2014 Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show - FLIBS

The toys were twirling in the Electronics Tent where the displays were massive and jam packed with high tech goodies that made you feel more like you were entering the bridge of the Star Ship Enterprise rather than a product display at a Boat Show!



One of the highlights of the Tent was Intellian's s80HD World View antenna that provides simultaneous reception of DirecTv Ka and Ku Band globally without having to physically change LNBs; it is all done electronically now a major improvement for yachts when moving from zone to zone by not having to open the dish dome and perform a delicate manual operation at sea.



Here she in in action.


Be sure to select HD in your youtube Settings for the best picture.


SAILOR 800 from Cobham SATCOM is a standardised high-performance 3-axis stabilised Ku-band antenna.





Like the s80HD the Sea Tel 100 provides the ability to receive high quality HD TV on DirecTv Ka-Band satellites in North America and is also capable of receiving worldwide Ku-Band High Definition and SD programming without having to make adjustments to the hardware.



Another angle on the Sea Tel 100.



It is fascinating to see how the innards of each company's design are different but achieve the same result in the end, a beautiful HD picture on the displays on your yacht any where in the world.

The next 4 shots were taken at the KVH display highlighting their antennas that for the first time combine Ku/C band VSAT in one series and Ku/Ka TV in another series that have automatic switching between bands without having to change LNBs.













The other big news at the show is that FLIR prices keep dropping so that devices that cost $25,000 less than two years ago sell for $3,000 today.

The price for hand held versions are even lower!

Useless is a 77' Hatteras built in 2007 that cruises at 28 knots can hit a top speed of 32 knots carrying 10 passengers overnight in 4 cabins with 2 crew in 1 cabin.




On the sportfishing dock there was a nice line up of Vikings.




What is a good sportfishing yacht without rods and reels to go along.



With prices from $4,839.95 to $779.95 I guess it is just like the yacht, if you have to ask the price you probably cannot afford it!



Many of the sportfishing yachts are decorated with intricate etched glass portraits of our favorite things, fish a jumpin and flyin!

There were some sweet sport cruisers in the Show including the Bravo B36 just making her world debut has 2 sleeping areas for 4 adults and a seating area that can be converted to sleep two children.

The cockpit can be configured with a dual sink, refrigerator, electric cooktop, electric grill, cabinet space and a trash compartment.




Cruisers is also debuting a new model the 390 Express Coupe that has all the bells and whistles you would expect in a premium sports yacht such as a master stateroom, head with separate stand up shower, full galley, AC, and engine selections all the way up to dual Volvo Penta D6 IPS 500s, EVC, joystick, diesel, pushing out 370 HP.





Cruisers 45 Cantus Black Diamond is a step up providing a larger master stateroom, a second stateroom that doubles as a media room, full mid ship head, and washer dryer that all move along at 24 knots for a 279 nautical mile range and a top speed of 31 knots.






The Four Winns H350 is a large bow rider that also has a cabin large enough for a sleeping area, couch, and enclosed head with shower.




Temptress is a 50' Magnum built in 2013.

Necker Belle is a 105' luxury catamaran who won the 2010 Best New Refit at the World Superyacht Awards is a cutting edge carbon fibre catamaran making her light for sailing or motoring at high speeds such as 14 knots under power and speeds in excess of 20 knots under sail.



She is 46' wide creating a huge main deck cabin.



She is quite a sight to see under sail!





One of her most popular features is the crows nest that climbs 82' high above her deck.



She has many unusual and unique design features such as her numerous rectangular ports in her cabin.

The Cranachi Eco Trawler 53 Long Distance has been awarded the Powerboat of the Year Award 2015 in the under 45 feet category!



This fast trawler is able to exceed her displacement speed at the flick of a switch but is most economical at 7 to 10 knots cruising speed, she will cruise at 14 to 18 knots burning 25 gph, at 10 knots she burns a miserly 1 gph, crusing at 7.5 knots she burns 2 gph and has a range of about 1,500 nm with a top speed of 22 knots.





She has a super cool high tech looking radar arch!




Sea Ray launched its new L-Class 650 Flybridge at the 2014 Miami Boat Show looking more like a sexy Italian than her American heritage would indicate.






This 2015 Azimut 60 Fly has twin Man R6 761 HP w/XENTA Joystick and is able to cruise at a swift 28 knots.

When I saw this striking yacht from a distance I said I have to get a closer look.

What I found was Vivie Rae a 86' Nordhavn that was built in 2008.



She carries 8 passengers in 4 cabins along with 4 crew in 2 cabins.



She is one of the few yachts of such mass that can maintain a 1 mile per gallon cruise.



This Van Dutch 40 looks to be the perfect color match for a tender to Vivie Rae.



With 2 x 480 HP diesels she has a top speed of 40 knots.

This 2015 Lazzara LSX 64 cruises at 31 knots with a top end of 34 knots.







This is a Cheoy Lee Riviera Alpha 76 Express that has a resin infused foam cored carbon/E-glass composite structure with vinyl ester resins throughout with an epoxy barrier on the bottom of the hull.









This Riva 122 Mythos Sol has a top speed of 28.5 knots, a cruising speed of 26 knots and a range of 1,100 nautical miles at an economical speed of 11 knots.

Good catch SFS, thanks for bringing that to my attention.

That original info was gleaned from a review on a yacht magazine website.

I found basically the same information in a different review where they said, "When cruising at 10 knots, the yacht has a range of 667 miles." so considering Cranachi's specs say her fuel capacity is 616 UK, 740 US gals the 1 gph jibes.

They go on to say, "but when its speed is reduced to 7.5 knots, its range more than doubles to 1,500 miles." which would indicate that the first reviewer probably meant to say at 7.5 knots she burns 1/2 gph; so it looks like the 1/ in front of the 2 was overlooked.

I apologize, I did a double take on that line too, unfortunately I did the math quickly in my head rather than checking further and was mistaken.

Did we ever see any night shots of the show from Capt Tom?