Princess to premiere C48 Open outboard yacht at Fort Lauderdale boat show

What happened

Princess Yachts will give the C48 Open its world premiere at the 2026 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, according to the dealer JBYS. YachtBuyer lists the show dates as 28 October to 1 November 2026.

A partner-content post published by Yachting Magazine on 8 October 2026 says the model is the first Princess with an outboard on the transom in 61 years, and the first in a new C-Class line.

On timing, YachtBuyer reported on 10 September 2025 that the boat is built at Princess's Lee Mill facility in Plymouth, with production starting ahead of deliveries in 2027. JBYS, which lists seven Great Lakes locations, says the C48 is coming to the Great Lakes in summer 2027.

The performance figures come from YachtBuyer's September 2025 report, so they predate the show. It lists triple Mercury V10 400hp Verado outboards at 44 to 46 knots and triple Mercury V12 600hp Verado outboards at 52 to 54 knots. A twin Volvo D6-480 inboard diesel version is listed at 32 to 34 knots.

YachtBuyer describes the C48 as the fastest Princess yacht ever built, capable of exceeding 50 knots in its most powerful configuration.

An enclosed version is planned. The Yachting Magazine post says the C48 Deck Salon will debut in about a year, while YachtBuyer says the C48 Deck Saloon is scheduled for autumn 2027. The post also says the boat took roughly five years to develop and that Princess will display eight models at the show.

The sources differ in weight. The lead source is partner content published by Yachting Magazine, JBYS is a dealer and the YachtBuyer report was published more than a year before the show. The 61-year, C-Class, Deck Salon, development and eight-model details rest on the partner post alone.