Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show 2026: Everything You Need to Know

The 67th Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show opens on Wednesday October 28 and runs until Sunday November 1, 2026, across six waterfront sites in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The organisers bill FLIBS as the largest in-water boat show in the world and expect more than 1,300 boats from 1,000 exhibiting brands. For powerboat buyers, the debut to see is the Princess C48 Open, the first Princess to offer outboard engines.

Tickets are sold online only, through flibs.com. There is no box office at the show.

Princess C48 Open

The C48 Open is the first model in Princess’ new C Class and makes its world debut at FLIBS. Princess lists two outboard packages: triple Mercury Verado V10 400hp, quoted at 44 to 46 knots, and triple Mercury Verado V12 600hp, quoted at 52 to 54 knots. On the builder’s own figures that makes it the fastest Princess yet. A twin Volvo D6-480 inboard version is quoted at 32 to 34 knots.

The hull uses Michael Peters’ patented Stepped Vee Ventilated Tunnel (SVVT) design, the first stepped hull in the Princess range, developed with Bernard Olesinski and the Plymouth yard’s in-house team. Length overall is 14.91m (48ft 11in) for the inboard boat and 16.11m (52ft 10in) for the outboard version with the engines tilted up. The outboard boat carries 2,346 litres of fuel, against 1,500 litres for the inboard. It follows Princess’ audited return to profit for 2025, and sits on the Face Dock at Bahia Mar.

Power Catamarans

Aquila brings nine power catamarans to Dock E at Bahia Mar, its largest FLIBS line-up. The 35 Sport, which made its world debut at the Cannes Yachting Festival in September, makes its US debut. It has a double-stepped hull and twin Mercury Verado V8 300hp outboards as standard, with twin V10 400hp as the option. Alongside it are the 45 Sport, 54 Yacht, 50 Yacht, 46 Yacht, 47 Molokai, 36 Molokai, 46 Coupe and 42 Coupe.

Prestige brings the 65ft M8 EVO power catamaran to the US for the first time, following its world premiere in September.

Outboard Boats

Cruisers Yachts stages the world debuts of the 45 VTR and 45 VTR EC, two 14m centre consoles on triple Mercury Verado outboards, either 300hp V8s for 900hp combined or 400hp units for 1,200hp. Top speeds have not been released. Both carry 1,370 litres of fuel. The 45 VTR has an open single-level cockpit under a large hardtop, while the EC adds a fully enclosed, air-conditioned main-deck cabin with sliding doors either side.

Southern Boating’s list of 44 show debuts adds faster outboard boats. The Powerplay Salacia 36 runs twin Mercury Verado V10 400hp outboards, quoted at more than 65mph, or triples at more than 75mph. Deep Impact’s 409 Sport takes triple or quad Mercury power up to 2,000hp. MJM’s 38V, the first of its new V Series, runs twin Mercury Verado 300hp or 400hp for more than 50mph, and is on C Dock at Bahia Mar. Formula’s 360 Super Sport Crossover takes twin or triple Mercury outboards, and Solara’s S-310 Coupe runs twin Yamaha F300s.

Viking and Valhalla

Viking Yacht Company has three world premieres: the second-generation 70 Convertible, redesigned from the keel up with four staterooms and five heads, plus the 64 Sport Coupe and the 50 Sport Coupe. Southern Boating gives the 70 Convertible an estimated top speed of 43 knots.

Valhalla Boatworks shows nine models, led by the world premiere of the 46 Sport Yacht. First announced at FLIBS 2025, it comes in open and enclosed pilothouse versions on a Michael Peters double-stepped running surface. Engine packages for the 46 had not been published at the time of writing. Viking and Valhalla share Docks C, D and E at Bahia Mar.

Superyachts

The largest yacht named by the organisers is Oceanco’s 92.9m (305ft) Draak. Feadship’s 223ft Lady Christine and Hakvoort’s 62.7m explorer Scout are also on the list, and Pearl Yachts shows the Pearl 100 Hybrid, the first hybrid in its fleet. Last year’s show had 187 yachts on display, 62 of them available for charter, YachtCharterFleet reported.

Where Everything Is

Show Hours

All times are local. US clocks go back an hour at 2am on Sunday November 1, so Wednesday to Saturday are on EDT (UTC-4) and Sunday is on EST (UTC-5). The “Your time” column converts automatically to your device’s time zone.

Tickets and Getting Around

Tickets are digital and sold only through flibs.com, and sales are final unless the show is cancelled. Children under six get in free with a ticketed adult, and children aged six to 12 get a discounted ticket. Active-duty military and veterans can claim a complimentary general admission ticket, which Visit Lauderdale says is valid on Sunday November 1. Windward VIP tickets add early entry, lounges, dining, free self-parking and water taxi travel.

The Convention Center has more than 3,000 parking spaces at $20 a day and is the best place to start. Free shuttles and golf carts link the six sites. The Water Taxi costs $15 for a day or $65 for all five days, with under-fives free, and runs from an hour before opening to an hour after closing.

Also at the Show

New this year is a floating pickleball court at Las Olas Marina, with a tournament open only to yacht crew, and a reworked Pier Sixty-Six North. Don Dingman’s Hook the Future clinics return for children, each of whom goes home with a free rod and reel. Ryan O’Sullivan of Hell’s Kitchen and Dave White of Below Deck and Chopped lead the food programme in the VIP areas.

The show is owned by the Marine Industries Association of South Florida and produced by Informa Markets, which also runs the Miami International Boat Show. The organisers put its annual economic impact on the region at $1.79 billion.