10 Highlights of the 2016 Miami International Boat Show

Innovative boats and products are the hallmark of this midwinter extravaganza. Here's a sampling of what lit up the show this year.

By Gary Reich

February 11, 2016

If you had to miss Miami this year, here are 10 eye-openers that wowed the crowd.

The Premier Dodici Pontoon Boat

Premier Dodici Pontoon Boat

At 12 feet wide and 31 feet long with 900 horsepower racked to the stern, the Premier Dodici 310 pontoon boat is full of innovative firsts. It’s not only the first triple outboard-powered pontoon boat; it’s also the first with a 12-foot beam and a massive 42-inch center tube. Invite along 21 of your closest friends and hold on—the Dodici has a top speed in the low 60s.

Twin Seven Marine 627 SpectraBlade engines power this big center-console.

Seven Marine 627 SpectraBlade

If a whopping 627 horsepower in a single outboard engine (70 horsepower more than its 557-horsepower predecessor) isn't quite enough for you, the new Seven Marine 627 SpectraBlade also has a unique horizontal engine configuration, innovative lower unit, and a cool, customizable LED lighting scheme that can produce over 16,000,000 different colors. And it all runs on 89-octane fuel.

The Bayliner VR5 Bowrider

Bayliner VR5

If you’ve been citing the high price of entry as a barrier to getting into powerboating, well, you’ve just run out of excuses. The 20-foot long, eight-foot wide Bayliner VR5 bowrider has a roomy and innovative interior chock-full of clever features at a starting price of only $26,999. Its one of the nicest boats Bayliner has ever built.

Simrad's StructureScan 3D fishfinder

Simrad StructureScan 3D

The end is nigh, fishes. Simrad’s new StructureScan 3D takes away the steep learning curve involved with reading traditional side-scan sonar images by intuitively displaying the bottom and underwater structures in a live 3D view. It not only shows individual fish and their locations, but features in an easy pinch-and-zoom interface that's intuitive and easy to manipulate.

The FLIR AX8 Thermal Monitoring Camera

FLIR AX8 Thermal Monitoring Camera

Engine room cameras certainly aren’t new tech, but thermal imaging cameras that can sense and monitor up to eight different engine hot spots? That’s some cool new tech. Each FLIR AX8 can monitor engine components such as exhaust manifolds, transmission cases, and raw water pumps, and alert owners when preset temperature thresholds are exceeded.

The Sirius Electronic SOS Distress Light

Sirius SOS Distress Light

If you’re like us, you’re tired of buying flares every three years, only to have them expire into uselessness. The new Sirius SOS Distress Light solves this problem by providing a USCG-approved alternative -- a battery-powered distress signal that can last for up to 60 hours on a single C-cell battery and be seen up to 10 nautical miles away.

The Scout 420 LXF is a luxury center-console.

Scout 420 LXF

There are plenty of cool new, big-boy center-console boats on the market these days, but few are as nice—or packed with as many innovative features—as the Scout 420 LXF. An example of just one great feature is the comfy aft cockpit seat, which can transform to allow mechanical room access, serve as a step up to the upper helm, or convert into an electric grill.

Yamaha's TR1 High-Output Engine

Yamaha TR-1 Marine High-Output Engine

It’s easy enough to tweak an engine to produce more horsepower these days, but how about doing that with one less cylinder, a 40-percent reduced engine footprint, and 20 percent less weight? That’s what makes Yamaha's new high-output marine engine amazing, especially in jet boats.

The Premier Ricochet Ladder in kick-up position.

Ricochet Ladder

There are two kinds of boaters: those who have forgotten to raise and stow their swim ladders before getting underway, and those who will. Premier Pontoons has solved this problem by creating the new Ricochet swim ladder that automatically stows when sufficient water pressure is created to actuate its gas-assist struts and kick the ladder up.

The Stetson Soakable UV Boating Hat from Walkabout

Stetson Soakable UV Boating Hat

Hot-headed? Keep your cool by soaking this form-fitting, wide-brim Stetson from Walkabout Hats in water and then letting evaporation from the wicking fabric do the cooling work. The fabric itself is also rated at 50 SPF.

Written by: Gary Reich

Gary Reich is a Chesapeake Bay-based freelance writer and photojournalist with over 25 years of experience in the marine industry. He is the former editor of PropTalk Magazine and was the managing editor of the Waterway Guide. His writing and photography have been published in PassageMaker Magazine, Soundings, Fly Fishing in Salt Waters, Yachting Magazine, and Lakeland Boating, among others.