I prowled the halls looking for American boatbuilders taking advantage of the low dollar to drum up some export business. It seemed the powerboat side of things was well represented, but where were the sailboats? Soon I came across a clutch of Hunters, displayed by the German importer—well done, Hunter—and then I met Cuyler Morris and Marnie Read, proudly showing off an immaculate Morris 36. Where was everyone else?

One thing I’ve noticed at recent boat shows is that European builders are paying increased to the sub-35’ segment of the market. This is the new Dehler 34, a useful-looking performance cruiser that squeezes a lot of good features into a compact package.

You might liken this motorsailer to a MacGregor 26 on steroids, but that would probably annoy both MacGregor and Imexus, the Polish builder of this 28-footer, so I won’t. I actually did a double-take when I walked past this boat and saw it had a 120hp diesel. Yes, you read that right.

Between the two flip-up rudders there’s a stern drive coupled to a 120-horse Mercruiser diesel. That’s a serious piece of ironmongery for such a small boat; apparently it’ll cruise at 27 knots! Just don’t forget to take the sails down first, folks. If you don’t like the thought of a few hundred pounds of diesel engine sitting inside your lightweight trailer sailer, you can order it with a 90hp outboard instead. I’m told that an Imexus will be on show at Miami, if you want to see one for yourself.

Shellshocked from the Imexus, I toured the beautiful Catana 50, the biggest multi at the show. I was surprised that there were so few catamaran builders exhibiting; I guess monohulls still reign in the German marketplace.

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