miami bannermiami footerLargest Temporary Marina in the World

                The Miami International Boat Show is expanding yet again to gear up for the long anticipated mid-February show that takes over the South East region of Florida, this year starting on Thursday, February 16th through Monday, February 20th.

The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) is anticipating a 40% increase in the size of the on-water display at the Key Biscayne Marine Park & Basin. This will be the notorious show’s second time at this specific location, which has been renovated and redesigned to serve as the boat shows permanent home. “This is the largest temporary marina ever built in the world”, says NMMA president Thom Dammrich.

The on water displays are increasing from 409 boats to 565 boats in the water. This will be out of the 1,300 boats on display in the shows entirety. The shows offering of sea trials was a big hit last year for the overall experience of the show. This year the training capacity has doubled from 400 classes available to 800.

floating dock           The shows management team has been busy keeping up with last year’s complaints and requests. Among these things, the NMMA has addressed other issues such as lighting and transportation. All 1,004 tent lights have been replaced with LEDs that have 35% more lumen. The show will use 47% more water taxis, almost tripling the transporting capacity from 52,000 people able to travel one way via water taxi, to 125,000 this coming show. Management has cut the routes down from seven to four in order to operate at high capacity with high frequency.

Parking and bus drop-offs will also be enhanced this year. The bus system will be managed by Hello Florida this year. They have bettered the parking and traffic flow by creating a newly paved area in front of the show. There will be about twelve buses running between The NMMA’s Miami International Boat Show at the Basin, and Yachts Miami Beach located on Collins Avenue. VIP and Handicap parking will also be available and better accessible this year at the Miami Seaquarium, used for parking during the Show.

Trends to expect at the show:img15338538

  • High Tech Demos: See exhibits such as the Mercury Joystick Piloting for Inboards, which allows users to operate a boat like a video game. Surf Band by Malibu Boats that allows users to create any wave they want, while they surf it. FLIR Systems, Inc. will be show casing the newest handheld thermal night vision scope.
  • Large Boats: The largest boat at the show is the new Marlow Marine 97 Explorer. The 97E is the fastest, best preforming raised pilothouse offshore yacht in the world. Among this MSRP $5.4 million 97E, other multimillion dollar yachts will be featured such as Marquis Yacht’s 660 Sport Yacht, Viking Yacht’s 52 Open, Riviera 4800 Sport Yacht, Beneteau Monte Carlo 6, and Oyster’s 745, the largest sail boat at the show.
  • In contrast to the largest boats displayed at the show, manufactures are now making smaller boats that aim to attract the younger boater. These specific styles are more affordable and versatile, providing an ‘all in one’ experience to appeal to a wider audience of boaters. Models such as Bayliner’s VR6 Bowrider maximizes space and value like never before. Other models to look for include HeyDay WT-1, Sea-Doo’s SPARK TRIXX, Tracker Pro Guide’s V-175 WT, and Starcraft Marine’s EX 18 C.

As always, we can expect a fantastic show at the Miami International Boat Show at Miami’s Marine Stadium Park & Basin.