BOATS, BOATS AND MORE BOATS
A trip to South Florida is a great cure for cabin fever if your winter is cold. Here’s a sampling of what’ll be on display at the Miami International Boat Show.
Big boats, little boats, beamy boats, tall boats, fast boats, slow boats: If it floats, there’s a good chance you can get a look at it during the Miami International Boat Show. Under the tents and in the water will be more than 2,000 boats — all on sunny, warm Virginia Key, a great place to be in the dead of winter. The show runs Feb. 15-19.
Among the fresh entries are a couple of interesting power cats, a convertible sportfish, a French coupe and a handful of capable center consoles. And in case you missed them, many of the models introduced at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show will be on display in Miami.
Viking 44 Convertible
Joining Viking’s 44 Open, which made her debut at the Fort Lauderdale boat show, is the 44 Convertible, which the New Gretna, New Jersey, builder will take the wraps off at the Miami Yacht Show on Collins Avenue. “The 44 Convertible is a comfortable tournament contender with the largest flybridge in its class, equally capable of galloping hard to the canyons on gnarly-weather days or blasting over to the Bahamas in 90-degree heat,” says Chris Landry, director of communications for Viking Yachts.
The 44 Convertible has a two-stateroom, two-head layout. There’s one head with an enclosed shower for the master stateroom and one wet/day head. The master is situated longitudinally to port, while the guest stateroom is in the bow with crisscrossed berths — one double and a single, elevated bunk. Each sleeping area has shelf and cubby stowage, as well as hanging lockers.
The saloon has an L-shaped lounge aft with bar-style seating that is directly above the U-shaped galley. An elevated, J-shaped dinette is forward to port. Expanses of cabin-side glass give the area a light and airy feel, and rich wood finishes and buttery upholstery add to the sense of luxury.
Outside in the cockpit is a mezzanine with bench seating on one side and a drink cooler and tackle drawers on the other. The steps up to the two sides have concealed stowage beneath them. Twin fishboxes are oriented longitudinally to port and starboard, an in-deck stowage lazarette is mounted on centerline, and a fishbox is mounted inside the transom.
Tucked below are a pair of 800-hp MAN diesels with enough ponies to accelerate the 44 Convertible to 34.5 knots. She cruises comfortably at 30 knots, meaning only a few hours’ ride or less to the canyons, in most locales. “The 44C runs on the same proprietary surface as our 44 Open, giving her the high performance of a Viking express fishing boat and the stylish deckhouse, expansive saloon and luxurious accommodations of a Viking convertible,” Landry says. LOA: 45 feet, 1 inch • BEAM: 16 feet, 4 inches • WEIGHT: 50,132 pounds (standard fuel load) • DRAFT: 4 fee• HULL TYPE: modified-vee • POWER: twin 800-hp MAN diesels • SPEED: 34.5 knots top, 30 knots cruise • TANKAGE: 825 gallons fuel, 120 gallons water, 46 gallons waste • PRICE: $1M39 million • CONTACT: uiking Yach• CoM, vikingyach•sMcom
Krogen 50 Open
Fresh off the ship from the Far East is the Krogen 50 Open, which will make its world premiere at the Miami International Boat Show. “For customers who have dreamed of a Kadey-Krogen with a walk-in engine room, Portuguese bridge and a main-deck layout that is continuous from saloon to pilothouse, their dream has come true,” says Larry Polster, vice president and partner with Kadey-Krogen Yachts.
The 50 Open’s two-stateroom layout with twin head/shower compartments is ideal for a couple, or a couple with guests. A three-stateroom layout is available, which includes a shared head/shower compartment to port while retaining an en-suite head/shower for the master stateroom. The spaces below are upholstered and trimmed in wood.
The main saloon feels big thanks to a virtually bulkhead-free, openconcept layout. A galley is forward of a lounge area to port and has a 30-inch Wolf range and ample counter space. A dual-drawer SubZero refrigerator/freezer and wine cooler are adjacent to the galley to starboard. It’s a single step up to the bridge deck, which has a helm seat and an L-shaped lounge abaft a teak table.
For outdoor living, there’s a well-protected cockpit with a side-deck extension that wraps around the starboard side of the boat and leads up to the Portuguese bridge. Access to the bridge deck is via port and starboard doors, and openings in the Portuguese bridge allow foredeck and docking access. Above it all is a flybridge with a grill and fridge, hardtop-sheltered helm and dinghy stowage.
A single 230-hp John Deere diesel pushes the 50 Open to a top speed of 9.4 knots. She cruises efficiently at 8 knots. Range can be expanded by dropping down to 6 knots, giving owners 5,000 nautical miles with 1,240 gallons of fuel on board.
“The Krogen 50 Open is revolutionary for our brand and not a replacement for the legendary Krogen 48s or popular Krogen 52,” Polster says. “She’s a model all her own for those seeking an oceangoing yacht that is as social and open for a large group of people as an express-style cruiser or traditional sedan-style might be.” LOA: 52 feet, 9 inches t BEAM: GFFU JODIFT t WEIGHT: QPVOET t DRAFT: GFFU JODIFT t HULL TYPE: disQMBDFNFOU t POWER: single 230-hp John Deere 6068AFM85 EJFTFM t SPEED: LOPUT UPQ LOPUT DSVJTF t TANKAGE: HBMMPOT GVFM HBMMPOT XBUFS HBMMPOT XBTUF t PRICE: NJMMJPO t CONTACT: Kadey-Krogen Yachts, kadeykrogen.com
Tideline 360 Offshore
Tideline has been crafting smart- looking power cats out of its Edenton, North Carolina, factory since 2012, when it introduced the Tideline 19. The builder’s 235 Hybrid came next in 2015. The Tideline 360 Offshore — the builder’s biggest center console cat to date — will be displayed for the first time at the Miami International Boat Show.
“The Tideline 360 Offshore offers the future of offshore sportfishing combined with classic style and appeal,” says Tideline co-owner George Stronach. “Our newest catamaran combines the performance, comfort and fishability of the newest high-end offshore fishing cats with the classic lines and aesthetics of a traditional, custom-built sportfishing boat.”
Angling-minded features include two 45-gallon and two 88-gallon live wells; more than 2,300 quarts of fishbox capacity in two 815-quart deck lockers and a 688-quart foredeck coffin-style cooler; and rod stowage on the hardtop and under an inset into the gunwales.
Layouts were not finalized at press time, but renderings show a swim platform with transom cut-through access to the cockpit. An aft-facing bench is shown, along with three bucket seats abaft the center console. A forward-facing lounge with cooler stowage underneath is forward of the helm. The builder says this model will be semicustom, with requests welcome.
Buyers can choose among Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda and Mercury outboards, from twin 300-hp and 350-hp configurations to quad Mercury Verado 400Rs. Projected top end at wide-open throttle and a pair of Yamaha F350s is 52 knots, with a cruising speed of 35 knots. Part of that speed comes from reduced weight; Tideline’s hulls are composite, and the 360 Offshore’s projected weight is only 9,200 pounds. LOA: GFFU JODIFT t BEAM: GFFU t WEIGHT: 9,200 QPVOET FTUJNBUFE t DRAFT: GPPU JODIFT t HULL TYPE: DBUBNBSBO t POWER: twin 300- or 350-hp 4-strokes, quad IQ TUSPLFT t TANKAGE: HBMMPOT GVFM t PRICE: t CONTACT: Tideline Boats, tidelineboats.com