Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show '21

Toying with the idea of heading down for it. If i do it would be the weekend.

By the weekend, do many of the exhibitors start pulling out early?
Or does it get so crowded so that you can see nothing?

One brand I was wanting to look at for daydreaming purposes was Selene. If I'm looking at the list right doesn't seem to be any going to be there. Too bad....I didn't notice a whole lot of other similar ones either.....but I still might go.

I was poking around on Selene's web site and thinking about this question. Saw their contact ups page, so I sent them a message asking if they would have any boats there or any other east cost show far that matter....and got a reply.

Our shipyard very seldom attend boat shows. All our yachts are custom
built and reflect the owner's tastes and specifications. Therefore, all
Selene yachts are different... This is why we do not have "stock
boats"... We don't build production boats.

May I suggest that you start talking to our ex-factory department at the
shipyard? Captain Sebastien who has several circumnavigations on his
logbook can assist your in refining the specs of your dream boat. This
is how all our customers do... You will have personalized contact at the
shipyard, in English... Customized layout drawings with our architects,
technical specifications according to your sailing plans, unique
interior decoration, etc. And last but not the least, you will also
benefit exceptional price conditions...

I suppose I'm a little surprised but not much. I get that shows probably aren't overly productive, but surely they have boats for sale sometimes and it sure wouldn't hurt for folks like me to be able to step aboard a few examples!

skyhawk said:

I was poking around on Selene's web site and thinking about this question. Saw their contact ups page, so I sent them a message asking if they would have any boats there or any other east cost show far that matter....and got a reply.

Our shipyard very seldom attend boat shows. All our yachts are custom
built and reflect the owner's tastes and specifications. Therefore, all
Selene yachts are different... This is why we do not have "stock
boats"... We don't build production boats.

May I suggest that you start talking to our ex-factory department at the
shipyard? Captain Sebastien who has several circumnavigations on his
logbook can assist your in refining the specs of your dream boat. This
is how all our customers do... You will have personalized contact at the
shipyard, in English... Customized layout drawings with our architects,
technical specifications according to your sailing plans, unique
interior decoration, etc. And last but not the least, you will also
benefit exceptional price conditions...

I suppose I'm a little surprised but not much. I get that shows probably aren't overly productive, but surely they have boats for sale sometimes and it sure wouldn't hurt for folks like me to be able to step aboard a few examples!

Click to expand...

Many attend shows only as a defensive measure. They got into it decades ago and now if they don't show up, others will talk about how much trouble they're in. Others book all they can sell without shows. Understanding the cost of attending shows, I can fully understand why some don't. It's not just the space cost, but transporting your team and entertaining guests and getting boats there. Many of the boats at shows are customer boats, already sold.

Builders constantly debate shows but are really scared to change. Some have reduced shows, but FLIBS is not one they eliminate. Some have tried to have their own shows at the same time and I think some of the Catamaran people do that.

Well based on the list of boats they have online that are supposed to be there, It doesn't look like they'll have a huge number of examples of the sort of thing I really want to experience..... looks like 5 or so boats anyway that I'd really like to see, and there''' likely be other things interesting too as food for thought, things I haven't considered, etc...

It's a shame, I have really been looking forward to making a show like this.
I know from RV shopping years ago, you have to get in them and have a seat and try them on for size to really get a feel for what sort of thing might fit. Things I thought were must have features turned out to be not so much. Actually chartering some would be the ultimate, but that's a whole other thing down the road.....

Anyway, I sorta view it as a second step in seeing if it's the kind of thing my wife and I might enjoy. (the first being my online analysis paralysis) But that means getting in a bunch of different boats. The problem I foresee is that if there's only a bunch of boats that don't fit our needs, style, etc... then it'll turn my wife off on the idea. She's not the best at "imagining" sometimes and is usually quick to "decide".....

Trawlerfest?

Would a trawlerfest be useful?

We have not been to one in a few years, but we did attend two of their events in the Seattle area. These were very useful visits for us because they had MOSTLY the types of boats, new and brokerage, that we would consider. I like to look at other flavors too, but our purpose was refining our selection. Attending definitely helped us determine my wife’s preferences in layout, mission, etc. that drove our purchase decisions.

IRENE said:

Would a trawlerfest be useful?

We have not been to one in a few years, but we did attend two of their events in the Seattle area. These were very useful visits for us because they had MOSTLY the types of boats, new and brokerage, that we would consider. I like to look at other flavors too, but our purpose was refining our selection. Attending definitely helped us determine my wife’s preferences in layout, mission, etc. that drove our purchase decisions.

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Wifey B: A trawlerfest would be more targeted toward trawlers.

Personally if there was going to be 5 boats that might interest me then I would probably attend. Since we sometimes travel a thousand miles to see one boat seeing 5 would be worth it to me. And on top of that there is all the equipment manufacturers with neat stuff to look at.

Riviera Shipment from Australia

Riviera has loaded a shipment of 7 boats including the new "645 SUV" onto a ship in Brisbane, bypassing 2 usual ports for direct delivery to Miami for the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show. Loading took 2 days and 3 tides,the boats occupy space accommodating 560 containers.
Riviera had a "near death" experience before being bought out of receivership in 2012, long after its founder Bill Barry-Cotter sold it before starting Maritimo. It currently has an overflow of orders, over 50 boats under construction by its 800+ workforce, and is "enormously proud" of this its largest overseas shipment.
Australia struggles building anything at overseas competitive prices,let`s hope the landed cost is in an acceptable range.
Large expanses of white plastic may be a Riv hallmark, but so is the construction standard. May they arrive safely and find interested buyers.

interesting. Thanks for the point put on Riviera
I took a quick glance at their web site....nice but not really my thing.
Still it would be fun to tour a few and look at some of the features, compare and contrast, etc...
I pulled up their "BELIZE 54 SEDAN"
The tender garage sure is something. Kind of an interesting concept if done right.... but it strikes me as something that could be a problem too....

skyhawk said:

interesting. Thanks for the point put on Riviera
I took a quick glance at their web site....nice but not really my thing.
Still it would be fun to tour a few and look at some of the features, compare and contrast, etc...
I pulled up their "BELIZE 54 SEDAN"
The tender garage sure is something. Kind of an interesting concept if done right.... but it strikes me as something that could be a problem too....

Click to expand...

Wifey B: Love garages but there's always a tradeoff. That space otherwise might be storage or on some boats the garage eliminates a crew cabin. So much easier than davits or chock on the transom platform.

skyhawk said:

interesting. Thanks for the point put on Riviera
I took a quick glance at their web site....nice but not really my thing.
Still it would be fun to tour a few and look at some of the features, compare and contrast, etc...
I pulled up their "BELIZE 54 SEDAN"
The tender garage sure is something. Kind of an interesting concept if done right.... but it strikes me as something that could be a problem too....

Click to expand...

Definitely no trawler. Riviera once built GB 36 and 42s under license,and a related company built a Mariner (not the US boats) s/d trawler. Essentially fast fuel hungry planing hulls,well designed and built. I looked hard at a Riv37(really a 42ft boat)once, but decided no, several reasons, ER height low, main sleeping cabin too tight.
Hope you find your boat at the Show.

I was looking at the exhibitor's list of boats again. A lot of power cats on the list, which I think would be more appealing to my wife...and I think I like a lot of aspects of them too...although I see the down sides. Not sure she would so readily...and without many real "trawlers" to compare and contrast against I wonder if this event might unfairly tip the scales away form a trawler....
ah, no matter...still not even sure if we'll be able to make it...and either way, we'll see what we see if we are able to go....