Mar 10

Mar 10 Miami International Boat Show 2022: The Ultimate Overview

Without question the most exciting boat show of the year is the Miami International Boat Show. Often, the Miami Show is used to launch new products and showcase the best of the best in the marine industry. Although this year there weren’t any big announcements, the show itself was eventful and had something for everyone. Set at the relatively new Miami Beach Convention Center, the Miami Boat Show was easy to get to, as well as easy to navigate. Let’s take a look at the performance boats and engines at the show, as well as the conventional stuff. I was really shocked at the popularity of my walk around video from the previous show, so I did another video along with this writeup.

The biggest news before the show was from Cigarette Racing, so big I did a separate article on that alone, linked here. Cigarette acquired Vectorworks, a marine design and engineering company, which immediately enables Cigarette to design, fabricate and build at a greater capacity than before. Truly a significant long term business strategy. Cigarette website

One of the coolest boats at the show was a 1984 24’ Cigarette, restored by LipShip Performance in Miami. The 24’ had a Mercury Racing 600. Truly an incredible restoration.

Lip Ship Cigarette 24 — 1984 Cigarette 24’ impeccably restored by Lip Ship Performance in Miami, with a Mercury Racing 600.

Outerlimits had a beautiful SV 29 with a Mercury Racing 565, reported to be running 97 MPH out of the box. Another SC 37 with twin 450R, a really nice looking sport cat that is what you would expect from Outerlimits. I really love that SV 29 though. Outerlimits website

The Outerlimits SV-29 is a stunning sport boat.

Nor-Tech’s display was good. Although I’m not a big CC guy, the Nor-Tech 340 is pretty nice and would probably be my choice if I was in that market. Sharp lines and solid performance with triples or quads. No question, the quality and tasteful designs of Nor-Tech are a big part of their success.

Velocity had a 290 OB in the show with twin 400R. The 290 looks big for a 29’, with a high freeboard and fairly wide beam. The boat was finished and a wild orange color and definitely stood out at the show. I believe Performance Boat Center is carrying Velocity now.

velocity 290 sc outboard — twin 400R on the Velocity 290 SC.

MTI had a 50’ CC, and two 390X. All the MTI boats had wild paint jobs. The fit and finish is peerless, with incredible interiors and materials. For a large CC, none are sleeker and nicer than MTI to me. The cats are class leading too, I love the 340, although the 390X offers a lot of boat for anyone in the sport cat market. MTI website

MIT, the leader in race and sport catamarans, along with luxury center consoles. Impressive display in Miami.

All the way from California, DCB brought their latest M37R, the companies first true cat. The colorful cat is going to live in South Florida too. With twin 450Rs the boat is running 133 MPH and the orders keep coming in for the popular brand. DCB website

The DCB M37R, right at home in South Florida. 133 MPH.

In the video, I look at Formula, Axopar, Cobalt, Sea Hunter and various other brands. I even got a close look at the SeaDoo Switch and it’s even worse in person. The video walk through really covers most of the show. Other boats featured are Axopar, Hewes, Cobalt, Dusky, Intrepid, and Chaparral.

Mercury Racing brought the new 360 APX race outboard. Very cool to see the dynamic F1 race engine up close. Featuring a 12” midsection, Speed Master lower unit and the stout 4.6L DOHC powerhead. There were some 300R AMS engines on display as well. Look for Racing to have some new products in the future. I think after Covid, it has been all hands on deck to get production up to speed, and probably some new stuff took a back seat for a little while.

The V8 platform from Mercury Marine has so many incarnations. Here are two different versions from Mercury Racing, the 360 APX, a highly tuned and sophisticated race engine. In the background is the 300R AMS, a more conventional outboard with the Advanced Mid Section. Mercury Racing website

Mercury Racing 60R — This is the smallest Mercury Racing engine beside the biggest. 60 HP and 1550 HP.

Mercury Marine had a great display as always and had the intriguing electric Avator. This is a glimpse into the future, with some portable battery, light weight and looks to be starting in the 5-10 HP range (equivalent) with more on the way. Mercury Marine website

Mercury Marine electric Avator — The electric Avator concept from Mercury Marine.

Suzuki had their digital 140 on display, the 390 Lbs engine is a great light repower engine and for any small boat that could use the low 2.56 gearing it offers. Very cool engine and looks great. Just after the show, Suzuki launched a new look 250 SS, with a revised gearcase, 2.08 gears, new cowling, charging system and some other features. The 115 SS was also updated, more compression and features that make it more advanced. Both get a new white color and a really cool matte black with dark graphics. Pretty solid engines for the Suzuki crowd. Suzuki website

suzuki 140 outboard — The updated Suzuki BF140 DG featuring drive by wire technology. The light, powerful 140 is a unique engine, geared for heavy boats but the lightest in the market.

Yamaha had the new look V6 and other outboards, although they don’t have tons of new stuff. I really like Yamaha, great engines. I really like the 4 cylinder 1.8L and 2.8L engines. The 90 SHO is really cool, and is a common on some small flats and fishing skiffs. Yamaha has pushed steering technology in their bigger engines, and the V6 engines have electric steering incorporated on some models. Yamaha website

Honda had some revised 115, 140 and 150 engines. The 140 is new, although it’s very close in spec to the 150. Both the 115 and 140 seem a bit big and heavy for this category. Often used on workhorse boats, that might not be too much of an issue for Honda diehards.

Although Mercury and Yamaha have larger V8s and even with the V12 Verado, other manufacturers don’t seem to want to get into the 400+ HP market, not yet anyway. Realistically, it’s only Suzuki that could and they don’t feel the market is large enough for them in that space.

In the video I tried to do a detailed look at some conventional boats too. I hope you enjoy it. Not everyone can make it to a show so I figured it’s a decent way to get an idea of it without being there. If I had to summarize or try and spot a trend it was there is a further push for more technology; from electric steering, more tech for captains at the helm, and with Mercury showing their first electric outboard concept, the Avator, we will probably see more electric lower power outboards in the near future.