Miami Boat Show 2015

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend the Miami Show, the first one I've missed in 15 years. For anyone who attended, it would be nice to get your opinion on show attendance, specifically along Collins Ave. Was it busy? And were there any new boats or yachts that caught your eye?

It takes a real gentleman to confess that up.

I like the first 2 choices, maybe the 2nd even better than all. Just a personal opinion. Any still flicks?

Cheers

Image search .... perty

My friend Carl is there with his family. He sent some shots of the new Mercury 400hp Verado and went for a test too.



Can you guess he's a racer?

Wow 400HP Mercury verado's. Looks like they're really stepping up the outboard HP game. They haven't even had a 350HP.

J, they just released the regular 350 too.

The old 350 was a race engine like the 400, with limited warranty.

Don't forget Seven Marine at 557hp. Some of the coolest cowling paint jobs too.

They now have a 627 hp version as well....

A Seven comes in at 500kg, a Verado 400 at 300kg. So that's a pair @ 800hp for 600kg and can be serviced at any dealer. I know where the smart money will go.

Or not so smart. I routinely see 38'-42' center consoles with 4-300hp outboards or 4-350hp outboards......so now they'll just put 4-400hp outboards to go 5 knots faster.....LOLOL

Not only smart money, but I doubt dumb money would spend $75,000 for an outboard either. Heck, even $20,000 to $25,000 for an outboard from the big three is outrageous! You can buy an entire car for that kind of money! They're killing their own market, as well as an industry that adapted to their product.

As for finding service on Seven, at their prices they won't be around long enough to establish a good dealer network. You may see them hanging on transoms at boat shows, but I'd speculate they're subsidized for the exposure. On that note, they're not only pricing themselves out of the market, but out of media exposure too.

As Kevin O'Leary would say... Stop The Madness!

The EPA has a lot to do with the cost of the outboards from the big 3. All of the testing, parts, and pieces on them in order for them to be lightweight yet still pass emissions probably adds $5k to the cost of them.

Some people will buy sevens and their limited production runs and stuff like the gearbox they need are what drive the price up on that too. But, how many $1million + center consoles do you see running around South Florida, they're everywhere and lots of people are buying them......So I guess a lot more people have more money than the brains we have. I wouldn't want to even pay the annual service bill on 4 or 5 big outboards every year.....

When the downturn comes around, they won't be able to find a buyer, and Hydra Sports unveiled a 53 foot center console at the Miami Show...sporting quadruple 7's with a price tag of over a million dollars! I don't get it.

When a particular boat model does not strike a chord within, we tend to think it will crash on the market. Hell, I can't understand why you would want a pontoon "boat" but they just keep on selling.

Selling 140+ units of 42 Hydro Sports is enough to justify the business case for their new 53': http://www.boatingindustry.com/news...l-53-suenos-at-miami-international-boat-show/

As the outboard hp wars continue, you will see 60' production center consoles in the future, their customer base is already gearing up to see who will be the "big dog" on the water.

An annual service on a Verado 300 comes in at around $1500/1800. Not too over the top.

It's not that it doesn't strike a chord with me...there isn't a stackable storage facility that I know of that will support a 53' CC, or even a fork lift that could lift the **** thing. So you either buy a Ford 650 or a Semi Tractor, then a custom trailer, and then a ramp that is long enough with a shallow enough ramp to back it down. OR you just keep it in the water in a slip somewhere or tied up behind your house. For a million plus dollars you can buy a SF with 2 or 3 staterooms. Granted, you won't run 60 mph+ but then again every boat is a trade off...Right?