A crowd of curious people lined up Saturday to visit the $1.5 million luxury yacht that sits in the middle of Place Bonaventure.
“We could never afford something like that, but it’s good to dream from time to time!” Said Micheline Paré, a passionate fisherman and boater.
The Cruiser Cantius 45 is the most expensive and impressive boat ever presented at the Boat and Watersports Show held this weekend in Montreal.
Measuring 45 feet long and 14 feet high, the yacht almost did not pass through the garage door leading to the showroom.
“There was an inch between the boat and the top of the door. We can not go bigger than that, “said Alain Roy, General Manager of the Quebec Maritime Association (QMA).
“Like an apartment”
With its two bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen, living room and spacious cockpit, the Cruiser Cantius 45 is enough to enthuse water sports enthusiasts. The boat is even equipped with a washer, dryer, electric stove, microwave and a flat screen TV.
“He’s completely autonomous in energy, it’s the first time I see that,” said Roy. There is a generator inside, so it can run on electricity, whether for sound, air conditioning, etc. ”
“It’s just like an apartment: you can live in there,” he continued. With a boat like that, you can go to Florida, navigate the Great Lakes … there are no limits! ”
Despite the staggering price of the yacht, several serious potential buyers have already appeared at the show, according to Alain Roy.
Night in the yacht
A Mercier couple in Montérégie, for their part, had the chance to sleep inside the Cruiser Cantius 45 last night, thanks to a competition organized by the Boat Show. Jean Béchard and his wife were able to visit the exhibition at their own pace, just the two of them.
“I love boats since I was young, so it will be special to spend the night in such a luxurious boat,” Béchard said Saturday.
“Right now, I have a 32-foot, but I hope to be able to get a yacht like this one someday. But it will not be tomorrow morning! “Added the 53-year-old with a laugh. The watercraft celebrates 50 years
Twice as fast as it was created, the watercraft has become, over the decades, a machine at the cutting edge of technology.
“There is almost nothing that has stayed the same over time. Now, everything works electronically, while the first PWCs were mechanical, “says Simon Boucher, Product Specialist at BRP.
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the watercraft, the Quebec company BRP is presenting this weekend, at the Boat and Watersports Show, the first jet watercraft ever marketed.
Launched in 1968, the yellow and black Sea-Doo watercraft was equipped with a 18 horsepower engine and was designed to reach a speed of about 45 km / h.
“But by that time, sales had not risen, so Bombardier stopped marketing the watercraft a few years later,” says Boucher.
It was only in 1988, 20 years later, that the “modern” watercraft was born, causing a major craze in the world of water sports.
Today, BRP’s fastest watercraft boast 300 horsepower and can reach 105 km / h. Their V-shaped hull makes them much more ergonomic and their four-stroke engines are quieter and more fuel-efficient.
“And of course, we have integrated technology into vehicles,” says Simon Boucher. You can have a fully waterproof Bluetooth sound system and storage for your cell phone with built-in USB charger. “
