2018 Fort Lauderdale Boat Show: Aussie assault launched

Leading the charge at the Florida, USA-based event will be the global reveal of the Gold Coast-designed and made Belize 66 Sedan, a classic design that comes alive with modern technology and materials.

While the multimillion-dollar superyachts tend to dominate things a bit, the annual show also has plenty of smaller-sized boats and yachts, is a launching pad for worldwide debuts, and provides a mix of the latest marine products and on- and off-water accessories used to enhance the nautical lifestyle – or social status.

Fort Lauderdale is colloquially known as the motor yacht capital of the world. Boats launched here set the agenda for the generation of watercraft that follow in their wake.

This year will mark the 59th running of the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, which kicks off on October 31.

The Belize brand’s owner, Gold Coast-based Riviera, announced today that the reimagined luxury brand’s first product, the Belize 66, was on its way to its Florida-based global debut. The Belize 66 Sedan to be displayed at Fort Lauderdale is a three-stateroom, three bathroom model that takes the concept of a semi-custom motor yacht to a new level. Special features of this motor yacht include a full beam master stateroom and full beam master bathroom aft of the stateroom. Riviera says the Belize 66 is “a vessel that delivers a new sense of space, comfort and luxury and offers the highest level of customisation and bespoke elements”.

This one is significant, because the Florida-based offshore boat-builder will launch what the maker claims will become the world’s largest centre console boat. The 65-foot boat features five Quint-sourced Seven Marine V8 outboards strung across the transom (and a “no max” engine rating, although it later hints at “over 2500hp” as a rough guide) as it attempts to fill what it even admits is a very narrow niche in the sports fishing boat segment. There’s enough space onboard to accommodate up to five people. The fuel bill alone will be a challenge for most people, as the HCB Estrella comes equipped with an almost 8000-litre fuel tank.

It’s not the big Maritimo’s first North American appearance – it’s already had a showing at the nearby Annapolis Boat Shows in Maryland, the largest on-water event in the US – but it’s where the X60’s attributes should shine in the eyes of buyers. The new craft was introduced to the world at this year’s Sydney International Boat Show as the most technologically advanced model to ever be built by the Gold Coast boat-maker. The Maritimo X60’s hull draws on the company’s racing heritage to produce an efficient hull, while in contrast to current trends, the boat features an aft main cabin, giving owners direct access to the rear cabana and swim platform.

Classed by its maker as “a yacht unlike anything we’ve ever built”, the Ocean Alexander 90R features floor-to-ceiling windows, a massive on-deck master suite, a wet bar island in the salon and a “newly designed” beach house. A full-width main deck, meanwhile, expands living space. Displacing almost 94 tonnes, the 27.43-metre 90R is powered by twin 10-cylinder, 22.3-litre MTU 10V2000 1600hp diesel engines.

Pushing the boundaries of angular, geodesic design will be the latest addition to the Okean range, the 55-foot Sport. The day boat joins the flybridge model launched in front of the world at the 2017 show. The boat includes folding rear balconies that almost double the size of the deck. Pushing it through the water are a pair of 600hp Volvo Penta IPS800 Series engines that will cruise at 33 knots, and top out at 41 knots.

“Downsizing” isn’t a ward you’d ordinarily want to hear in the presence of some of the biggest and best motor yachts in the world, but for those of us not in the billionaires’ club, something smaller is in order. The Release Boatworks quad-outboard walkaround caught our eye as something we could definitely own without any downsizer's disappointment. Eschewing the normal stern drive layout, this flybridge sports fishing boat packs a set of four 350hp Suzuki outboards producing 1400hp of combined dual-prop performance. It would make the perfect tender for one of the big boats parked up nearby.

Riviera 72 Sports Motor Yacht

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