The Miami International Boat Show kicked off this Wednesday and is back in Miami Beach, at the convention center, after five years in Key Biscayne. With an increased interest in boating and outdoor activities in the past couple years, we expect a large turn out from both the public and the exhibitors.
The show runs from Wednesday, Feb 16 to Sunday, Feb 20. Tickets must be purchased online and start at $40 per adult and $15 per child (6-15). If you are unable to make it out yourself, here's a rundown of the highlights we thought were the most interesting this year. Stay tuned throughout the weekend for more updates.
Pathfinder 2700 Hybrid Bay Plan on seeing a lot of SOLD signs. The Pathfinder 2700 Hybrid Bay Boat sold for $259,000 in the first hour of the show Charlie Johnson, Maverick Boat Company, said. And part of the sense of urgency is being driven by so many boats at the show that are already spoken for. “The key to leaving the show with a boat is taking the day off work and getting to the show early,” Johnson said.
Yamaha Harmo Electric Outboard No gas needed. New for 2023 the 48-volt electric motor provides the approximate thrust of a 9.9hp gas kicker. The Harmo outboard electric has 140-degree turning radius and can be incorporated into your digital steering system. Florida anglers could mount a single Harmo for backup to a large single outboard or to be incorporated as a trolling motor. Pricing and product availability dates will be out shortly.
Honda's (iST) Intelligent Shift & Throttle® (iST) Models It was over twenty years ago at the Miami Boat Show when we walked by an outboard in a garbage can, which was remarkable because it was running. You see twenty plus years ago if an outboard was running you didn't run one on the sidewalk of a public boat show. But here it was, quietly, running. No smoke. It was revolutionary. It was a Honda.
Honda is back in Miami, not running engines in garbage cans, but they do have redesigned mechanical and electric iST 115hp, 140hp and 150hp engines. New digital controls look modern and updated. The white cowling looks like it'll withstand Florida's long sunny days and the pricing and availability makes Honda worth coming to check out in Miami again.
Ugowear Dry Pack Cheaper than phone insurance, plus you can take your tablet for a swim too if you want to. The Ugowear dry pack claims to be 100% waterproof. Guaranteed. Melanie Cole, co-founder of Ugowear said she hasn't had one fail in their seven years of existence. The key she said is the dry suit zipper. The Boat Show Special for the Phone Pack is $99 ugowear.com (Booth MB6012)
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BLU3 NOMAD Dive 30-feet for 45-60 minutes with BLU3 NOMAD. Forget your tanks and grab a backpack. Just don't forget to charge your battery. The NOMAD is easy to use, lightweight and packs into a backpack. The regular price for the rotomolded breathing device is $1,999. An additional 144-watt hour lithium battery ($350 value) is free at the Miami Boat Show this weekend. diveblu3.com
Dometic Seastar Electric Trim Tabs
Your trim tab knows. The new Sea Star Electric Trim Tabs come standard or adaptive, meaning before you take your hands off the wheel your trim tab will automatically adapt to the new running angle. The intuitive knob to adjust your running angle seems like a winner too.
SlimmShade Get Quick and easy shade for your cockpit with Slimm Shade. Attaches to any t-top rod holder configuration between four and six feet wide. The top is six feet wide by seven feet long. It's made of four way stretch poly-mix material.
Easy to install, no tools needed. Solid colors and designs. Boat Show special, in El Capitan booth, MB6065, for a solid shade is $249. MSRP is $299. slimmshade.com
SIONYX Nightwave With SIONYX advanced digital night vision technology, long gone are the days of unclear, exclusively green-hued, eye-straining video quality. After turning the night vision game on its head with their Aurora series, the SIONYX crew has outdone themselves yet again with their latest installment, Nightwave. Nightwave is an ultra low-light camera, that allows anyone on the water the ability to easily spot hazards and ensures safe navigation in complete darkness, permitting more time doing what you love, without worry.
Side-by-side comparison speaks for itself. Picture this, it's a new moon, all you can see are a few stars and barely the outline of your hand in front of your face. With the SIONYX Nightwave, you can now see everything around you as clear as day, in full-color. The Nightwave has multiple mounting options to fit your space and needs and can now be directly connected to your MFD or viewed from their free app via built-in wifi. While the Nightwave is IP67 rated and designed for marine use, any outdoorsman can find a million other uses for this device. The SIONYX Nightwave is expected to be released Spring 2022 and rings in at $1,595. Pre-order now for $100 down at sionyx.com/nightwave .
This boat itself isn't the only thing new, so is this color, sky blue. Available starting in 2023. Stingray 273CC Stingray Boats debuted their newest, and largest, entry in their lineup this week at the Miami International Boat Show with the Stingray 273CC. After the success of the 269DC, Sailfish President Barry Avent pushed for a center console counterpart, thus the 273CC was born. She's a lengthy 27' 11” with a beam of 8'6”, 21-degree deadrise, fuel capacity of 177 gallons, max HP of 600 and a top speed of 60.6 mph when running twin Suzuki DF300APX's. Launching in 2023, this model will come standard with Garmin 1243 screen and transducer, fiberglass hard top, stain-resistant vinyl, cooler/storage box, deep aerated livewell, freshwater head, stainless steel accents, deluxe steering wheel, oversized cupholders, dual fuel tank access and more.
Seat cushions in the bow can be removed and stored to use the area as a fishing platform, allowing for a comfortable ride out and productive fishing at your destination. The platform is family-oriented with ample seating and storage, speakers throughout, charging stations in the bow seating and a dedicated space for the Seakeeper 1, for ultimate comfort on the water. Like a reverse-mullet, this boat is party in the front and all business in the back. Anglers can utilize a deep live well in the rear, stainless steel rod holders on all sides of the boat and premium add-ons like Optimus 360 joystick technology, an additional Garmin screen, secondary live well underneath the rear-facing seat, Gemlux outriggers and more. You can easily convert this boat into a fisherman's dream at a solid price point. MSRP for the 273CC is estimated at $263,000 and will launch in 2023. Pre-production orders are being accepted now. stingrayboats.com .
Simrad NSX With a whole new operating system, app integration and ultimate customization options, the new NSX system from Simrad will be a game changer in 2022. The NSX sports Android integration to streamline your MFD experience and Simrad has opted for a complete touchscreen with slim bezels, allowing bigger displays in smaller spots. No more buttons and dials, instead get used to dragging and dropping your selected screens and adjusting the sizing of each with the swipe of a finger. Customize your utility bar on the right side of the screen to keep all your most used features in one spot, even your favorite screen build setups can be saved as presets. The ability to close applications allows you to run what you want and ixnay what you don't, improving the performance of your device.
Active Imaging 3-in-1: CHIRP, DownScan Imaging, SideScan, as well as FishReveal Smart Target View are all attractive add-ons available for this model. The NSX series also comes with C-MAP DISCOVER X (included) and offers REVEAL X (+$269) marine-optimized charts for day and night, autorouting, and the Simrad Companion app that allows you to plan your trips ahead of time, review tracks, and plot waypoints, instantly syncing and saving it all via cloud technology. The NSX will start at $1,000 for the 7-inch display and increase with size for the 9 and 12-inch displays. The NSX will be available to ship starting March 21. simrad-yachting.com/nsx/ .
Fin-Nor Sunglasses Well-known for their years of reel production, Fin-Nor has shifted gears and is refocusing into the world of polarized sunglasses, just recently announcing their new line this Wednesday at the show. Attention to detail and comfort is abundantly apparent in their line of eye-protection, without sacrificing on-the-water functionality. Unique arching along the temples, as to not hug the face but curve with it, lightweight design and flexible earpieces come together for an extremely comfortable fit, perfect for long hours on the water.
Style for the hardcore angler and the everyday-er. Their color-enhanced, multi-layer anti-reflective lenses come in five different colors and are available in polycarbonate and glass. Other angler-oriented features integrated into their Pro models are vented side-shields, anti-fogging technology and sun-blocking from all angles. 20 frame models will be available for purchase starting mid-April. Retail prices will range from $159 and $279 depending on frame selection and lens material.
Tiller Driven Outboards The micro-skiff, small shallow water boats, that blur the lines of canoe, paddle board and flats boat continue to grow in popularity. And along with the growth and product advancements of the boats are the horses that push them. Specifically, the tiller driven outboards. The new fuel injected, tiller handle outboards, can be manually pull started or with the addition of a battery, started like a normal outboard, with a push of a button.
At the Miami Boat show several engine manufactures have new products in this category. Tohatsu has a new 25hp and 30hp on display which will be available in 2023. The new 25hp will retail in the $5k range. They commented that the skinny water, duck boat, category is very popular right now. It's easy to see why the little kickers are growing in popularity. You don't need a battery, they're fuel injected, they have tilt and trim and they're very light. The Tohatsu is 128 pounds.
The 25hp Yamaha claims to be the lightest of the 25-kicker class, while having the highest power to weight ration. The new PTT, power trim and tilt, models have switches on the tiller handle and come in 15 and 20-inch shaft motors. The 25SMHC model weighs 126-pounds.
