Editorial of magazine Multihulls World #188

The boat shows have decidedly made their comeback, but they’re bringing us their fair share of surprises... Following the very successful autumn boat shows afloat, we’re now into indoor events – beginning with a real cold shower at the Paris show (see our article on page 32). In Europe, the flagship event on which all the spotlights were focused was of course boot Düsseldorf, where I am at the time of writing. We’re talking here about the largest indoor boat show in Europe, maybe even the world, with some 1,500 exhibitors, representing no less than 68 countries... This 23rd edition has been long awaited, with the two previous events being canceled thanks to the pandemic. So, three years on, what is the outcome for boot? First of all, the organizers have reduced the number of halls to 16, compared to 17 - or even 18 - in recent editions. A more anecdotal thing, but symbolic all the same: visitors and journalists are now obliged to pay for their tickets for the bus, subway and trams in the city, whereas they were offered free of charge in 2020... Looking at the details, there’s a very contrasting situation, though not incomprehensible on the boatbuilders’ side. In the 7 halls occupied by motorboats, things are looking good, with units up to 80 feet in length and sophisticated booths.
But something’s not quite right: the Prestige M48 is there, but... that’s the only powercat on show at Düsseldorf. In halls 15 and 16, reserved for sailboats, there are around a hundred manufacturers and a relatively dynamic presence of cruising monohulls - Bénéteau is exhibiting no less than ten models here. On the other hand, in hall 15, reserved for sailing multihulls, there were few units on show: order books are very full, transport costs and ecological awareness have motivated many exhibitors to attend without boats - or even without anything at all. A script that’s hard to follow when the same yards are sometimes bringing dozens of monohulls by truck - admittedly easier and less expensive to transport. In the famous hall 15, which has taken on a very sad feel, the Bali 4.4, the Excess 11 and the Lagoon 46 are nevertheless on display - and so have been overrun by the visitors! Given this context, it’s hard to believe that the four biggest multihull builders (Lagoon, Fountaine Pajot, Bali/Catana and Robertson & Caine) weigh in ahead of all the monohull builders in the world...

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