Southport 30 FE Debuts at FLIBS

Southport boats unveiled the new 30 FE to rave reviews at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. The much-anticipated new model showed off a variety of new features and designs that signal good things to come for Southport.

The 30 replaces the existing 292 and offers more space in the forward and rear cockpits, and carries over some deck-layout design cues from the very popular 33 FE. “The 30 FE brings a lot of the larger 33 FE features down to this midsized model, which makes the boat feel bigger than it might seem” says Jonathan Kirby, Marketing and Sales Director of Southport Boats. He added “All throughout the show, we had to convince people that the boat was ‘only’ 30 feet, the majority of people who looked at it swore it was our 33”.

The 30 feels like a bigger boat due in part to the well thought-out deck plan, and the classic beam that Southports are known for. Kirby added that “A typical 30-foot center console might be anywhere from 6 to 12 inches narrower than our 30. That extra space, carried forward and aft, add up to a lot more space in the boat, a more stable fishing platform, and create the overall feeling of size”.

While the 30 FE only debuted at FLIBS in Early November, the boat has already been a hot seller, with a handful presold, and more orders already placed since that show. The 30 FE will be on display at the New York Boat Show in NYC in January, the New England Boat Show in Boston in February, and the Miami Boat show, also in February.