The Brazilian boating industry is back in one of the most contested showcases in the world market. Schaefer Yachts, from Santa Catarina, is at the Cannes Yachting Festival 2026, held from 8 to 13 September on the French Riviera, with three boats officially registered by the event's organisers: the Schaefer V34, Schaefer 380 and Schaefer V44.
More than three boats on display, the line-up chosen by the Brazilian builder helps tell an interesting story about how the boating market is evolving. They are models of different sizes and purposes, but they share a very clear language: outdoor areas given priority, easy circulation, social spaces and greater integration with the water.
It is an architecture that found its place in Brazil, but it also speaks directly to a very Mediterranean way of using a boat: cruising by day, anchoring in small bays, hosting guests on board and turning the stern and the cockpit into true extensions of the sea.
A different trio from the one shown in 2025
There is also an important change from last year.
At Schaefer's Cannes appearance in 2025, the three models officially announced by the yard were the V44, V33 and 375. Now, in 2026, the V44 stays on display, while the V34 and 380 join the Brazilian showcase at the French show.
The change lets the European public discover a renewed part of the builder's portfolio and shows that the presence in Cannes is starting to go beyond a one-off appearance.
Schaefer V34: lifestyle and performance in 10.33 metres
The Schaefer V34 is the smallest of the three boats shown in Cannes, but it holds an interesting position within the brand's international strategy.
At 10.33 metres long with a 3.35-metre beam, the model carries ten people by day and sleeps two. Its fuel tank holds 700 litres. Schaefer itself defines the V34 as an evolution of the V line concept, combining lifestyle and performance.
It is precisely that combination that makes the model interesting for European coastal markets: dimensions that make it easy to use as a day boat, without giving up the option of staying aboard.
Schaefer 380: when the boat opens up to the sea
On the Schaefer 380, integration reaches another scale.
The model is 11.80 metres long with a 3.69-metre beam, and it stands out mainly for its two retractable side terraces, which enlarge the usable area of the aft deck and connect the cockpit to the outdoors.
Inside, the boat offers 1.90 metres of headroom and an internal passage to the bow. Capacity reaches 14 people by day, with sleeping for four.
These are solutions that help explain a transformation under way in boat design worldwide: in several categories, a boat's length is no longer the only measure of space. Platforms, movable terraces and integrated layouts allow a boat to expand its social area considerably when at rest.
And Cannes is exactly the place where these solutions are compared side by side with projects from the largest international builders.
V44: the Brazilian beach club stays in Cannes
The largest of Schaefer's three representatives in 2026 is the V44, 13.61 metres long with a 4.17-metre beam.
Its design concentrates much of the V line's proposal: cockpit and beach club arranged on a single level, two large 2.40-metre side terraces and a submersible swim platform. The model carries 14 people by day and sleeps four.
The V44 is also the link between Schaefer's two recent appearances at the Cannes Yachting Festival. It was already part of the trio the builder presented in 2025 and is once again on the brand's official list of boats for 2026.
Its continued presence does not go unnoticed: while the other models changed, the V44 keeps its place in the brand's presentation to the European market.
Cannes is not just a boat exhibition
The context makes this presence even more relevant.
The Cannes Yachting Festival takes place simultaneously in the Vieux Port and Port Canto and brings together more than 700 boats. The event is described by its own organisers as Europe's largest in-water boat show and gathers builders, buyers, dealers, investors, professionals and specialist press from many markets.
The Vieux Port is one of the main territories for motor boats. Within it, the Quai Saint-Pierre, where Schaefer is listed, is defined by the organisers as an area dedicated to luxury day boats, open models and motor yachts, with a strong emphasis on design and innovation.
It is therefore a commercial showcase, but also a vast environment for comparison.
Within a few metres of quay, buyers can analyse different solutions in hull, propulsion, layout, finish, technology, use of space and on-board experience.
For a Brazilian builder, being there means putting product, engineering and brand in front of the same consumers who are evaluating some of the leading European and world yards.
There is a Brazilian industry behind the boats
There is yet another aspect that deserves attention.
Schaefer's internationalisation does not rest on the final design of the boats alone. The yard highlights a vertically integrated industrial process, with vacuum infusion, five-axis CNC machining, and in-house joinery and upholstery. The company's official entry at the Cannes Yachting Festival reports more than 4,000 boats delivered, in a range from 30 to 86 feet.
This also places the Cannes appearance within a broader discussion about Brazil's Ocean Economy.
Every boat taken to Europe carries a production chain that begins long before it reaches the port: design, engineering, composites, electrical systems, electronics, propulsion, furniture, upholstery, hardware, logistics, services and skilled labour.
It is precisely this industrial dimension that turns an exported boat into something far greater than a luxury product.
From Brazil to ever more contested markets
Europe was already part of Schaefer's declared internationalisation strategy. During the Cannes appearance in 2025, the company's export manager, Igor Phelippe, stated in official communication that "exports are fundamental to the brand's sustainable growth".
A year later, Schaefer is back on the French Riviera.
But with an important difference: the portfolio on show has changed.
The V44 stays. The V34 and 380 arrive.
And perhaps that is precisely the most interesting aspect of the Brazilian presence in Cannes in 2026: it is not only about showing that Brazil knows how to build boats. It is about competing for space, market and attention in one of the places where the future of the world boating industry is laid out side by side, boat by boat.
By: Redação Mundo Mar
Photo: Divulgação: Schaefer Yachts
