Gobstoppers and Sugardaddies

The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show is much like any other boat show, except that it is on steroids. This show is colossal, mind-boggling and overwhelming - and at the same time it is exciting and educational.

In early November 2003, over $US1.6 billion worth of boats, yachts, engines, accessories and boating-related paraphernalia were on display in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, spread out over three million square feet of space, at six interconnected sites.

Virtually every major boat manufacturer in the world was represented in the 44th running of the show, and many of them had nearly their entire product line on display. Perhaps nowhere else in the world can you comparison-shop virtually any model made by Boston Whaler, Grady-White, Bayliner, Sea Ray, Pro-Line, Sea Craft, Mako, Aquasport, Sea Vee, Edgewater, Scout, (etc, etc, etc) side by side.

As opportune as that may be, the Fort Lauderdale show is not so much about little boats (under 40ft) as it is about big boats. This year, well over 200 superyachts from 80ft to 268ft were on display - most of them tied up side by side in a seemingly-endless line-up of very impressive yachting hardware.

BIGGER, BETTER
The most recent running of the Lauderdale show was truly bigger and better than any that have come before it. A $US17 million dollar renovation at the Bahia Mar marina made room for additional in-the-water exhibitors, and the superyachts were much easier to access. Brand new floating docks offered wider walkways and fewer impediments to the extraordinary human traffic at this show. Sales were up this year too. Last year, sales resulting from the show were said to have topped $US600 million. Depending on who you spoke to, there were not only more boats on display, but also more of them sold - perhaps more than 10 per cent more sales than last year, which was also a growth year. The economic impact of the show on the South Florida area was said to be in excess of $US550 million.

The Viking Yacht Co alone reported more than $US30 million worth of boat sales, including much interest in its new 73-footer.

"The scale model display of our newest Viking, the 73 Convertible, also generated excitement and thanks to the boat show we have names for the seven slots, which are available for the coming year," said Patrick J. Healey, executive vice president of the company.

One of the largest new yachts on display this year was the 192ft Lurssen Capri, which featured a recording studio onboard. But the spanking-new 177ft Oceanfast Perfect Prescription from Australia was roundly praised by all who toured its sumptuous, unique, birds-eye maple and madrone burl-finished interior, and got to see its state-of-the-art bridge and engineering spaces.

You didn't have to grovel for an invitation to tour one of the megayachts, either. You could get a really good impression of what these amazing craft are like by visiting the Superyacht Builders and Designers tent and the nearby International Yacht Builders' Pavilion. And when I say tent, don't think circus tent - we're talking about rigid, stretched-plastic, support-free, air-conditioned structures the size of a sports arena, with finished floors and extraordinary displays by builders, designers and decorators.

DECISIONS, DECISIONS
If the $US40+ million dollar Oceanfast was a little much for your pocketbook, there were also literally hundreds upon hundreds of 30-75ft-long boats nearby in the water, including virtually everything made by the likes of Cabo, Viking, Bertram, Hatteras, Pursuit, Egg Harbor, Ocean, Tiara, Riviera, Luhrs and so on.

Riviera came to the Florida party with most of what it makes, including its new 42 and 51 models - impressive behind pastel-coloured hulls, standing proud under full tuna towers.

The plethora of coloured hulls was one of the big surprises of this year's Lauderdale show. Even staid-old Boston Whaler had a powder-blue hull nestled among its sea of white gelcoat. Of the major players, it seemed like only Grady-White and Bertram failed to include at least one pastel hull in their show offerings. But the coolest hull colour of all was the margarita-green one on Rybovich's new $US1 million 42ft Margaritavich, built for singer/song writer Jimmy Buffett.

Alongside Rybovich were many other custom builders. Along with the previously-mentioned smaller boats, there were hundreds of inflatables (including one with a bow ramp). And among all the rest, there were sailboats (to well over 100ft) as well as trawlers, picnic boats, cruisers, cats - and even a surplus military riverine craft, repowered with a glistening white Caterpillar powerplant.

Oh, yeah, all the engine makers were there too, matching heavy metal to heavy metal and reaching beyond each other toward the limits of combustive horsepower.

The Pro-Line with three 300hp Yamahas lined across the transom was impressive, but there were several boats sporting four massive outboard powerplants, including those designed to get the king-mackerel anglers out to productive waters faster than their competitors - and those designed as babe magnets. If the dramatic growth of the use of colour in boat hulls was a major surprise, so was the use of more and more horsepower in everything from inflatables to megayachts. Speed, it seems, is in.

WHEN PIGS FLY
In other areas, show-goers found everything from an amphibious motor coach (really), to a flying inflatable boat (with under-wing rod rack), to the unparalleled artwork of masters like Guy Harvey and Kent Ulberg. Kent's spectacular bronze castings of leaping sailfish also graced the entrance of the Fort Lauderdale Convention Center.

Beyond the 286ft expedition yacht Bart Roberts (with it's air-conditioned helicopter hangar, six-man submarine, aquarium full of piranhas and on-deck swimming pool); beyond the American, Australian, Canadian, German, Dutch, Italian and Kiwi displays of yacht engineering; beyond the glitter, colour and hype, one of the most memorable boats in this year's show was the new Boston Whaler 305 Conquest.

In many ways, Boston Whaler's latest introduction was a testament to where boating is headed. The 305 is a twin outboard-powered family boat with a diesel generator (Boston Whaler will no longer install gas/petrol-powered gensets) and an air-conditioned interior that has been co-designed by industrial engineers working shoulder-to-shoulder with interior decorators.

This genuine beauty sported practical rosewood-finished cabinets and a gorgeous rosewood-and-holly cabin sole. It had a dinette that would comfortably accommodate six adults, sleeping accommodations for four adults and one of the best-thought-out small-boat helmstations I have ever seen.

From the helm seat there are clear sight lines engineered around the windshield frame, hard top supports, bowrail stanchions and even the borders of the clear surrounds. Those clear surrounds, by the way, disappear into moulded recesses in the hardtop when they are rolled up.

Boston Whaler was not alone in introducing better-engineered interiors and command consoles, more ergonomic functionality, a heightened quality of its interior fit and finish and improved use of space - it was also clear that those who have not followed suit are going to have to play hard to keep up. With relative newcomers like Cabo and Riviera hot on their heals, the Bertrams and Hatterases of the world are gonna have to do a lot more than rest on their good names.

The Fort Lauderdale Show is THE candy store of boat shows. It is the single best show to see all that is to be seen, all that is new, and to learn where our industry is going in the year to come. It is a boat-shopper's paradise, and yacht-lover's wet dream - and it's not a bad place for people-watching either.

The 45th Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show will take place from October 28 to November 1, 2004. Plan now to be there.