The 25th Auckland Boat Show closed its doors yesterday after four days that underlined just how strong the appetite for boating remains in New Zealand. Held across the Viaduct Events Centre and Jellicoe Harbour, the event drew more than 200 exhibitors, put 235 boats in front of visitors, and sent an estimated 1,200 people out on sea trials. The mood throughout was one of genuine optimism, with boat sellers reporting serious, committed buyers and suppliers walking away with full order books and valuable new connections.
The quality of attendance was a recurring theme in exhibitor feedback. Visitors arrived informed and purposeful, intent on comparing boats, seeking expert guidance, and taking meaningful steps toward their next purchase or upgrade.
Hayden McCrorie of Dickey Boats, which brought the Semifly 45, Semifly 36 and the long-range sport fisher Pacific 62 to the show, described the event as positive, with strong interest from new faces alongside welcome catch-ups with existing clients. Allan Tongs Boatbuilders displayed their Auckland-built production boat, the Elite AT43, to equally enthusiastic results. "This boat show was buzzing! We spoke to so many boaties - both new and experienced - who loved seeing our quality, Kiwi-built boat on show amongst the packed marina. What a positive and optimistic show!" said Ester Tongs. Tracey Stevenson of Lloyd Stevenson Boatbuilders described the show as a cornerstone event for her business. "The Auckland Boat Show is the industry's pinnacle event. It's important for us to be there because we rely on relationships and collaboration across the industry," she said. "For us the show is primarily about relationship building, but we have completed the show with possible new boat builds."
Yamaha New Zealand made a high-profile start to the show with a live demonstration of its freshly launched Helm Master Ex wireless control system, aired on Breakfast TV on opening day. Pete Dick said Yamaha brought five boats to the show to put their technology through its paces on the water, keeping the team positively busy with sea trials and demonstrations across all four days. The Sea Trial zone proved to be one of the event's most popular features, accounting for the estimated 1,200 on-water trips taken during the show.
Richard Shaw of Mercury Marine pointed to the harbour setting as the defining factor in the show's ongoing appeal. "Jellicoe Harbour is an unbeatable location for a boat show – people don't just look at the boats, they can see them on the water and truly experience what they're capable of." Shaw also highlighted the value of seeing so many boat builders gathered in one place.
Local tech company Boatseekr chose the show to launch its brand-new tendr app, recording around 1,000 downloads over the weekend.
The small boat and tender segment performed strongly throughout the event. By the time the show wrapped up, Rodney Marine had sold signs on several of its Stabicraft boats, with notably strong interest coming from South Island visitors. Takacat Inflatable Boats and Dolphin Inflatables both reported a run of sales across the four days. Russell Carlyon told show organisers that Offshore Cruising Tenders was again delighted with its prominent outside position in Karanga Plaza, which offered visibility not only to ticket holders but to the general public passing by. For a company whose key goal is putting its unique and internationally popular sailing tenders in front of as many eyes as possible, that exposure was exactly what they came for.
Vining Marine Group of Hobsonville reported plenty of genuine boaters in the crowd, with good leads and interest flowing both toward their boats and from prospective sellers. Steven Burt of Innovision Boats noted a healthy volume of sea trials and enquiries from genuine prospective customers. The Ray White Marine NZ team left pleased with the leads gathered, including repeat visitors who will be returning for sea trials this week. Brett Hana flew over from Melbourne to present Dockpro's dry dock systems at the show and came away impressed by what he found. "The quality of sales leads at the Auckland Boat Show has been excellent," he said.
For suppliers and specialist service providers, the show delivered equally well. Evolution Sails and Brin Wilson Boatbuilders, representing the Flexiteek synthetic decking product, both finished the four days with lengthy quote lists to work through. Antifoul specialist Richard Cleave of Hullwell said his order book at the end of the show was everything he could have hoped for. Lusty and Blundell's Mark Millburn said the ability to connect with others in the marine trade and raise the brand's profile made the event well worthwhile.
Danielle Blackmore of Pantaenius Boat Insurance described the show as a very worthwhile event, with a solid number of new policies generated. The team from Whangārei Marinas used the four days to build interest in the next stage of their new development at Ōkāra and to promote Whangārei as a destination for everything marine.
For companies introducing new products, the show's ability to bring a concentrated audience together proved its worth. Fiona Bycroft of Naut said, "The Auckland Boat Show was a great opportunity to connect directly with boat owners and builders about the future of electric boating." Ross Williamson of South Pacific Diesel Systems made a similar point about efficiency, noting that the show saves him weeks of travel time by putting so many of his customers in the same place at once, and that the 2026 event continued to deliver on that front.
Thursday morning brought a notable first, with the inaugural Women in Marine event opening the show. One hundred and fifteen attendees gathered to celebrate the growing contribution of women across boating, marine business and ocean sport.
Exhibitor demand heading into this year's show had been strong enough to prompt organisers to expand the event's footprint, bringing in 30 new exhibitors alongside returning brands and pushing the final boat count to 235.
NZ Marine President Tracey Stevenson reflected on the four days with satisfaction. "Feedback from visitors has been overwhelmingly positive, it was a great time to get together and catch up, and we enjoyed four magnificent days of weather."
Event organiser Stacey Cook said the show remains an event built by the industry, for the industry. "We are thrilled to once again have incredibly high-quality visitors to the show. The industry is looking buoyant and we thank everyone that travelled to visit the show and to exhibit at the show. The industry makes the show what it is and we thank everyone yet again for their ongoing support."
