What is being shown
BENETEAU will attend the Melbourne Boat Show at Docklands from October 15 to 18, 2026 with dealer Sundance Marine. The event gives buyers a practical opportunity to compare current production boats in person.
The under-12-metre display includes the Antares 7, Antares 8, Antares 9, Gran Turismo 35, Oceanis 30.1 and First 30. The display is especially relevant to owners shopping in the sub-12-metre leisure-boat market.
The show also marks Asia-Pacific premieres for next-generation Gran Turismo models, giving visitors context for BENETEAU’s latest motorboat design direction. Seeing the boats afloat makes deck access, cockpit space, helm ergonomics and family usability easier to judge than brochure specifications alone.
Why it matters to boaters
The mixed sail and power display makes the event useful for buyers deciding between day boating, family cruising and compact sailing. Dealers and product teams can also answer questions about options, delivery, local servicing and real-world ownership costs.
Boat shows and owner events remain useful because they compress a large amount of product research into one visit. Buyers can move between layouts quickly and notice details that are easy to miss online.
In the smaller-boat market, ease of handling, storage, trailering, fuel use and simple maintenance are often more important than headline size. These events make those ownership trade-offs easier to assess.
What buyers can compare
For LBG readers, the strongest value is practical comparison. A boat that is easy to use, berth and maintain can produce more days on the water than a larger design that demands more time and cost.
The event therefore matters not only as a sales showcase but as a useful research point for owners deciding what type of boat best matches their actual boating. That makes the visit more useful than simply viewing launch publicity online.