rent one, for a week, maybe two, maybe longer. And it should be a blast. With the option of twin 370 hp diesels, the 40PC—or Moorings 403 PC as the charter version is called—can hit a top speed of 23 mph. This new kid brother to Leopard’s bigger 46 PC and 53 PC models has space for six in three cabins and the largest flybridge ever seen on a 40-foot power cat.
