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Miami Boat Show 2014
- Thread starter OCDACTIVE
- Start date
Bobcat
Founding Member
I'll be there on Thursday , hopefully it'll never be as cold as that Mango's party (37 degrees )
Visitor Show Information
ONE TICKET GOOD FOR ALL SITES and includes free access to shuttle buses and water taxi. Surrender your ticket at the first location and a wristband provided at each exit will give you access to the next location.
MIAMI BEACH CONVENTION CENTER
1901 Convention Center Drive
Miami Beach, FL 33139
* See show hours below
THE NEW YACHT & POWER BOAT SHOW AT SEA ISLE MARINA (no ticket required for this location)
1635 N. Bayshore Drive
Miami, FL 33132
OPEN FROM 9 AM - 6 PM DAILY
STRICTLY SAIL MIAMI AT MIAMARINA AT BAYSIDE
400 Biscayne Blvd
Miami, FL 33132
OPEN FROM 10 AM - 6 PM DAILY
SHUTTLE BUS SERVICE
Courtesy shuttle buses will run between all three locations of the show from one hour prior to show opening through one hour after show close daily.
WATER TAXI SERVICE
Courtesy water taxi service is available between the New Yacht & Power Boat Show at Sea Isle Marina and Strictly Sail Miami at Miamarina at Bayside from 10 am–6 pm daily.
*Show Hours
Premier Day
Thursday, February 13th - 10 am - 6 pm
Friday, February 14th - 10 am - 8 pm
Saturday, February 15th - 10 am - 8 pm
Sunday, February 16th - 10 am - 8 pm
Monday, February 17th - 10 am - 6 pm
The New Yacht and Powerboat Show at Sea Isle Marina is open from 9 am - 6 pm daily and Strictly Sail Miami at Miamarina at Bayside is open from 10 am–6 pm daily.
Admission
Premier Day (February 13th) — $35
5-Day Pass (Good all 5 days of the show)
Thursday, February 13th – Monday, February 17th — $85
Friday–Monday (February 14th–17th)
Adults — $20 (16 and older)
2 Day Pass — $35
Children 15 and under are FREE (must be accompanied by an adult)
Combo Boat Show & Coconut Grove Arts Festival Ticket - $24 ($6 Savings)
*Combo ticket is good for the boat show Monday, February 17th only. It is good at the Coconut Grove Arts Festival on Saturday, February 15th - Monday, February 17th.
Group Tickets are available for groups of 20 or more. When you purchase 20 tickets at regular price you receive 5 FREE. Call 954-441-3231 for details or send an e-mail to Cathy Rick-Joule at crick-joule@nmma.org.
Show Office Phone:
786-276-BOAT (active February 8–21, 2014)
Local Florida Office — (954) 441-3220
Visitor Show Information
ONE TICKET GOOD FOR ALL SITES and includes free access to shuttle buses and water taxi. Surrender your ticket at the first location and a wristband provided at each exit will give you access to the next location.
MIAMI BEACH CONVENTION CENTER
1901 Convention Center Drive
Miami Beach, FL 33139
* See show hours below
THE NEW YACHT & POWER BOAT SHOW AT SEA ISLE MARINA (no ticket required for this location)
1635 N. Bayshore Drive
Miami, FL 33132
OPEN FROM 9 AM - 6 PM DAILY
STRICTLY SAIL MIAMI AT MIAMARINA AT BAYSIDE
400 Biscayne Blvd
Miami, FL 33132
OPEN FROM 10 AM - 6 PM DAILY
SHUTTLE BUS SERVICE
Courtesy shuttle buses will run between all three locations of the show from one hour prior to show opening through one hour after show close daily.
WATER TAXI SERVICE
Courtesy water taxi service is available between the New Yacht & Power Boat Show at Sea Isle Marina and Strictly Sail Miami at Miamarina at Bayside from 10 am–6 pm daily.
*Show Hours
Premier Day
Thursday, February 13th - 10 am - 6 pm
Friday, February 14th - 10 am - 8 pm
Saturday, February 15th - 10 am - 8 pm
Sunday, February 16th - 10 am - 8 pm
Monday, February 17th - 10 am - 6 pm
The New Yacht and Powerboat Show at Sea Isle Marina is open from 9 am - 6 pm daily and Strictly Sail Miami at Miamarina at Bayside is open from 10 am–6 pm daily.
Admission
Premier Day (February 13th) — $35
5-Day Pass (Good all 5 days of the show)
Thursday, February 13th – Monday, February 17th — $85
Friday–Monday (February 14th–17th)
Adults — $20 (16 and older)
2 Day Pass — $35
Children 15 and under are FREE (must be accompanied by an adult)
Combo Boat Show & Coconut Grove Arts Festival Ticket - $24 ($6 Savings)
*Combo ticket is good for the boat show Monday, February 17th only. It is good at the Coconut Grove Arts Festival on Saturday, February 15th - Monday, February 17th.
Group Tickets are available for groups of 20 or more. When you purchase 20 tickets at regular price you receive 5 FREE. Call 954-441-3231 for details or send an e-mail to Cathy Rick-Joule at crick-joule@nmma.org.
Show Office Phone:
786-276-BOAT (active February 8–21, 2014)
Local Florida Office — (954) 441-3220
Last edited by a moderator:
Serious News
What's Happening
Megayachts may have trouble reaching boat show berths
An environmental project linked to the PortMiami expansion may be blocking the route megayachts take to Indian Creek berths for next month’s annual Yacht & Brokerage Show.
By Sue Cocking
scocking@MiamiHerald.com
Miami Beach environmental activist captain Dan Kipnis and several colleagues plan to go before the Beach City Commission Wednesday morning to try to avert what they call a public safety and economic nightmare.
Kipnis, chair of the Miami Beach Marine Authority, is expected to be joined by megayacht operators and others to plead for a halt to an environmental mitigation project now underway in Biscayne Bay just north of the Julia Tuttle Causeway/I-195.
A contractor for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has begun erecting pilings with silt curtains that narrow an unmarked, unofficial dredged channel about 1½ miles long used for decades by large yachts traveling east from the Intracoastal Waterway to reach berths along Indian Creek on Miami Beach. The channel — dug when the Tuttle was built but never officially designated on navigational charts — lies within a 24-acre area where sea grass is being replanted as mitigation for expansion of PortMiami.
Glen Allen, fleet captain of Fleet Miami — an organization of yacht owners — says the narrower detour created by the pilings traverses waters too shallow for safe navigation by big yachts — a problem he has already experienced with a client’s 154-footer that draws 7½ feet.
Allen predicts the problem is going to mushroom when hundreds of vessels in the 80-foot range and bigger begin arriving for the Miami International Boat Show and Yacht & Brokerage Show, which runs Feb. 13-17.
“If the channel is no longer navigable for most of the boats that come into the creek, the boat show is going to go somewhere else,” Allen said. “You’ve got 500 boats that need to come in there for the boat show and 500 that need to come out. There’s going to be accidents.”
Both Allen and Kipnis say big yachts can’t approach Indian Creek from the north because of even shallower waters.
Sergeant Luis Sanchez of the Miami Beach Marine Patrol is worried because he says most yacht operators aren’t aware of the situation.
“They’re going to run aground. They might hit pilings. It’s going to be a nightmare,” Sanchez said.
Kipnis said he repeatedly has warned Corps officials about the looming problem, but no one has paid attention.
“Pathetic,” Kipnis said. “It’s a story of the government not being responsive to the needs of the people.”
He hopes appealing to the Beach City Commission will help persuade the Corps to remove the pilings squeezing the channel in time for the boat shows. Kipnis also would like the mitigation area to be shifted a bit north and for a 120-foot wide navigation channel to be designated and marked permanently with a controlling depth of 12 feet.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/01/...-may-have-trouble-reaching.html#storylink=cpy
An environmental project linked to the PortMiami expansion may be blocking the route megayachts take to Indian Creek berths for next month’s annual Yacht & Brokerage Show.
By Sue Cocking
scocking@MiamiHerald.com
Miami Beach environmental activist captain Dan Kipnis and several colleagues plan to go before the Beach City Commission Wednesday morning to try to avert what they call a public safety and economic nightmare.
Kipnis, chair of the Miami Beach Marine Authority, is expected to be joined by megayacht operators and others to plead for a halt to an environmental mitigation project now underway in Biscayne Bay just north of the Julia Tuttle Causeway/I-195.
A contractor for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has begun erecting pilings with silt curtains that narrow an unmarked, unofficial dredged channel about 1½ miles long used for decades by large yachts traveling east from the Intracoastal Waterway to reach berths along Indian Creek on Miami Beach. The channel — dug when the Tuttle was built but never officially designated on navigational charts — lies within a 24-acre area where sea grass is being replanted as mitigation for expansion of PortMiami.
Glen Allen, fleet captain of Fleet Miami — an organization of yacht owners — says the narrower detour created by the pilings traverses waters too shallow for safe navigation by big yachts — a problem he has already experienced with a client’s 154-footer that draws 7½ feet.
Allen predicts the problem is going to mushroom when hundreds of vessels in the 80-foot range and bigger begin arriving for the Miami International Boat Show and Yacht & Brokerage Show, which runs Feb. 13-17.
“If the channel is no longer navigable for most of the boats that come into the creek, the boat show is going to go somewhere else,” Allen said. “You’ve got 500 boats that need to come in there for the boat show and 500 that need to come out. There’s going to be accidents.”
Both Allen and Kipnis say big yachts can’t approach Indian Creek from the north because of even shallower waters.
Sergeant Luis Sanchez of the Miami Beach Marine Patrol is worried because he says most yacht operators aren’t aware of the situation.
“They’re going to run aground. They might hit pilings. It’s going to be a nightmare,” Sanchez said.
Kipnis said he repeatedly has warned Corps officials about the looming problem, but no one has paid attention.
“Pathetic,” Kipnis said. “It’s a story of the government not being responsive to the needs of the people.”
He hopes appealing to the Beach City Commission will help persuade the Corps to remove the pilings squeezing the channel in time for the boat shows. Kipnis also would like the mitigation area to be shifted a bit north and for a 120-foot wide navigation channel to be designated and marked permanently with a controlling depth of 12 feet.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/01/...-may-have-trouble-reaching.html#storylink=cpy
Serious News
What's Happening
To help their exhibitors cater to the growing sector of megayachts, Show Management and Florida Yacht Brokers Association have added a Superyacht Miami venue at the Miami Beach Marina in South Pointe. This marina can accommodate boats up to 250′, which the mile-long segment from 41st to 54th on Collins Avenue where the show predominantly takes place, can’t. Of course, luxury transportation will be provided, shuttling prospective buyers between the two locations.
“We are delighted with the positive response and early commitment from prominent brokers who specialize in the superyacht sector,” said Show Management CEO Efrem (Skip) Zimbalist III. “The launch of Superyacht Miami is the first step in accommodating yachts larger than ever before seen at this show.”
Among the luxury superyacht brokerage firms expected at Superyacht Miami are Worth Avenue Yachts, Camper & Nicholsons, HMY, Northrop & Johnson, Merle Wood & Associates, and Burgess Yachts. The 2014 Yacht & Brokerage Show in Miami Beach runs at the same time as The Miami Boat Show at the Miami Beach Convention Center, which runs February 13- 17 this year.
http://hauteliving.com/2014/01/superyacht-miami-debut-2014-miami-boat-show/441051/
“We are delighted with the positive response and early commitment from prominent brokers who specialize in the superyacht sector,” said Show Management CEO Efrem (Skip) Zimbalist III. “The launch of Superyacht Miami is the first step in accommodating yachts larger than ever before seen at this show.”
Among the luxury superyacht brokerage firms expected at Superyacht Miami are Worth Avenue Yachts, Camper & Nicholsons, HMY, Northrop & Johnson, Merle Wood & Associates, and Burgess Yachts. The 2014 Yacht & Brokerage Show in Miami Beach runs at the same time as The Miami Boat Show at the Miami Beach Convention Center, which runs February 13- 17 this year.
http://hauteliving.com/2014/01/superyacht-miami-debut-2014-miami-boat-show/441051/
Serious News
What's Happening
Miami Boat Show 2014
Industry - Boats
Category - High Performance
Make - Any
28 Listings
http://boats.miamiboatshow.com/Page...ageId/19197/view/InventoryList/Inventory.aspx
Industry - Boats
Category - High Performance
Make - Any
28 Listings
http://boats.miamiboatshow.com/Page...ageId/19197/view/InventoryList/Inventory.aspx
Serious News
What's Happening
And do not forget that many of the performance boat builders are also building Center Console boats now.
Miami Boat Show 2014
Industry - Boats
Category - Center Console
Make - Any
98 Listings
http://boats.miamiboatshow.com/Page...ageId/19197/view/InventoryList/Inventory.aspx
Miami Boat Show 2014
Industry - Boats
Category - Center Console
Make - Any
98 Listings
http://boats.miamiboatshow.com/Page...ageId/19197/view/InventoryList/Inventory.aspx
Serious News
What's Happening
Mega-yachts squeeze through tight channel to reach boat show berths
The 164-foot yacht Arianna is escorted along an unnamed narrow channel squeezed by pilings and silt curtains north of the Julia Tuttle Causeway. Behind it is the 128-foot Snowbird. Sue Cocking / Miami Herald Staff
By Sue Cocking
scocking@MiamiHerald.com
Moving some of the largest yachts to their berths on Miami Beach’s Indian Creek Waterway in advance of next week’s Yacht & Brokerage Show produced some tense moments and plenty of churned-up mud and sea grass in Biscayne Bay on Thursday. But none of the 100 or so vessels moved in so far collided or ran aground.
“The biggest ones are in the show,” said Andrew Doole, senior vice president and chief operating officer of Show Management, which produces the annual expo. “Everybody’s in safe and sound that was supposed to be here today.”
With another 350 or so yachts to berth before the show opens Feb. 13, the company has employed six tugboats from Steel Marine Towing as escorts to help them around a narrow dogleg in an unmarked, unnamed east-west channel north of the Julia Tuttle Causeway. The channel, normally 100 feet wide and at least 12 feet deep, has been pinched by metal pilings and silt curtains erected by a contractor for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a sea grass restoration project in mitigation for PortMiami expansion. In one particularly tricky section that’s only about 50 feet wide, big yachts must navigate very close to the barriers to have enough water depth to transit the area.
On Thursday, a procession of six of the largest yachts — led by the 164-foot Arianna — made the trip from the Intracoastal Waterway to the east-west channel at high tide with calm winds in early afternoon, either escorted or towed by several tugboats.
The trip was slow and tense, with plenty of back-and-forth discussion over marine radio among yacht captains and tug skippers about how best to maneuver the huge, lumbering craft around the barriers without getting stuck and damaging hulls or propellers.
“My [testicles] are getting bigger now,” said one unidentified yacht captain after his boat made it through the squeeze safely.
Captain Art Sapp, piloting a small escort tugboat, said calm breezes helped matters quite a bit.
“There’s not much wind,” Sapp said. “If there were winds from the southeast, it would be setting them into that turbidity curtain.”
The procession left a layer of brown mud and grass on the surface of the bay. Sapp said he saw at least 25 manatees in the area Thursday morning, but the endangered mammals apparently got safely out of the way of the approaching yachts.
To move the rest of the big boats into their slips will require continued tug escorts and extra bridge openings at 63rd Street in Miami Beach this weekend.
When boat show officials and other marine groups first learned of the Army Corps project several weeks ago, they discussed filing a lawsuit to try to force removal of the pilings narrowing the channel, but the city of Miami Beach’s legal staff balked at going to court. Boating groups then tried negotiating with the Corps to remove the obstacles temporarily, but Corps officials said that would cost too much taxpayer money.
Captain Dan Kipnis, chair of the Miami Beach Marine Authority, said the city is working with the Coast Guard to designate the waterway as a permanent navigation channel after the sea grass project is completed and — hopefully — in time for the 2015 Yacht & Brokerage Show.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/02/06/3917759/mega-yachts-squeeze-through-tight.html#storylink=cpy
The 164-foot yacht Arianna is escorted along an unnamed narrow channel squeezed by pilings and silt curtains north of the Julia Tuttle Causeway. Behind it is the 128-foot Snowbird. Sue Cocking / Miami Herald Staff
By Sue Cocking
scocking@MiamiHerald.com
Moving some of the largest yachts to their berths on Miami Beach’s Indian Creek Waterway in advance of next week’s Yacht & Brokerage Show produced some tense moments and plenty of churned-up mud and sea grass in Biscayne Bay on Thursday. But none of the 100 or so vessels moved in so far collided or ran aground.
“The biggest ones are in the show,” said Andrew Doole, senior vice president and chief operating officer of Show Management, which produces the annual expo. “Everybody’s in safe and sound that was supposed to be here today.”
With another 350 or so yachts to berth before the show opens Feb. 13, the company has employed six tugboats from Steel Marine Towing as escorts to help them around a narrow dogleg in an unmarked, unnamed east-west channel north of the Julia Tuttle Causeway. The channel, normally 100 feet wide and at least 12 feet deep, has been pinched by metal pilings and silt curtains erected by a contractor for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a sea grass restoration project in mitigation for PortMiami expansion. In one particularly tricky section that’s only about 50 feet wide, big yachts must navigate very close to the barriers to have enough water depth to transit the area.
On Thursday, a procession of six of the largest yachts — led by the 164-foot Arianna — made the trip from the Intracoastal Waterway to the east-west channel at high tide with calm winds in early afternoon, either escorted or towed by several tugboats.
The trip was slow and tense, with plenty of back-and-forth discussion over marine radio among yacht captains and tug skippers about how best to maneuver the huge, lumbering craft around the barriers without getting stuck and damaging hulls or propellers.
“My [testicles] are getting bigger now,” said one unidentified yacht captain after his boat made it through the squeeze safely.
Captain Art Sapp, piloting a small escort tugboat, said calm breezes helped matters quite a bit.
“There’s not much wind,” Sapp said. “If there were winds from the southeast, it would be setting them into that turbidity curtain.”
The procession left a layer of brown mud and grass on the surface of the bay. Sapp said he saw at least 25 manatees in the area Thursday morning, but the endangered mammals apparently got safely out of the way of the approaching yachts.
To move the rest of the big boats into their slips will require continued tug escorts and extra bridge openings at 63rd Street in Miami Beach this weekend.
When boat show officials and other marine groups first learned of the Army Corps project several weeks ago, they discussed filing a lawsuit to try to force removal of the pilings narrowing the channel, but the city of Miami Beach’s legal staff balked at going to court. Boating groups then tried negotiating with the Corps to remove the obstacles temporarily, but Corps officials said that would cost too much taxpayer money.
Captain Dan Kipnis, chair of the Miami Beach Marine Authority, said the city is working with the Coast Guard to designate the waterway as a permanent navigation channel after the sea grass project is completed and — hopefully — in time for the 2015 Yacht & Brokerage Show.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/02/06/3917759/mega-yachts-squeeze-through-tight.html#storylink=cpy
Serious News
What's Happening
Miami Beach Traffic Delays As Boat Show Preps Begin
February 7, 2014 4:57 PM
MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) – Drivers will experience delays through the weekend as Miami Beach prepares for the the Miami International Boat Show and the Yacht & Brokerage Show next week.
The preps will mean more frequent drawbridge operations for the bridge at 63 Street over Indian Creek.
Between the hours of 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., the bridge will open on demand. The bridge will not be open for more than ten minutes at a time.
At other times this weekend, the bridge will open at the top of every hour for ten minutes.
The shows begin February 13 and end February 17.
February 7, 2014 4:57 PM
MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) – Drivers will experience delays through the weekend as Miami Beach prepares for the the Miami International Boat Show and the Yacht & Brokerage Show next week.
The preps will mean more frequent drawbridge operations for the bridge at 63 Street over Indian Creek.
Between the hours of 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., the bridge will open on demand. The bridge will not be open for more than ten minutes at a time.
At other times this weekend, the bridge will open at the top of every hour for ten minutes.
The shows begin February 13 and end February 17.
Serious News
What's Happening
After reviewing these lists I notice Sunsation is not on either. They will have two center console boats at the in the water location.
Serious News
What's Happening
BOATS.com
Miami Boat Show Preview: A Guide To Go-Fast Hardware
This year’s Miami Show will be on fire with hot boats and engines—and at least one happening—that you don’t want to miss.
9th February 2014.
By Matt Trulio
Seeing what could be light at the end of the tunnel—other than an oncoming train—for the first time since the early 2000s, the high-performance powerboat segment of the marine industry is feeling bullish and flexing its muscles heading into the 2014 Miami International Boat Show this month.
By all accounts from the go-fast boat and engine builders I’ve chatted with, and that means most of them, there are big things in store for this year’s Miami event.
But there’s a catch: A lot of folks spending the considerable time and money it takes to display their products in Miami want their unveilings on Feb. 13, the day the show opens, to be surprises. And that’s a good thing. Who doesn’t like surprises, right? Heck, it’s their party. They have a right to throw it any way they like.
Still, as a relentless—some say obsessive—planner and generally impatient guy, I like to know what’s coming. You might feel the same way. To that end, I offer the following list of items to see and places to be during the 2014 Miami International Boat Show.
On the vague side: Might as well start here. There are three places you want to be when the show opens on Thursday morning, which is the event’s slightly higher priced (ticket-wise) but substantially less crowded “VIP Day.” At 10 a.m., you’ll want to find yourself at the Mercury Marine exhibit, where Mercury Racing, the high-performance engine side of the company’s business, will unveil a new product or two. (How’s that for vague?) Across the Miami Convention Center floor, Marine Technology, Inc., will showcase at least one full-sized “theme” catamaran. As noted, the Mercury gig has a definite 10 a.m. time peg—the MTI deal does not. So after you’re done checking out the new Mercury stuff, it might be worth sauntering over to MTI.
VIP debut on VIP day: Roughly 30 minutes after the Mercury Racing product unveiling, Cigarette Racing Team will pull the sheet off a 38’ Top Gun VIP Edition that it built for the Spirit of Qatar offshore racing team. (The team will use the 38-footer to entertain special guests during offshore races in the United States this year.) Beyond that, details on the new boat are unavailable, but it wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility for it to be powered by, let’s say just for fun, whatever Mercury Racing is unveiling on the same day. Plus, Cigarette’s technology and marketing partnership with Mercedes-AMG is likely to result in something else worth seeing in the Cigarette booth.
Welcome returns: Absent from the Miami show for four years, Active Thunder, which enjoys a cult-like following in the performance-boat world, is back and will have 37- and 33-foot V-bottoms, both powered by pairs of Mercury Racing 565 engines (last year’s Mercury surprise in Miami), at the Sea Isle Marina docks. Though neither is a “new” model, both have undergone extensive retooling.
Having passed on the Miami show for the past three years, over-the-top catamaran builder Mystic Powerboats will be back in a big way this year. The builder will showcase pleasure and racing versions—the latter brand new and making its public debut in Miami—of its outrageous 50-foot catamaran in its outdoor exhibit area.
Chasing Ilmor: Fans of Ilmor Marine’s 725-hp engines, and there are lots of them, will get to see the V-10 powerhouses not just on stands in the Ilmor exhibit area, along with the company’s upgraded touchscreen Merlin Dash system, but in a few spectacular performance boats. Formula will have one of its popular FASTech 38-footers powered by the Ilmor engines in the water at Sea Isle Marina, while a couple of 42-foot Chief powerboats—a pleasure model and a raceboat—boasting Ilmor 725 engines will be showcased in the display area behind the convention center.
Blinded by the (neon) light: To borrow loosely from the GEICO insurance advertising campaign, even a visually impaired caveman will be able to spot the 42-foot-long Miss GEICO offshore racing catamaran, which will be sporting a new chartreuse paint job for the Miami event, outside the convention center.
Getting Centered: Last year, Sunsation Powerboats unveiled a 34-foot center console that, for all intents and purposes, saved the company’s bacon. This year, the builder is bringing a 29-foot version of the model that, like its big brother, will boast an uncommonly large cabin in its console. On the larger side of the performance-oriented center console segment, Statement Marine will have a new 38-footer in the water at Sea Isle Marina. (For the first time in several years, the builder will not have a massive indoor exhibit.)
http://features.boats.com/boat-content/2014/02/miami-boat-show-preview-a-guide-to-go-fast-hardware/
Miami Boat Show Preview: A Guide To Go-Fast Hardware
This year’s Miami Show will be on fire with hot boats and engines—and at least one happening—that you don’t want to miss.
9th February 2014.
By Matt Trulio
Seeing what could be light at the end of the tunnel—other than an oncoming train—for the first time since the early 2000s, the high-performance powerboat segment of the marine industry is feeling bullish and flexing its muscles heading into the 2014 Miami International Boat Show this month.
By all accounts from the go-fast boat and engine builders I’ve chatted with, and that means most of them, there are big things in store for this year’s Miami event.
But there’s a catch: A lot of folks spending the considerable time and money it takes to display their products in Miami want their unveilings on Feb. 13, the day the show opens, to be surprises. And that’s a good thing. Who doesn’t like surprises, right? Heck, it’s their party. They have a right to throw it any way they like.
Still, as a relentless—some say obsessive—planner and generally impatient guy, I like to know what’s coming. You might feel the same way. To that end, I offer the following list of items to see and places to be during the 2014 Miami International Boat Show.
On the vague side: Might as well start here. There are three places you want to be when the show opens on Thursday morning, which is the event’s slightly higher priced (ticket-wise) but substantially less crowded “VIP Day.” At 10 a.m., you’ll want to find yourself at the Mercury Marine exhibit, where Mercury Racing, the high-performance engine side of the company’s business, will unveil a new product or two. (How’s that for vague?) Across the Miami Convention Center floor, Marine Technology, Inc., will showcase at least one full-sized “theme” catamaran. As noted, the Mercury gig has a definite 10 a.m. time peg—the MTI deal does not. So after you’re done checking out the new Mercury stuff, it might be worth sauntering over to MTI.
VIP debut on VIP day: Roughly 30 minutes after the Mercury Racing product unveiling, Cigarette Racing Team will pull the sheet off a 38’ Top Gun VIP Edition that it built for the Spirit of Qatar offshore racing team. (The team will use the 38-footer to entertain special guests during offshore races in the United States this year.) Beyond that, details on the new boat are unavailable, but it wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility for it to be powered by, let’s say just for fun, whatever Mercury Racing is unveiling on the same day. Plus, Cigarette’s technology and marketing partnership with Mercedes-AMG is likely to result in something else worth seeing in the Cigarette booth.
Welcome returns: Absent from the Miami show for four years, Active Thunder, which enjoys a cult-like following in the performance-boat world, is back and will have 37- and 33-foot V-bottoms, both powered by pairs of Mercury Racing 565 engines (last year’s Mercury surprise in Miami), at the Sea Isle Marina docks. Though neither is a “new” model, both have undergone extensive retooling.
Having passed on the Miami show for the past three years, over-the-top catamaran builder Mystic Powerboats will be back in a big way this year. The builder will showcase pleasure and racing versions—the latter brand new and making its public debut in Miami—of its outrageous 50-foot catamaran in its outdoor exhibit area.
Chasing Ilmor: Fans of Ilmor Marine’s 725-hp engines, and there are lots of them, will get to see the V-10 powerhouses not just on stands in the Ilmor exhibit area, along with the company’s upgraded touchscreen Merlin Dash system, but in a few spectacular performance boats. Formula will have one of its popular FASTech 38-footers powered by the Ilmor engines in the water at Sea Isle Marina, while a couple of 42-foot Chief powerboats—a pleasure model and a raceboat—boasting Ilmor 725 engines will be showcased in the display area behind the convention center.
Blinded by the (neon) light: To borrow loosely from the GEICO insurance advertising campaign, even a visually impaired caveman will be able to spot the 42-foot-long Miss GEICO offshore racing catamaran, which will be sporting a new chartreuse paint job for the Miami event, outside the convention center.
Getting Centered: Last year, Sunsation Powerboats unveiled a 34-foot center console that, for all intents and purposes, saved the company’s bacon. This year, the builder is bringing a 29-foot version of the model that, like its big brother, will boast an uncommonly large cabin in its console. On the larger side of the performance-oriented center console segment, Statement Marine will have a new 38-footer in the water at Sea Isle Marina. (For the first time in several years, the builder will not have a massive indoor exhibit.)
http://features.boats.com/boat-content/2014/02/miami-boat-show-preview-a-guide-to-go-fast-hardware/
Serious News
What's Happening
For the new PlayStation®3 racing game Gran Turismo® 6, Mercedes-Benz designers developed the ultimate concept of a super sports car – the Mercedes-Benz AMG Vision Gran Turismo. Extreme proportions, sensual contours and intelligently implemented high technology blend to form a body that visually brings to life the breathtaking performance of the AMG V8 front-mid engine with 577 hp (430 kW) and 590 lb-ft of torque.
The Cigarette Racing 50′ Vision GT Concept has twin 1650 hp Mercury Racing engines, which roar at 300 hp per engine higher than the standard engines used in the 50′ Cigarette Marauder. Lightweight construction has allowed for approximately 1000 lbs to be removed from the standard spec weight, thereby allowing the boat to have an estimated top speed of more than 140 mph at a length of 50′ and a width of 8′.
The price of this one-of-a-kind boat from Cigarette Racing Team is USD $1.5 million.
http://3d-car-shows.com/miami-international-boat-show-mercedes-benz-amg98/
Serious News
What's Happening
The servers at Abuela's Kitchen worked as fast as they could to get the orders out late Friday morning.
The hours between breakfast and lunch are usually down time for the Miami Beach restaurant, but the Miami International Boat Show has brought a wave of traffic to nearby businesses.
"It's crazy," said Yamile Rodriguez, a server at Abuela's. "It's a lot of people coming from everywhere since 6 a.m. They're coming for breakfast lunch and dinner. It's really busy with the boat show."
The show has brought so many people to the restaurant, it has started to run out of popular menu items.
"We do run out of home fries and stuff like that," Rodriguez said.
The extra work and hours that come with the busy boat show weekend are no problem for Rodriguez, who said she receives good tips from boat show goers.
And the show's business benefits don't just extend to restaurants. The boat show generates almost $600 million in gross sales for the area and supports 6,500 jobs on its own.
"We supply the internal and external lights for the boats and yesterday was phenomenal," said boat show employee Rick Sullivan from New Jersey.
The boat show is also a great way to show off what South Florida has to offer to people from all over the world.
Ana Maria Lumiali came to see the boat show and the Coconut Grove Arts Festival with her family from Finland and said she is having a blast.
"You can't see that kind of boats in Finland that you can see here and it's pretty cool," she said.
Another bonus for Lumiali: the weather.
"It's beautiful for a winter vacation," she said.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/54388752/ns/local_news-miami_fl/t/boat-show-business/
The hours between breakfast and lunch are usually down time for the Miami Beach restaurant, but the Miami International Boat Show has brought a wave of traffic to nearby businesses.
"It's crazy," said Yamile Rodriguez, a server at Abuela's. "It's a lot of people coming from everywhere since 6 a.m. They're coming for breakfast lunch and dinner. It's really busy with the boat show."
The show has brought so many people to the restaurant, it has started to run out of popular menu items.
"We do run out of home fries and stuff like that," Rodriguez said.
The extra work and hours that come with the busy boat show weekend are no problem for Rodriguez, who said she receives good tips from boat show goers.
And the show's business benefits don't just extend to restaurants. The boat show generates almost $600 million in gross sales for the area and supports 6,500 jobs on its own.
"We supply the internal and external lights for the boats and yesterday was phenomenal," said boat show employee Rick Sullivan from New Jersey.
The boat show is also a great way to show off what South Florida has to offer to people from all over the world.
Ana Maria Lumiali came to see the boat show and the Coconut Grove Arts Festival with her family from Finland and said she is having a blast.
"You can't see that kind of boats in Finland that you can see here and it's pretty cool," she said.
Another bonus for Lumiali: the weather.
"It's beautiful for a winter vacation," she said.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/54388752/ns/local_news-miami_fl/t/boat-show-business/
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