Genoa Boat Show 2019

Wet seemed to be the destiny of the opening day of the 59th Genoa Boat Show, along with what happened in Cannes the week before.

The figures of the Genoa Boat Show 2019

The sun and a hint of wind, on the other hand, blessed the opening of the Boat Show during the morning, with 986 exhibitors and a thousand boats displaying renaissance numbers and a layout of the booths which was finally the right one for such an event.

The 2019 edition opens with an economic picture of the pleasure boating industry that, for the current year, confirms the health of the sector. Italy, in fact, closes 2018 with growth for the fourth consecutive year with a pre-consumption figure that indicates a growth of 9.5% on the basis of the forecasts for the closure of the 2018 financial statements and estimates of growth in turnover for 2019. According to a survey by the UCINA (the Italian Marine Industry Association) Studies Office, 63% of companies declare, on the basis of their 2019 order book, a growth in turnover.

Let’s move on to the engines. What’s new? Certainly the appearance of a name that needs no caption: GM Marine. The industrial engines brench of the passenger cars American giant, at its first exhibition in Europe, showed a trio. Genoa, moreover, is very close to Turin, where the worldwide R&D centre for GM diesel is headquartered. These are bare engines, ready for marinazation: 2.8, 3 and 6.6 litres. At the stand also the Electronic control unit for boating under the name D-MEFI.

GENOA BOAT SHOW 2018: PART ONE

Mercury and the off-shore

Mercury focuses on off-shore gasoline engines and pushes on the accelerator. The 450R Sport Master is a 4.6-litre 8-cylinder V8 with dual overhead camshaft, electronic power supply with the substantial innovation of the volumetric compressor, which helps to push up to 331 kilowatts. Changes to the turbocharger led Mercury to adopt a larger air intake. Compared to the 400 Racing, the range does not change and even the weight remains substantially unchanged: just an additional 30 kilos.

CMD showed the Blue hybrid system, a study in progress since 2011, ready to equip some patrol boats. The HCU (Hybrid Control Unit) manages the operations, controls both the endothermic and the electric and dialogues with the GPS signal. This operation allows the user to recognize the marine area, so to automatically convert the navigation to electric when required.

SCAM, a Croatian company specialized on marinization, is able to make in-house also the castings, which allows customization as the flat aluminum cup, tailored for one of the preferred applications, the sailboats. Based on Kubota engines, in the range between 10 and 140 horsepower, the dealer CMS has already sold in Italy a hundred SCAM units.

GENOA BOAT SHOW 2018: PART TWO

ZF Marine and the 8000 series

For the second year ZF Marine has reappeared, with the 8000 series, in hybrid configuration with PTI and ZF electric motor of 200 kilowatts and a reduction of up to 16:1. Both a parallel installation with a vertical offset and a down-angle concept are available. The same goes for U or V configurations.

Volvo Penta has brought the D4 back from the deep renewal made in Götebörg: the 3.7-litre 4-cylinder engine is now capable of delivering 235 kilowatts. FPT Industrial relies on the dealer NavalMotorBotti for the C9 650 Evo. Speaking about “Evolution”, we boarded the Canados Gladiator 428, equipped with a pair of N67 570Evo.

Ranieri Tonissi was there, with the MAN V8 1300 (the V12 2000 was in exposition at Monte Carlo Yachts, as already seen in Cannes), and the Nanni Diesel series. MTU replicates Cannes and displays the model of the hybrid configuration.

Also present were those of Scan, Beta Marine distributors (based on Kubota), Bukh, Steyr and VM Motori. The industrial engines from FCA Group can also be found at Cantiere Lorenzoni booth. At the Genoa Boat Show there were also Solè and Vetus, SAIM Marine exhibited the range of on-board KPS gensets and the brand new Underwater Lights QT75 and QT100.