Best of the 2021 Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show

Australia’s biggest boating extravaganza kicked off with a few queues to view some of the more popular boats on display – COVID-19 restrictions are limiting the number of people looking through a boat at once – but plenty of people were still stepping aboard, with crowd numbers high for a first day.

There were a few boats that caught our attention that we were happy to queue up to see.

Here’s the boatsales.com.au pick of the 2021 Sanctuary Cove Boat Show.

The Riviera 645 SUV made its global debut at the 2021 Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show, dropping in as the flagship model in the sedan range.

That status means it has the largest cockpit space in the game, perfect for either fishing or just kicking back and relaxing.

Below decks, the flagship status continues with a full-beam master suite and a choice of three or four staterooms.

This boat also ushers in a change for Riviera buyers; it will be available with either a Classic or a more avant-garde Newport interior. 

Another global debutante at Sanctuary Cove was the Maritimo M55 flybridge and S55 sedan siblings.

The M55 has already pegged a remarkable achievement for the brand, becoming its fastest-selling model even before many owners had a chance to step aboard. Orders are now out to 2023, meaning there could be around 20 potential owners lined up, and maybe more.

The flybridge-equipped model has a flybridge that wraps around the edges of the saloon below it, opening up a number of design benefits including an aft-facing internal staircase to the flybridge, and as much space on the flybridge deck as a much larger motor yacht.

The Maritimo S55, meanwhile, has an access ladder to the saloon roof that repurposes the dead space as storage for a tender, or even a couple of kayaks.

British brand Princess took the game up to Maritimo with the Australian debut of the F55 flybridge and V55 sedan.

Tall and spacious inside, the V55 features a dinette table that electronically raises and lowers to swap between a table and extra sleeping space and a sliding saloon door that can completely open the space by dropping down out of sight.

If more entertaining space is needed, the Princess F55 includes a flybridge deck with its own helm.

Stunningly beamy, plumb-bowed and with majestical presence, the Ocean Alexander 26R is a spectacular-looking boat.

That sense of space is carried upstairs, where the full-beam flybridge provides just as much real estate as what’s below.

The one on display at Sanctuary Cove even has a spa mounted on the aft end of the flybridge – a perfect way to end the day. 

The Horizon FD87 was stuck out at sea as the Sanctuary Cove show opened, so it was up to the Horizon RP100 to wow the crowds. Which it did.

The RP100 was the largest new boat on sale at Sanctuary Cove, stretching just shy of 30 metres long and with an equally impressive beam of 6.6 metres.

The boat includes three living levels including four staterooms below, a saloon deck and a flybridge with tender storage.

One of the options available when ordering this boat is a saloon-level master suite – just the ticket for the discerning owner.

If you love your retro looks but don’t want the hassle of an old boat, the Grand Banks 60 is just the ticket.

Everything about this boat is stately, like a reading room or a conservatory that floats.

Big in volume but small enough for a couple to manage, its raison d’etre is a formidable cruising range; tickle along at 10 knots and the on-paper range is an impressive 2000 nautical miles – enough to get to New Zealand and back on a single tank.

Don’t like life in the slow lane? At 30 knots, this boat will still travel around 550 nautical miles.

The Longreef 50SX is a flybridge sports cruiser that stands out from the crowd.

How? Take a look at that long flybridge extending all that way aft, carrying aircraft-style winglets on its trailing edge. It creates a huge lounge space behind the flybridge helm, with enough seating for up to 10 adults.

Downstairs are two cabins, including a master suite in the bow, and the downstairs common space has an extra two Pullman bunks that can be used when needed, meaning the boat can accommodate up to six people.

Here’s a craft that borrows heavily from classic European motor launch design, but gives it such a modern twist that you would be excused for thinking it was cutting edge.

The F/Line 33 is primarily a fast, comfortable day boat made for going out, getting somewhere quickly and then making the most of time. 

However, duck below and there’s enough space onboard for a couple to comfortably overnight – the fun doesn’t have to stop once the sun goes down.

Pull up dockside and it has these cool cantilever doors in the side decks that swing back to give step-through access. 

Queensland-based Makocraft has started building fibreglass boats. After turning out a couple of dinghies, it has now moved into building bigger boats, with the first a decent offshore trailer boat called the Makocraft 530 X-Offshore.

This thing is built solid, with a thicker deep-vee hull low down to help lower the centre of gravity, a reversed chine and thinner sides, all formed using a vacuum extrusion process to ensure the finish is the strongest it can be.

The boat will cost around $70,000 for a boat, motor and trailer package, or about $45,000 for the hull alone. 

The boat you see here isn’t quite finished; soon it will also have a T-top overhead.

The 2021 Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show ends on Sunday.