A Frothy Genoa International Boat Show Proves the Yachting World Is Alive and Kicking

The Genoa International Boat Show had a strong run this year, despite economic jitters across Europe. Most boat builders reported a good show, which wrapped up today, following a strong Cannes Yachting Festival earlier this month. The first two international shows tend to be bellwethers of how healthy the yachting industry will be in the year ahead.

This year’s show saw crowd sizes, exhibitor numbers, and new-boat launches outpace last year. The number of companies at the show rose by 20 to 1,052, while the boats on display numbered 1,030 compared to about 1,007 last year. The country’s national boating industry also reported record double-digit growth of 8.33 billion Euros ($9.26 billion) in total sales. Italy’s superyacht production soared 21 percent in 2023, accounting for 51 percent of global orders or one out of every two yachts over 80 feet.

“The numbers suggest that the newcomers who came during Covid, who are trending younger, are not transient,” Andrea Razeto, president of I Saloni Nautici, the event organizer, told Robb Report.

But the real importance of Genoa, at least to most showgoers, were the 30 new Italian premieres, ranging from rigid-hulled inflatables to superyachts. Some were brand flagships, others new models in existing families, and even more showed innovative designs that are new to yachting.

Apreamare’s 88 Maestro flagship made its global debut, a change in direction for a shipyard known for its rounded-stern “gozzo” yachts from 35 to 48 feet, based on a traditional Italian fishing vessel.  

“This navetta style was custom made for an owner of one of our smaller boats,” Apreamare’s marketing manager, Corrado Del Fonti, told Robb Report during a tour. “The owners are a couple with no children, so they designed it for themselves so they could live aboard for months.”

The Maestro had a large, open salon that was nearly empty of furniture, along with large doors and access to the cockpit and side decks. On the cockpit were two large facing chairs, one for each owner, with minimal seating surrounding it. “They each wanted a chair to face each other and enjoy the views,” said Del Fonti. “They designed this yacht how they would best enjoy it, since they plan to spend months aboard cruising on it.”

The sense of open space also defined the rest of the yacht, from the upper flybridge with its outdoor kitchen, dining table, and rear seating to the lower foredeck, also with seating and a table. Fit and finish across the 88-footer was excellent, showing that Apreamare’s boatbuilding abilities with smaller vessels could transfer to a larger yacht.

Perhaps the most impressive feature was the one most boaters never see—the engine room, which measures 430 square feet and holds twin 2000 MAN diesels. The space looked massive compared to most engine rooms in this size range. “Again, the owners wanted space that will allow the engine to be easily repaired when something inevitably breaks,” said Del Fonti. “They are being very practical about it.” The price for the vessel is about $9.1 million.

Another innovative design making its Italian premiere was Azimut’s new Seadeck 7, with the world’s first Volvo-Penta hybrid electric-diesel propulsion. The 71-footer was designed to be a truly sustainable boat—without greenwashing—with a hull, superstructure, and engine that combines to produce 40 percent fewer emissions than another boat its size.

“It was also born to have a different style of livability on board,” says Edoardo Giudice, from Azimut’s Product Intelligence department. His team has been working on the Seadeck 7 concept for several years. “We wanted it to be gentle on the sea, with an area we call the ‘Fun Island’ that is an open, split-level design that goes down to the water.” The space includes a barbecue near the water, a custom-designed hammock that hangs over a side panel when it’s folded down, and a “transformer” step at the rear that drops into the water for easy access.

The interior by Matteo Thun & Antonio Rodriguez, residential architects specializing in sustainability, uses recycled plastic for carpeting and wall coverings, cork decks, and open spaces throughout the four-stateroom interior.

But the real eco-differentiator on this boat is the hybrid propulsion. Marine engine maker Volvo Penta has been working on a hybrid diesel-electric version for its IPS system for four years, and it began planning the Seadeck 7 concept with Azimut two years ago. “In full electric, you can get 11 knots of speed for 11 miles, and if you go down to 7 knots, the range goes to 32 nautical miles,” says Giudice. “The boat can also stay in hotel mode for up to eight hours overnight.”

Sanlorenzo’s new SP92 is also a new style of cruiser, the smaller sistership to the SP110, which was launched two years ago to great acclaim.

“You can see the family DNA in the exterior,” says Sanlorenzo’s Tilli Antonelli, who spearheaded both SP yachts with Zuccon International and interior designer Piero Lissoni. “But the interior is different. We created an open space to have multiple possible layouts.”

The interior, like the SP110, is a paradigm shift for yachting, with a four-level design that include the large open salon on the main deck, a forward area on the deck below with three staterooms, a rear area on another lower deck that can serve as a salon or extra bedroom, and the invisible flybridge—which has been designed to look seamless with the rest of the hull.

Like the other launches, the amount open space helps define the SP92. The cockpit, for instance, measures 500 square feet. The first model at Genoa had what Antonelli calls an “imperial staircase,” which opened up at the rear of the salon and sweeps around into the lower deck. It was an impressive feature, consuming a lot of real estate. “We designed this to be an easy boat to get around,” notes Antonelli. “That’s important these days since the average amount of time owners spend on board each year has gone up from about 45 days to three months.”

Ferretti Yachts also launched the Infynito 80. Like its larger sistership, the Infynito 90, which premiered a year ago, the new 80 is about simple design and open space, putting a premium on the outdoors. The four-stateroom, 80-footer has a large open salon, cockpit, and flybridge.

But the true innovation here is the foredeck. It’s open to the wind but has a slatted frame above it for both sun protection and protection at the bow. This clever design also won a Robb Report Best of the Best Award earlier this year, with editors praising the protection it provides without being fully enclosed.

Genoa also tends to be the Italian show where ideas are discussed and politicians meet industry leaders to discuss common goals. This year’s event was no different, with panels doing deep dives into sustainability across the yachting sector and looking at how marine tourism can be a driving force for cleaning up the ocean.

The show’s infrastructure also continues to grow and modernize each year, with the completion of the new Palasport stadium, waterfront condos, and docks. The refresh of what was a dowdy waterfront area into a high-cost residential section is called the Waterfront di Levante project. It has been a boon for the show: Total space for this year’s event grew to nearly 237,000 square feet between the dock and exhibit halls, up 54,000 from 2023. “This show has always been the way we got our ‘Made in Italy’ yacht brands out into the world,” says Razeto, adding that it will continue to grow next year.