Debut of two enclosed bridge motor yachts set to turn heads in Miami
by Paul Wilson 23 Jan 2019 18:46 PST
Maritimo Americas' President, Dave Northrop (R) on board the M54 cruising motor yacht headed to the Miami show with Phil Candler (Operations GM) on the Gold Coast in December before the boat headed to the US © Darren Gill
Leading Australian luxury motor yacht manufacturer, Maritimo, is set to have the USA debut of two of its prestige enclosed flybridge models at the upcoming Miami International Boat Show in Florida mid February.
The company will display four of its largest models at the Miami show including two of the revolutionary X 60 coupes, a model that changed forever the sports yacht sector after its launch early in 2018.
Maritimo Americas' President Dave Northrop, said the X60 sport yacht with the aft beach club and Regency Suite accommodations would be a head turner at the Miami show.
However, he said after feedback from the boat buying public at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show last year he was confident the enclosed bridge M64 and new optional layout M54 would be extremely popular.
"A lot of people who visited our display in Fort Lauderdale said they would like to see larger versions of the M series with the enclosed flybridge," he said.
"The M64 is a stunning boat and the new layout in the M54 provides a whole new dimension to that model so we believe they will both be well received in Miami.
"Maritimo is one of the few manufacturers selling in the USA that produces a climate controlled enclosed flybridge and a lot of our buyers are attracted by that point of difference."
Northrop said since Fort Lauderdale his team had sold three M54's and three M51's.
"The new M64 illustrates all the great things we do in spades and its USA debut will generate a lot of interest I am sure."
Northrop said the M64 would be priced from US$2.845,500; The M54 from US$1.690,500 and the X60 from US$2.292,500.
All three models were very competitively priced in relation to the competition, he said.
Maritimo CEO Garth Corbitt said the company's international strategic expansion was on track and the market in the USA was a major focus of that strategy.
"Through Dave we have significantly expanded our dealer partner network in the USA and we now have a seriously strong team including some dealers who are multi generational businesses with track records spanning more than half a century, "he said.
"Enclosed flybridge boats are at the very heart of what we do and while the response to the X60 sport yacht has been nothing short of phenomenal the bulk of our sales are still flybridge motor yachts.
"The design and performance of these motor yachts with their proven seakeeping capability are what stands us apart from the competition. "They are race bred in terms of the technology and the finish and fit out is world class."
The Miami International Boat Show runs from February 14 to 18 and is the first of the major shows in the USA annual calendar.
Maritimo ended 2018 on a high with record sales for the calendar year and it now has forward orders out to 2020. The company has virtually doubled the size of its Australian manufacturing plant and is currently increasing its workforce by 30 percent to help it keep up with demand.