2020 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show highlights

A number of international and North American boat brands have also braved the virus to rack up a string of North American and even international debuts that set new benchmarks in their segments.

The event is also a showcase for some of North America’s largest superyachts, and this year features the six-stateroom, 180-foot Sovereign – built in 2011 and currently for sale at $US24 million ($A34 million), we note.

But it’s the new stuff that we’re more interested in.

Australia took pride of place at Fort Lauderdale with the first official showing of the Riviera 50 Sports Motor Yacht, 64 Sports Motor Yacht and 72 Sports Motor Yacht, as well as the Belize 54 Daybridge.

The flybridge cruiser range has added two new models in what is Riviera’s 40th anniversary, with the 72, launched a couple of years ago, adding a long list of refinements based on owner feedback.

Making its North American debut is the Mangusta GranSport 33, the smallest motor yacht in the Italian boat maker’s GranSport-badged model line-up.

“Small” is a relative term, because this motor yacht is still large enough to house four 1000hp Volvo Penta IPS drive systems that deliver big range and speeds, but without a huge fuel bill.

The GranSport 33 is part of Mangusta’s push into the growing explorer class, featuring boats that aren’t shy of pointing out to sea instead of hugging sheltered waters.

Also making its North American debut is one of European brand Azimut’s newest models, the raised pilothouse Magellano 25 Metri.

This motor yacht provides the ultimate weekend escape, featuring a special “hotel” mode that taps a bank of batteries to run the electronics, reducing the need for a genset to power the boat.

Underneath, the Magellano 25 Metri features a dual-mode hull that uses wide-set upper chines combined with a wide beam to improve stability at low speeds, and high-speed lower chines to help it rise up onto the plane.

The Ocean Alexander Explorer 27E brings the Polish motor yacht maker into a whole new class. The first of the all-new Explorer class, the 27-metre 27E features a huge lower cockpit space that has a hydraulic swim platform large enough to park two jet skis side-by-side.

The “Explorer” tag alludes to range, with the Ocean Alexander Explorer 27E boasting it can cruise up to 2100 nautical miles – think Sydney to Darwin – before needing a splash of fuel.

It’s the ultimate in party platforms, featuring a jacuzzi, wet bar, grille, huge owner’s cabin and more.

Sitting alongside it is the Ocean Alexander 32 Legend, the newest model of the Legend series from Ocean Alexander.

Onboard are five staterooms, a saloon with big floor-to-ceiling windows, an on-deck master suite, and the choice of either a skydeck open flybridge, or a skylounge enclosed version.

The 32L’s hull is more traditionally shaped, but still yields those superyacht lines.

Also on the stand is the Ocean Alexander 36 Legend, an all-new flagship for the Legend line.

Fort Lauderdale will feature this new tri-deck cruiser that features a number of outdoor spaces, luxurious accommodations and a large beach club with an oversize swim deck.

Over at Monte Carlo Yachts, the celebration was all about the second addition to its model line-up, the enclosed flybridge Monte Carlo 76 Skylounge.

According to Monte Carlo, the new range of flybridge motor yachts was conceived for owners who cruised throughout the year and enjoyed the extra space afforded by an extra level of deck

Cruisers Yachts, meanwhile, has added a new GLS-badged model that will sit alongside its Cantius line.

Joining the 38 GLS launched in 2019 is the all-new Cruisers Yachts 42 GLS, an outboard-powered weekender large enough to provide big-cruiser levels of luxury but in a compact and fun size for the family.

Making big waves this year amongst the fishing enthusiasts, though, is the 14-metre Invincible 46 Catamaran.

Long and lean, according to Invincible Boats, the brand’s first foray into twin-hulled boats “handles well at speed, leans inward in a turn, and rides in following and quartering seas without negative trim”.

Invincible Boats says the semi-asymmetric multihull design will allow fishers to head out on days when monohull boat owners would prefer to stay home and watch TV.

Plumb-bowed designs yield much more room than conventional wavecutters, allowing manufacturers to pack more big-boat features into smaller waterlines.

Taking advantage of this is the new Absolute Navetta 52, an elegantly proportioned luxury cruiser with the benefit of a hard-topped flybridge.

This boat is another collaboration with Volvo Penta, featuring smooth, quiet and fuel-efficient running.

If you’re into sharp angles, innovative design and a boat that’s sure to be a conversation opener, the outboard engine-powered PRJ CAT40 was one of the more striking debuts.

This catamaran – built as a tender burt also suitable as a dayboat – features a loading ramp nestled between the catamaran hulls that extends to either rise up to meet a dock, or lowers to make beach access easy.

It was the only boat at the show to be able to make the claim that it is wheelchair accessible right out of the factory.

Classic-styled 50-foot fishing boat enthusiasts will migrate straight to the Viking 54 Convertible from US luxury fishing cruiser specialist Viking Yachts.

This is the latest in more than 600 generations of Viking-branded boats ranging between 50 to 60 feet that the US brand has built over its lifetime.

The new 54 features “an eye-pleasing profile that’s unmistakably Viking, with signature design traits such as a gently sloping unbroken S-shaped sheer, aggressively raked stem, double chines, hull-side vents and deftly placed exterior feature lines”.

The Astondoa AS8 is a new contemporary flybridge model from the Spanish brand, but featuring a number of modern twists including large side windows and a smartly styled saloon.

Also joining the luxury performance cruiser set was the Intrepid 409 Valor from Intrepid Powerboats.

Featuring crossover-boat styling with a unique centre console layout, this outboard-engined express cruiser is optimised for fishing and diving enthusiasts with a hull-side dive door complete with extending ladder.

Sitting alongside it was the Intrepid 438 Evolution, an express cruiser featuring, of all things, a pop-up helm station.

Solace Boats revealed the Solace 41CS centre console, due to be released later this year.

It features tasty fishing-focused features including a protected wheelhouse, a dive door and even a game tower suited to chasing gamefish.