20 big trends from the year in boating

The water calls. Like never before. From coast to coast, and cutting back inland, our summer holidays beckon. This means launching serious assaults on and around the waterways. It might be in a trusty tinny, which never date, but it could also be something from the new crop of re-imagined pleasure boats.

In our eternal quest for the ultimate boat, our travels in 2016 carried us to all corners of the globe. Upon reflection, this voyage of discovery has painted a picture of where the global boating market is steering its course.

The window opened with a trip to the South of France to sample the latest Jeanneau boats, which are all about giving you more for your dollar with some real French flair. There was a VIP excursion to Sweden for Volvo Penta’s impressive new engine technology designed to make boating easy.

The 2017-model Sea-Doo launch in Tampa revealed that good value is a key driver for watercraft. We’re not long back from a Sea Ray and Boston Whaler expo in Florida, with a raft of new boats with greater entertaining value and user friendliness.

Of course, there have been oodles of important interstate and local boat launches involving our relevant Australian boats and brands. We do go boating in our own particular way Down Under and fishing from aluminium boats continues to hold immense appeal. Affordability is a key component in our quintessential tinnies. Hats off to our builders for keeping boating real.

While the average Australian clocks up just 50 engine hours a year, most of them are accrued in summer on an aluminium trailerboat. This hasn't changed and won't in the foreseeable future.

Yet the big boating brands are changing their offerings in response to the way we go boating globally. From wakeboats to luxury cruisers, innovation is driving design as boatbuilders set about obsoleting the old.

Here are 20 defining moments from the 2016 Year of Pleasure Boating. We are now looking forward to seeing what 2017 will reveal...

1. It's been the year of the outboard engine, higher horsepower models in racks of two, three, four and more, hanging off the back of centre consoles and sportsboats. This is especially true in America, but there’s been some flow-on effect Down Under, too. Expect to see more outboard-powered boats up to 40 feet and beyond in future.

2. Boat usage is shaping boat designs. These days, it’s all about the seizing the day. Mainstream boatbuilders are re-imagining traditional designs like the sportscruiser to include walkaround decks, better bow access and sunken seating up front. Open bow boats, be they bowriders, walkarounds or centre consoles, are go.

3. The crossover is king. With fishing boats that means multipurpose entertainment machines that can do a bit of everything. Of course, there are still plenty of hardcore sportfishers out there. But there’s also a push to include family comforts, wakeboarding options, all activity towers, and so on. We’ve got more boats launched, listed and tested with the word “cross” or a “X” in their model designation than ever before.

4. Wakesports have hit new heights. And everyone’s doing it. Wake surfing is especially huge, as it’s all happening within earshot of the crew and the Go Pros. But with programmable in-dash wake modes, the new age towboats let you dial-up your own wave to suit. From skiers chasing flat wake to boarders after air and surfers chasing long energy or "pulse," the new multi-sports wakeboat does it all. Expect more wake plays and from big mainstream brands in 2017.

5. Social media integration. It's a big part of everything we do including entertaining our virtual audiences on our fishing trips, during wake boarding runs and after close encounters with marine life. You can count on lots more in the way of waterproof action cameras and drones. Sharing your boating and fishing experiences is huge and, of course, we're all for it to encourage more people outdoors.

6. The sport of fishing. It remains inked in our psyche and has kept the boating industry afloat post GFC for the last decade. From casting lures from a simple ‘yak to doing it from top tinnies, from heading offshore and up the coast in plate trailerboats, to running new fibreglass centre consoles and custom game boats, fishing is our motive and still the main reason we launch at the ramp and put to sea.

7. The basic open tinny. Ok, so sales have slowed in tiller steer, but side console boats with flat floors in the 4-5m category are firing. There are rich pickings with $15k-$20k rigs perfect for fishing harbours, bays, rivers and creeks. The popularity of inshore fishing also owes something to the productivity of our fisheries. In Sydney Harbour, the kingfish are firing; in Victoria they’ve got the Target One Million angling promo plan and barra on the chew at Hazelton Pondage; while the Top End has its Million Dollar Fish competition. There are more compelling reasons that ever, in fact, to fish inshore from an affordable tinny.

8. The fishing boat is evolving. Thanks to today’s impressive side-scanning sounders, GPS with one-touch route making, radars with bird-spotting modes, detailed electronic cartography, citizen map making and sharing, not to mention beautiful finesse tackle, lifelike lures, and the availability of live reports on social media that tell you where they’re biting today, fishing boats have morphed from rough rigs more high-tech, cutting-edge, push-button fishing weapons.

9. Maxi fibreglass centre consoles. With racks of twin, triple and even quad outboards, these big outboard platforms are big on the overseas market. The 2016 American boat shows were just awash pthem. But besides their obvious fishing use, these big open boats and centre consoles are being employed as cool commuters, social boats and bowrider replacements. That’s starting to happen Down Under now, with more European and American centre helm boats designed for social boating roles. We have seen plenty of drawings of more cool open social boats and centre consoles on the way for 2017.

11. Watercraft are getting smarter. They have more features, greater comfort, increasingly economical engines for longer range, along with supercharged performance models that turn tighter than before. But it’s the affordable fun machine that’s expanding the watercraft market. The Sea-Doo Spark in the new Trixx variant and the Yamaha EX entry-level craft are the big news this season. We're quietly expecting a new range of watercraft with defined purposes, like fishing, cruising, family fun and even camping, to hit the market sooner or later.

12. Volvo Penta IPS pod drives. The Inboards Propulsion System or IPS pod drive continues to advance its reach in the recreational cruiser market. After 10 years in the market, IPS is proven and Riviera was credited with installing its 1000th unit in 2016. The range presently tops out with the IPS1200 using a 900hp D13 engine, but bigger IPS models above 1000hp are an inevitability. If not 2017 then surely 2018.

13. Integration and connectivity. These are the buzzwords with engine and electronic makers. Digital switching, proprietary user interface designed around specific boat models, and other smarts like the joystick docking and driving are making modern cruisers more attractive. This new gear is helping obsolete the old shaft boats in sub-50ft categories. The aim is to give a car-like and futuristic helming experiences and, ultimately, to make driving a big boat less confronting, more intuitive and seamless.

15. Bigger personalised luxury cruisers. Yes, high-end multi-million-dollar luxury is still selling, especially to owners who want to stamp their style on a new boat. Maritimo on the Gold Coast has been more flexible than ever before and fitted everything from a pop-up treadmill in a third cabin to a Steinway piano on a flying bridge. Horizon is another motoryacht maker going to great lengths to create custom solutions for Australian boaters.

16. In the sailing world. It's the 30-something entry-level keel yachts that are going strong, as yachties rationalise their requirements, look realistically at their recreational time, and realise they just need a boat to race around the cans that’s easy to crew, maintain, and put to bed. As for berths, a weekend afloat is about it. Although point #15 above also applies to the 50ft+ category of yachts. There's some huge semi-custom production yachts coming out.

17. The new genre of ever-more-luxurious catamarans. Cats are creating legions of new fans looking for more living space, level deck sailing, and a saloon-up layout so you can enjoy the views rather than being stuck down below. The boom in catamaran brands and new models arriving on the Australian market was a highlight of 2016.

19. Electronics are unstoppable. With multifunction displays (MFDs) and plug-and-play NMEA2000 protocols, electronic engine data is replacing analogue gauge displays. As a result, the dash has become a touchscreen hub with hitherto new levels of fish finding gadgetry, easy GPS route planning, integrated entertainment systems, iPad connectivity, and more cool stuff. Gyros are another big thing on 50ft+ boats. Electronics are driving today's boats, quite literally.