Boot Düsseldorf returns next week with an array of new boat launches. Here’s our pick of the best models to track down at Europe’s biggest boat show…
If you genuinely want to compare a lot of boats back-to-back then no other show makes it more convenient than Boot Düsseldorf. It’s one of the biggest indoor boat shows in the world (if not the biggest) and it has everything from kayaks to superyachts.
The nine-day exhibition is expected to be busier than ever this year, with almost 4,000 exhibitors already confirmed to show their wares at the Messe Düsseldorf showground.
There is far too much to see in one day, we’d recommend spending at least two days there (with a mandatory night out in between to enjoy the delights of the altstadt).
So without further ado, here are our top motorboat picks from the Boot Düsseldorf 2024 line-up:
Brig Navigator 24
Launched at the 2023 Southampton Boat Show, the Brig Navigator 24 is part of a wider overhaul of the brand’s Navigator range, and as such it will be joined by an all-new Brig Navigator 22 at the Dusseldorf show.
These are the first new models to emerge from Brig’s Kharkiv facility since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in February 2022.
As the name suggests, the Brig Navigator 24 is 24ft long and features a centre console layout powered by either single or twin outboard engines up to a maximum of 250hp.
Replacing the outgoing Navigator 730, this versatile RIB is equally comfortable performing fishing, watersports or family cruising duties, with all the features and storage options you’d expect for each.
Dromeas 33 SUV
Since Olympic sailor, Efe Kuyumcu, founded Dromeas Yachts in 2017, his mission has been to build the toughest and most versatile high-performance offshore leisure boats in the world – and the new 33 SUV represents the next step in that campaign.
Built using vacuum-infusion, epoxy resins and carbon fibre reinforcements, this larger of the two wheelhouse models takes the same twin-stepped deep vee Adam Younger hull as the Walkaround variant but adds an enclosed pilothouse with twin side doors for year-round practicality.
Available with inboards or outboards, this 50-knot offshore platform also uses aggressive spray rails, thickset rubbing strakes and elevated forward gunwales for a safe, dry ride.
Given Dromeas’s model protocol, it’s reasonable to expect an SUV variant of the flagship 38 CC to land at some point in the future but for now, this easily customised and inherently flexible four-season platform looks like the standout boat in the fleet.
Fairline Targa 40
Fairline’s Targa 40 is a much more substantial boat than the previous best-selling Targa 38 – not just 3ft 6in longer but also 20% more voluminous, thanks to taller topsides and a wider beam that extends further towards an upright bow.
It looks like the extra space has been put to good use too. Fairline’s lead designer, Christian Gott, who will be in attendance on the Düsseldorf show stand, has created a versatile new cockpit layout and a lower deck with 6ft 6in of headroom, while maintaining (and arguably even upgrading) the sporty looks that were such a major part of the T38’s appeal.
While this sleek hardtop sportscruiser shares several features with the smaller F//Line 33 and the new Fairline Phantom 65, it also delivers a fair few tricks of its own.
Nerea NY24 Limo
Launched in Genoa and making its second public appearance in Düsseldorf, the new NY24 Limo from Italian yard, Nerea, takes the underpinnings of the NY24 Deluxe and GT models and strips away the covered foredeck to ramp up the open-air seating.
What you get in here is a big wraparound cockpit with easy three-tier boarding points at the transom and on both sides, as well as a bow dinette that can be converted into a sunbed to supplement the lounge seats aft.
It’s not as versatile as the weekender-style models but if you need a compact and manageable tender that looks a million dollars, make sure you check it out.
Omikron OT60
Omikron’s debut production model is apparently built for Mediterranean island hopping at “a peaceful pace with abundant space”. To that end, it uses an Eco-Cruise hull by Juan Kouyoumdjian, alongside carbon fibre in the construction of the superstructure for uprated stability at sea.
Equipped with a pair of Yanmar 4LV diesels, Omikron is quoting a fuel flow of just 1.25 litres per nautical mile for a very useful cruising range in the region of 750 miles, and there’s plenty of space on offer here too.
The internal saloon opens out into the cockpit, thanks to an array of doors and windows that virtually eradicates the aft bulkhead, and the cockpit features a pair of symmetrical L-shaped sofas with big views across an open transom.
Quarken 35 Cabin
Finnish yard, Quarken, is gearing up to launch its largest model yet. Known as the Quarken 35 Cabin, this Category B model looks likely to pick up where the Quarken 27 Cabin left off.
Like its smaller sibling, it features a near-plumb bow and an asymmetric wheelhouse to maximise internal space, while still leaving room for a deeper, wider side deck to starboard.
A forward-raked windscreen with slender mullions and plunging windows all-round should deliver good visibility from the helm, as well as plenty of natural light. A large overhead sunroof should help open things up even further and the provision of both an aft door and a sliding skipper’s door should make movement pretty easy too.
Equipped to carry ten people and sleep three, the established Quarken formula suggests that the new 35 Cabin will be joined by Open and T-top versions in the near future. But even as a standalone boat, it’s clear that this high-value weekender is going to be a strong contender.
Saxdor 400 GTC
Saxdor’s new 400 GTC is ostensibly a Saxador 400 GTO with less in the way of openness and more in the way of pilothouse protection.
Like the GTO variant, the wheelhouse encompasses the full-beam of the boat, maximising internal living space while providing easy movement fore and aft via a generous offset door in the windscreen. But unlike that boat, the GTC model replaces open space and canvas curtains with permanent glazing on both sides.
Direct access to the long fold-down side terraces is still perfectly achievable though, thanks to big sliding side doors, and the configurable aft deck can also join the party courtesy of the same aft door and hinged window as the GTO variant.
You get the luxury of an offset forward cabin and a separate bathroom, each with standing headroom of more than 6ft, plus the option of an additional double cabin beneath the cockpit further aft.
SAY Carbon 52
Performance brand SAY Carbon Yachts is launching its largest boat yet – a 52ft stunner with the performance to match its high-tech looks…
Weighing in at just 7.5 tonnes, thanks to an all-carbon-fibre hull and deck (around half the weight of a typical 50ft GRP craft), the SAY Carbon 52 will be powered by a relatively modest pair of petrol or diesel engines for a top speed of around 45 knots.
A hybrid electric waterjet drive is also an option, giving near silent displacement cruising at speeds of up to 8 knots. As well as its lightweight construction, the SAY Carbon 52 features a Petestep hull, which impressed us so much during our recent test drive of the X-Power 33.
This patented design uses specially shaped spray rails that fan out from the centreline, deflecting spray back under the hull and creating a high-pressure zone at the stern that is said to deliver a faster, smoother ride as well as increased fuel efficiency.
It will be powered by a pair of 430hp Volvo V8 petrol engines on sterndrives as standard, but 440hp D6 diesels are also on offer.
Sunseeker Ocean 182
This is the first chance for European showgoers to see the new tri-deck version of the original Ocean 90.
It’s called the 182 to reflect its gross tonnage rather than its length and foreground the fact that the wide-beam design and newly enclosed top deck deliver more than 2,000ft2 of interior space.
The standard arrangement is equally interesting. A stylish internal staircase leads to an upper deck, where a fully-covered forward area enables the helm to move upstairs, freeing up space on the main deck.
The upper deck’s central zone can be left open or specced as an enclosed sky lounge but in all cases, the lower helm’s absence creates room on the main deck for a bright dining area and galley forward, which in turn frees up the space further aft for a larger saloon.
The upper structure does reduce outdoor space, of course, but with a vast 24m2 split-level beach club, alongside four big cabins, 27-knot performance and a cruising range of 1,100 miles, it’s a tempting package.
Sunseeker Predator 75
This largest of Sunseeker’s “next generation” Predators looks superb, thanks to a Midnight Grey hull with jet-black detailing and a potent coupé-style silhouette. However, this boat is designed as much for parties as for performance and the deck layouts reflect that.
The cockpit provides a carbon- fibre table for up to six people, within easy reach of an electric barbecue, 80-litre fridge and icemaker.
There’s also an electric canopy back here, as well as dimmable lighting – and the foredeck also provides seating and a sunpad, plus zoned Sonos music and a pair of large drawer fridges.
In the standard layout, the lower deck features a forward VIP, a starboard double and a full-beam owner’s mid-cabin, plus a port galley
with integrated Miele appliances, a wine cooler and a Quooker tap.
There’s also a neat breakfast bar and seating area in here – and at the aft end, there’s room for a two-berth crew cabin to port and a tender garage to starboard.
WallyPower 50
If you’re torn between the open-style thrills of the WallyTender line and the luxury of the WallyPower line, the WallyPower50 might be the most attractive model yet.
It certainly possesses the angular lines, fine stem and aggressive double-chine profile you would expect of a classic WallyPower model but you can also spec it with the same workmanlike wraparound fender as a WallyTender.
Like the WallyTender 48 and the WallyPower 58, the new WallyPower 50 is available with either inboard or outboard propulsion. The standard model is fitted with twin Volvo Penta IPS-650 pod drives and user-friendly joystick control for berthing manoeuvres.
Windy 29 Huracán
Slotting neatly between the Windy 27 Solano and the Windy 32 Grand Zonda, the new Windy Huracán 29 is likely to be a major Düsseldorf attraction.
Designed by Espen Øino, with interiors in collaboration with Fareham-based Design Unlimited, it ticks all the classical Windy boxes with a step-free deep-vee hull, a choice of petrol or diesel inboard engines, a deep, wide cockpit and an aggressively raked foredeck.
The deck layout is also classical Windy. Encompassing the full beam, thanks to a step-through screen, the cockpit adopts an asymmetrical arrangement with a pair of helm seats backing onto a starboard dinette with a facing corner seat to port. Behind that, a sunpad adjoins the aft end of the dinette, with a sliding backrest for extra flexibility.
It’s a fine looking boat too, and production has reportedly already been pre-sold up to 2025.
Keep checking back with mby.com during the Boot Düsseldorf show as we will be sharing yacht tour videos of as many of the above debuts as possible.
