Dusseldorf Boat Show – 2019

Braving the icy and snowy weather on the Continent, the Grabau International team made their way to Germany in late January to attend boot Dusseldorf.

The Dusseldorf Show is without doubt one of the most impressive boat shows anywhere in the world. With over 1,900 exhibitors from 73 countries and over 1,500 boats displayed across the 16 bustling halls, in excess of 250,000 visitors were expected to attend the 50^h edition of the show before the doors were shut on Sunday evening. Grabau International was in attendance for three days this year working checking out the latest launches, new marine equipment innovations and catching up with our industry friends and colleagues.

Swan 48

While the new Swan 65 was without a doubt one of the stars of Hall 16, it was the news of the forthcoming Swan 48 that was a particular highlight for us. The previous generation German Frers Swan 48 was one of the prettiest modern Swans, so this new model; the third to carry the Swan 48 name, will have big shoes to fill. The Nautor team are keeping pretty tight-lipped about the on-the-water cost of the new boat, which we believe is due to be launched later this summer, but we suspect it will be reassuringly expensive.

Baltic 67

For those who demand the very best that money can buy, their journey will invariably lead them to Jakobstad, Finland and the shipyard of Baltic Yachts. It is here that nothing is impossible and technological innovation goes hand-in-hand with artisan construction and the attention to detail that few if any builders can hope to match. While we have written about the newly-launched Baltic 67 already, the Dusseldorf show brought further news about the second hull in this semi-custom series which will be making a splash later this year in some of the world’s most prestigeous offshore races. Rumour has it that we may even have a Grabau International team member aboard… watch this space for more!

B-Yachts

Perhaps a little confusingly, there were two B-Yachts stands at Dusseldorf this year, both displaying yachts of the same theme. With names such as Luca Brenta and Lorenzo Argento behind the designs, these exquisite composite daysailer and weekenders truly lead this booming market. Grabau International are delighted to offer for sale both a B-38 and a B-42, which in turn can be sold as complimenting pairs to the Maxi Dolphin Brenta MD65 and Brenta MD66’s also offered for sale through our brokerage department.

Rizzardi Yachts 

Although not displaying a yacht this year, Rizzardi were present in the Superyacht hall with renderings of their forthcoming 62 IN, a larger version of their critically-acclaimed 48 IN design. Expect semi-custom hand-built construction, blistering performance, class-leading fuel economy and Italian style from every corner. We admit that our passion for all things Italian makes us a little biased, but we really love what this historic Italian shipyard is producing. We look forward to seeing more of them at this year’s Cannes Yacht Show.

Cigarette Racing

Completely and utterly over the top and all the more glorious for it. With more power than a space rocket and colour schemes to wipe away any Altbier-induced hangover, no boot Dusseldorf would be complete without a visit to the Cigarette Racing stand. Once you make it past the ‘look at me’ graphics and ‘extrovert’ stand personnel, it is the quality of construction and attention to detail that really astounds. With almost every metal component custom CNC-milled, they are completely in a league of their own.

Yacht Propulsion

Outside of the boat halls, we stumbled across two of the most fascinating extremes in the boating-world, almost side-by-side. Following a fascinating presentation from Torquedo about their complete-solution hybrid power plants for sailing yachts, we were stopped in our tracks by Seven Marine’s utterly mad 627SV outboard engine. Yes, 627 as in 627hp!! With a supercharged GM V8 engine at its heart, the horsepower war definitely seems be running in favour of the Americans right now. Quite why anyone needs 627hp outboard engines on their boat for blasting back and forth to Miami, we really can’t imagine.

Custom Construction – Made in the UK!

Last but least, it was also lovely to see our friends from Fibre Mechanics at the show. Fibre Mechanics is a Lymington-based composite yacht builder born from the former Green Marine. With a back-catalogue that reads like a history of performance yachting, the company produces everything from the latest-greatest Melges 37 through to one-off motor launches, Volvo ocean racers, one-off Maxi racers and anything in between.

The next stop on the Grabau International Boat Show Tour will be the Palma Yacht Show in late April, although for those in the US, you can also see our colleagues at Hylas Yachts at the forthcoming Miami Boat Show... more news on this to follow.